I wouldn’t call canals or railroads fads though. Canals were the main route of inland transportation for a half century and railroads were for a century.
They were transformative infrastructure that laid the groundwork for later forms of infrastructure. Either AI isn’t that and this analogy falls apart or AI is that and we should be worried about whatever it’s laying the groundwork for.
I wouldn’t call canals or railroads fads though. Canals were the main route of inland transportation for a half century and railroads were for a century.
They were transformative infrastructure that laid the groundwork for later forms of infrastructure. Either AI isn’t that and this analogy falls apart or AI is that and we should be worried about whatever it’s laying the groundwork for.