David Autor

Autor uses ride-hailing as the primary example of how technology commodifies expertise. He notes that GPS/Apps allowed anyone to drive, which "lowered wages of people in the taxi driving industry" but expanded the service. AI/Tech removes the "moat" of human expertise (knowing the streets), increasing the supply of labor. This suppresses labor costs (bullish for the platform's margins) while increasing service availability and volume (bullish for the platform's revenue). LONG the platform (UBER) that benefits from commoditized, cheaper labor inputs. Regulatory crackdowns on gig-worker classification.

"Think of how ride hailing software changed the taxi driving industry... it commodified the expertise of knowing your way around... barriers to entry fall." He also notes billions of dollars invested in "self-driving cars." Autor describes a mechanism where technology owners (platforms) capture value by commoditizing labor. While this is bad for the *wages* of the workers, it is incredibly bullish for the *platforms* (Uber, Tesla/Robotaxi) that can scale supply infinitely without relying on specialized human skills. Long the platforms that successfully use AI to lower barriers to entry for service provision. Regulatory backlash if wages fall too low or if "gigification" of the economy is halted by labor laws.