Ethan Mollick: AI startups shouldn't just sell shovels
AI summary
Ethan Mollick argues that comparing AI startups to "selling shovels in a gold rush" is wrong. He points out that the gold rush is a less apt analogy than the Industrial Revolution: gold is a pile of stuff that will eventually be dug up, whereas machines will keep making everything cheaper; far more people have gotten rich by using new machines than by manufacturing them.
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I think “sell picks and shovels” is the wrong lesson for AI startups.
The Gold Rush analogy is weaker than the Industrial Revolution. Gold is a single pile that runs out. Machines keep making everything cheaper. Far more people got rich using the new machines than building them.