This article explores the profound impact of electronic spreadsheets, particularly Microsoft Excel, on American businesses and the economy. It traces the evolution from pre-spreadsheet management practices to the modern reliance on data-driven decision-making and financial engineering. The piece also touches on the implications for future technologies like artificial intelligence.

The article analyzes the unit economics of large language models (LLMs), focusing on the compute costs associated with training and inference. It discusses how companies like OpenAI and Anthropic manage their financial projections and cash flow, emphasizing the need for revenue growth or reduced training costs to achieve profitability.