San Francisco has been economically detached from the rest of the United States since the internet boom of the mid-1990s. As everything from housing rents to per capita growth rates far higher than the country’s national average show, the Bay Area exists in its own orbit.
I couldn’t help but think of this when I flew into San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. Artificial intelligence (AI), rather than consumer web pages, drives the exuberance today. But the vibe is the same as it was 30 years ago – there is one story, and everyone is buying it.
Every single billboard I passed from the airport to the city had something to do with AI. Giant white blocks of brand-new housing and office space lined the highway.
In the windows, I saw young men (Silicon Valley employees are still mostly men, just like back then) typing away at computers while sports or video games playe
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