Like many of Marx’s works, the passage has been interpreted in various ways. But, taken on its face, it seems to suggest that communism isn’t possible until the economy has reached a very high level of output and productivity, which will create new possibilities for organizing society. Of course, a great leap in productivity and economic growth is precisely what many developers and promoters of artificial intelligence claim will happen as A.I. gets even more powerful, and as A.I.-based technologies become more widely adopted. “Double-digit growth is coming within 12 to 18 months,” Musk wrote on X last month. “If applied intelligence is proxy for economic growth, which it should be, triple-digit is possible in ~5 years.”journey-inline-newsletterinline-newsletter