Noah Smith
Economics writer; author of the Noahpinion newsletter.
Noah Smith did not write this page. We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it.
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1 Sept 2026
Our reading
Their wordsAI alignment will forever be balancing the tradeoff between paperclip-maximizing and disempowerment, because these two rival concepts of alignment are fundamentally incompatible.
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1 Sept 2026
Our reading
Their wordsIn other words, humans will keep their jobs for a good long time, because someone will need to keep the AIs on task
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1 Sept 2026
Our reading
Their wordsThe electric revolution is the first major technological revolution that America has just completely whiffed on.
- 3 days earlier
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29 Aug 2026
Our reading
Their wordsIn the 70s and 80s, Japanese companies could get cheap plentiful bank loans to develop new products and explore new markets. Today, they can't. Innovation is downstream of finance.
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29 Aug 2026
Our reading
Their wordsTechnological leapfrogging in action. China realized that internal combustion cars are largely obsolete, and mastered the he technology of the future. We didn't.
- 1 day earlier
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28 Aug 2026
Our reading
AI-designed superviruses outweigh every other risk in the world right now.
Their wordsWhy AI-designed superviruses outweigh every other risk in the world right now:
- 12 months earlier
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13 Aug 2025
Our reading
Their wordsThe first of the two charts shows that institutional buyers — which includes private equity, BlackRock, etc. — own only a tiny sliver of the homes in America.
↗Corporations aren't the reason your rent is too highnoahpinion.blog
- 17 months earlier
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25 Mar 2024
Our reading
Their wordsThis is exactly how building market-rate housing — even fancy “luxury” market-rate housing — makes housing more affordable in general.
↗Market-rate housing will make your city cheapernoahpinion.blog
- 20 months earlier
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25 Jul 2022
Our reading
Cash welfare benefits contributed at least somewhat to the inflation of 2021-2022.
Their wordsEven more importantly, cash benefits seem to have contributed at least somewhat to the dangerous and painful inflation that the economy is now experiencing.
↗Four things I got wrong since I started this blognoahpinion.blog
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25 Jul 2022
Our reading
Their wordsKnowing this research, I should have emphasized the possibility that Gamestop would stay overpriced for a long time.
↗Four things I got wrong since I started this blognoahpinion.blog