The Jevons Misunderstanding: Why Efficiency Gains Can Expand Total Tech Demand

The article clarifies a common misreading of the Jevons paradox in technology debates. It argues that improving efficiency for AI and compute lowers per-unit costs, which typically expands adoption and total workload rather than cutting aggregate energy or resource use. The author contends that sustainability forecasts and policy must account for this rebound effect instead of assuming linear savings from better hardware or models.