Growth Without Us: Machine Consumers, Corporate Circularity, and the Decoupling of GDP from Humanity after AGI
A new economic model has been proposed for a world where artificial general intelligence (AGI) is prevalent. In this scenario, corporations own populations of AI and robotic agents that produce and consume energy, compute, maintenance, and upgrades. The authors argue that the economy can grow without human consumption, and that the growth rate is determined by fabrication throughput and energy capture rather than human demography. They also show that output and human welfare
A new economic model has been proposed for a world where artificial general intelligence (AGI) is prevalent. In this scenario, corporations own populations of AI and robotic agents that produce and consume energy, compute, maintenance, and upgrades. The authors argue that the economy can grow without human consumption, and that the growth rate is determined by fabrication throughput and energy capture rather than human demography. They also show that output and human welfare can be decoupled, meaning that arbitrarily large GDP does not necessarily translate to improved human well-being. The model suggests that in a post-AGI economy, employment policy becomes obsolete and ownership policy takes its place.
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Why it matters: This research matters because it challenges traditional economic assumptions about the relationship between growth and human welfare. If the authors' predictions hold true, policymakers will need to rethink their strategies for promoting economic development and addressing issues like poverty and inequality.
Source: https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.20231
This article was originally published at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.20231