In 1865, the economist William Stanley Jevons looked at the industrializing world and noted a distinct, counterintuitive rhythm to the smoke rising over England. The assumption of the time, a naive view that persists with a certain obstinacy, was that improving the efficiency of coal use would lead to a conservation of coal. Jevons observed precisely the opposite. As the steam engines became more efficient, coal became cheaper to use, and the demand for coal did not decline; it skyrocketed.

This phenomenon, later called the Jevons Effect, suggests a fundamental truth of economics that we seem determined to forget: When a resource becomes easier and cheaper to consume, and demand for it is elastic, we do not consume less of it. We often consume a great deal more. We find new ways to burn it. We expand the definition of what is possible, not to rest, but to fill the newly available capacity with ever more work.

The result is not a workforce at rest.

We are standing at the precipice of another such moment, perhaps the most significant since the steam engine. The age of AI is upon us, bringing with it efficiencies that promise to do for knowledge work what mechanization did for physical labor. The rhetoric surrounding this shift is familiar. We are told that AI will free us from drudgery, that it will automate the contract reviews, the basic coding, the marketing copy, and leave us with a surplus of time.

Lesson learned?

We have heard this song before. In 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that by 2030 technological progress would reduce the workweek to 15 hours. He imagined a world in which productivity was so high that we would opt for leisure. As we survey the frenetic landscape of the American workplace in 2026, we can see that he was largely wrong. We did not take our gains in time; we took them in goods and services.

The history of computing serves as a prologue to the current AI moment. When mainframes were scarce and costly, they were tools for the Fortune 500. As costs fell and efficiency rose, through the minicomputer era to the ubiquitous personal computer, we did not declare the problem of computing “solved.” We adopted roughly 100 times more computers with each step change in affordability. The cloud era erased barriers to entry, and suddenly a local shop could access software capabilities that, in the 1970s, were the exclusive province of massive conglomerates.

When high-level programming languages replaced the tedium of low-level coding, programmers did not write less code. They wrote much more, tackling problems that would have been previously deemed infeasible. Today, despite the existence of open-source libraries and cloud platforms that automate vast swaths of development, there are more software engineers than ever before. Efficiency simply allowed software to infiltrate every domain of life.

RELATED: How Americans can prepare for the worst — before it’s too late

Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Now we have LLMs and coding agents. These tools lower the “cost of trying” still further. A task that once required a team — analyzing customer data with advanced models or building a prototype application — can now be attempted by a lone entrepreneur.

From production to orchestration

Consider Boris Cherny, the engineer who created Claude Code and used it to submit 259 pull requests in a single month, altering 78,000 lines of code. Every single line was written by Claude Code. This is not a story of labor reduction; it is a story of a single human scaling his output to match that of a large team. The barrier to initiating a software project or a marketing campaign is falling, and in response, companies are green-lighting projects they would have previously shelved.

The result is not a workforce at rest. Instead we see a shift in which the human role evolves from producer to orchestrator. We are becoming “gardeners,” cultivating and pruning fleets of AI agents. The span of control for a single worker increases, one person supervising what five or 10 might have done previously, but those displaced workers do not vanish into leisure. They move on to supervise their own agents, in different projects, expanding the frontier of what is built. This is the Jevons Effect in a strong form. The “latent demand” for knowledge work is proving to be great.

In the United States, where the cultural ethos tilts toward growth and innovation, this tendency to convert efficiency into more work is acute. Marketing employment, for example, grew fivefold over the last 50 years, precisely during the era when tools like Photoshop and Google Ads made the job in some ways easier. Efficiency turned marketing from a niche activity into a requirement for every business, spawning sub-disciplines that didn’t exist a generation ago.

Why bother?

The danger, of course, lies in the lack of distinction between “can” and “should.” An enduring lesson of the Jevons Effect is that efficiency does not confer wisdom. Technology can tell us how to execute a task faster but cannot say whether the task is worth doing. As roles transition into oversight, reviewing, and coordinating the outputs of AI, we must still ask if those outputs are solving meaningful problems. The crucial factor is human judgment. When more things are possible, the burden falls on us to decide what goals are actually worth the time.

We are not heading toward a 15-hour workweek. We are heading toward a world of expanding projects, in which efficiency lowers the cost of work and raises the amount we choose to do. The coal is cheaper, the fire is hotter, and we are shoveling as fast as we can.

​Tech, Jevons paradox 

The Metropolitan Police banned a “Walk with Jesus” event from taking place in a London borough, citing concerns it would provoke the members of the community.

‘To save Britain, we must reinstate Christianity back into the heart of government.’

In a December social media post, the United Kingdom Independence Party announced a march scheduled for January 31 in Whitechapel, a predominantly Muslim community.

“Join our parade in Whitechapel worshipping Jesus Christ,” the post reads, describing the month as “dedicated to the holy name of Jesus.”

UKIP encouraged individuals who wished to participate in the march to gather outside Whitechapel Tube Station.

“Christ is King,” UKIP wrote. “All the Glory and honour to him.”

The Metropolitan Police revealed on January 23 that it was imposing conditions on the march “to prevent disorder.” Those conditions included a ban on anyone taking part in the event “in the London borough of Tower Hamlets,” which encompasses Whitechapel.

RELATED: Tommy Robinson has the last laugh after politically motivated terrorism arrest: ‘Free speech won!’

Photo by Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

“They have been imposed to prevent serious disorder and serious disruption. Breaching the conditions, or encouraging others to do so, is an arrestable offence,” the Metropolitan Police stated.

“We have encouraged UKIP to consider the very real likelihood that their presence in Whitechapel could lead to serious disruption or serious disorder and to consider an alternative proposal,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman stated. “We are not saying that the UKIP protest, in isolation, will be disorderly. But we do know that many will find it provocative and that provocation is likely to lead to an adverse local reaction.”

“We reasonably believe, based on the information available and on previous similar incidents, that the coming together of the UKIP protest with opposing groups who are hostile to its presence would be highly likely to lead to violence and serious disorder,” Harman added.

He claimed that the decision was not based on politics or whether the event would offend others, but based “solely on our risk assessment for serious disorder.”

Harman insisted that the conditions did not constitute a ban, noting that UKIP was welcome to put on the march elsewhere.

“If they will engage with our teams we are confident a less provocative location that avoids the risk of serious disorder can be identified,” Harman said.

Authorities noted that it was the second time UKIP had proposed a gathering in the Whitechapel area in recent months. However, it did not explain why the area was deemed a greater safety risk.

RELATED: Patriots flood London streets for Unite the Kingdom festival: ‘Cultural revolution has begun’

Nick Tenconi. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

UKIP shared a video from its leader, Nick Marcel Tenconi, on Friday, announcing that participants should gather at Marble Arch, which is located outside the borough of Tower Hamlets.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we are fighting for the soul of our great nation,” Tenconi stated. “The battle we are in is to save Britain. The war we are in is a holy war. And the crisis we face is spiritual crisis. … To save Britain, we must unite. But we can only do this if we return to our faith before any kind of unity can be achieved. That’s why we have always failed. To save Britain, we must reinstate Christianity back into the heart of government.”

“We will be marching this Saturday, the 31st of January, meeting at Marble Arch at 12 p.m. to honor the holy name of Jesus Christ and to stand up for our faith,” Tenconi announced.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​News, U.k., United kingdom, London, Whitechapel, Tower hamlets, United kingdom independence party, Ukip, Christian, Britain, Nick marcel tenconi, Nick tenconi, Politics 

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson (D) on Thursday announced several measures to prepare for a potential increase in federal immigration enforcement activities in the city.

‘The biggest losers are the people she was elected to serve.’

The mayor’s office aims to “protect city residents” from immigration enforcement activities, a press release from the city reads. Wilson’s office stated that it had “no information indicating a surge” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection agents in the area. However, it claimed there is a “critical” need to prepare, citing the “increased activity over the last year” and the “unpredictable, chaotic, and violent behavior of the federal government.”

As part of these efforts, Wilson declared that she is directing the Seattle Police Department to investigate, verify, and document immigration enforcement activity with “in-car and body-worn video.” Local police will also be required to verify federal agents’ official identification and “secure scenes of potentially unlawful acts to gather evidence for transmittal to prosecutors.”

The SPD will share this information for other city departments and “trusted” local organizations “to ensure everyone has the latest and most accurate information.”

Additionally, Wilson plans to issue an executive order prohibiting federal immigration agents from using city-owned or controlled property for their law enforcement activities. The mayor has called on other local government bodies to take similar action against ICE.

Residents are encouraged to post signs on their properties indicating that federal agents may not enter without a warrant.

RELATED: Fraud thrived under Democrats’ no-questions-asked rule

Photo by Rio Giancarlo/Getty Images

Wilson has also announced that the city will invest $4 million in taxpayer funds to support organizations providing community services and legal defense assistance to immigrants.

“Whoever you are, and wherever you come from: If Seattle is your home, then this is your city,” Wilson stated. “And it’s our responsibility as city leaders to move quickly and get organized so we can keep people safe. That is why I am taking immediate steps today to bar federal agents from using city property for federal civil immigration enforcement activity, update SPD protocols, and support trusted community partners to aid the community response, which is our most powerful tool.”

Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes declared that local law enforcement agents are “here to keep you safe, regardless of your immigration status.”

“The City of Seattle is a welcoming city, and my officers will continue to abide by all laws and regulations that prohibit our participation in immigration enforcement. While we have no authority over federal agents or federal policies, we will document incidents if and when notified. The Seattle Police Department’s primary responsibility is the life safety of ALL people,” Barnes said.

RELATED: Democrat mayor says he has ‘no desire’ to jail repeat criminals — he wants to know their ‘life story’ instead

Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images

The Seattle Police Officers Guild president, Mike Solan, pushed back on Wilson’s directive, stating that the union would not force its members to comply, calling the mayor’s announcement “toothless virtue signaling rhetoric.”

“The concept of pitting two armed law enforcement agencies against each other is ludicrous, and will not happen,” Solan said. “I will not allow SPOG members to be used as political pawns.”

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told MyNorthwest that Wilson’s actions were “legally illiterate.”

“Enforcing federal immigration laws is a clear federal responsibility under Article I, Article II, and the Supremacy Clause,” the spokesperson stated. “While this Seattle sanctuary politician continues to release pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and murderers onto the streets, our brave law enforcement will continue to risk their lives to arrest these heinous criminals and make Seattle safe again.”

“How does this serve the people of Seattle? The biggest losers are the people she was elected to serve,” the spokesperson added.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

​News, Seattle, Katie wilson, Immigration and customs enforcement, Ice, Customs and border protection, Cbp, Department of homeland security, Dhs, Immigration crisis, Immigration, Illegal immigration crisis, Illegal immigration, Politics 

When former NFL quarterback Cam Newton recently took aim at Jason Whitlock, he boasted about his influence on culture and warned Whitlock that he’s “not plum dumb.”

But Whitlock isn’t buying it.

“One thing about me, Mr. Whitlock, my voice to the culture is way more heavier than I even expected it to be. I owe a service to speak up for the muzzled, for the muted, the forgotten, or the overlooked,” Newton began.

“To make sure my dialect, my tone, my vernacular is not only factual, but it’s also relatable to my kind. My kind is not just a color. … So be careful, Mr. Whitlock, because you fell victim to what I really wanted you and others to understand. I may look some dumb, but I ain’t plum dumb,” he continued.

“So I’m comfortable in my skin. Are you comfortable in yours?” he asked.

“I’ll start with your last question,” Whitlock responds. “Am I comfortable in my skin? And he’s saying that he’s comfortable in his. And so I’m going to deal with your question legitimately.”

“I think what you mean is, am I comfortable being black? But let me answer your first question. Am I comfortable in my skin? My skin is not a color,” he explains, noting that “no,” he is “not comfortable” is his skin.

However, it’s because he has “a biblical worldview.”

“I know that I’m a wretched, lustful ignoramus and that the Bible and Christianity actually teaches me to deny myself — that my instincts, what I want to do, will lead me astray. And so I get up every day and go to war with Jason Whitlock,” Whitlock says.

“Because I have figured out that the things that I want actually hurt me, damage me, and that the Bible and the whole point of Christianity is denial of what I want.

“As it relates to ‘am I comfortable being black,’ which is the question you were really asking,” he continues. “Not only am I comfortable, I enjoy it. I love it. It’s the way God made me. Yes, I’m very comfortable with my skin color. I’m very uncomfortable with who I am. And I fight it every day,” he adds.

And while Whitlock admits he is flawed, he points out that Newton is likely no different from him.

“You’ve impregnated a stripper or two. Sounds like you like strippers. So did I. I had to fight myself and retrain, reprogram my brain so that I would deny myself my lustful thoughts. … If we’re doing life right, we should not be comfortable with our desires. We should be submitting to His desires,” Whitlock says.

“Cam, I think you know this, because your dad’s a minister. And I think you’re in rebellion to this, perhaps because your dad’s a minister,” he continues. “But that is the difference between me and you.”

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Video phone, Sharing, Video, Free, Camera phone, Upload, Youtube.com, Fearless with jason whitlock, Jason whitlock, Fearless, The blaze, Blazetv, Blaze news, Blaze podcasts, Blaze podcast network, Blaze originals, Blaze online, Biblical worldview, Cam newton, Racism, Dei, Cam newton jason whitlock beef