Robert Schiller: This Doommaxxing Has Got to Stop
Robert Schiller argues against excessive pessimism about AI's economic impact, warning that "doommaxxing" over job losses ignores historical adaptation. He suggests focusing on constructive policies and human resilience rather than catastrophic predictions.
Background
- **Robert Shiller** is a Nobel Prize-winning economist (Yale) known for his work on market sentiment, bubbles, and behavioral economics. He coined the term "irrational exuberance."
- **"Doommaxxing"** is a slang term for relentlessly dwelling on worst-case scenarios — especially online — as a form of identity or content. Shiller uses it to critique the AI-doom discourse.
- The article pushes back on the dominant narrative that AI will cause mass unemployment and economic collapse. Shiller argues that such fears are historically overstated and that humans adapt — much like past panics over automation, the internet, or even the plow.
- This is an op-ed, not a news story. It reflects Shiller’s long-standing view that economic pessimism is often a contagious narrative, not a data-driven forecast.