> it is entirely possible (probable IMO) that ASI will plateau far above human capability in digital and symbolic intelligence, while staying far below in the ability to operate in the physical world.
I don't think this is plausible, most notably because "AI research" is one of the tasks that clearly belongs to the digital world. You're suggesting that in the future all AI research is done by AIs because they are better at it than humans, and yet capabilities plateau at that point, instead of going into the RSI regime. (And it'd also require "physical intuition" to be a harder to generalize skill than research, which also seems like it can't possibly be true - one of these is just physics.)
I don't think this is plausible, most notably because "AI research" is one of the tasks that clearly belongs to the digital world. You're suggesting that in the future all AI research is done by AIs because they are better at it than humans, and yet capabilities plateau at that point, instead of going into the RSI regime. (And it'd also require "physical intuition" to be a harder to generalize skill than research, which also seems like it can't possibly be true - one of these is just physics.)