Engineer Venkatesh Rao argues that focusing solely on jobs lost to artificial intelligence overlooks a broader question: how much intelligence people may be able to use once AI makes complex projects more accessible. In an essay published on his tech blog, Contraptions, Rao compares current fears about AI with mercantilism, the economic doctrine that preceded capitalism.
According to Rao’s comparison, mercantilists viewed wealth such as land and gold as limited resources, while ordinary people were largely regarded as labor. He says some contemporary elites similarly treat intelligence as scarce and potentially dangerous, arguing that it should remain under expert control, expensive to access, or unavailable to competitors.
Rao also suggests that concerns about openly available AI models can intersect with political influence, including the use of safety arguments by some AI executives. In his view, the central political issue should be equitable access to AI rather than preserving jobs based on legacy knowledge.
The engineer points to the early development of capitalism as an example of how new forms of consumption can encourage people to work more. He argues that, just as people once chose to work longer to afford products such as tea or sugar, AI could motivate people to think more because it makes previously impractical or costly projects possible.
Under this scenario, demand for ideas could expand instead of making human thinkers obsolete. Rao further argues that AI agents might pursue projects of their own and generate additional demand for intelligence. He says autonomous AI systems require guardrails, but should not be limited to simply following orders.
Sources: The Decoder.