When Content Creation Goes to Zero

Publisher’s note: This essay is an edited and revised version of my original essay on AI that I published last year. In it, I argue that the primary effect of AI will be that it pushes the cost of digital good creation to zero. The original showcased a variety of demos of new AI tools that I ended up cutting. Now, only six months later, all those demos look passé—we are far past them already. What does the world look like in a year? 10? How does a dramatically reduced COGS for code, text, email, etc., affect our world? 

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The most significant consequence of the internet was that it pushed distribution costs to zero. 

The most significant consequence of AI is that it will push creation costs to zero. 

The atomic activity of any company can be boiled down to:

1. Create stuff
2. Acquire customer to buy stuff
3. Distribute that stuff