There are quite a few problems with this video, IMO:
- Grant is a highly respected and popular YouTuber. He has a strong network, personal connections, access, and his income comes from an audience, not from output he’s measured on. He's perfectly positioned in this AI revolution to end up near the top of whatever human pile gets constructed, so he will not have the kinds of fears and anxieties that most people do.
- AI RSI is being actively developed and is likely to arrive within 1-2 years. I wouldn't consider this a fringe scenario; it's the main bet. Even if models stay weaker at theory building than humans, organizations will spin up 100k agents and the fire-hose of generated ideas will probably compound far faster than anyone can keep up.
- His remaining arguments are basically training people to problem-solve, and joy. For the next few years, I can see his particular niche doing quite well as infotainment, and he will probably make a lot of money. However, I don't really see people being able to join and partake in his industry 10-20 years from now. Also, if we project a realistic and grounded understanding of our current world onto the next couple of decades, what would give anyone the idea that political and economic systems would have any incentive to train people to problem-solve if AI becomes the real work-horse? Teaching will likely be defunded and turned into a consumption good (which it arguably already is becoming with these YouTube channels.)
- So, for me his entire argument boils down to... joy?
Others have already commented that this feels like unprincipled optimism, and I agree. I also think that because this is something made to generate revenue through a social media platform, it's inherently performative and on-brand. His incentives pull toward keeping his audience happy.
Unfortunately, outcomes follow incentives, not optimism. If our economy comes to rely on RSI-enabled AI, most people will simply have no place in any industry it touches.
- Grant is a highly respected and popular YouTuber. He has a strong network, personal connections, access, and his income comes from an audience, not from output he’s measured on. He's perfectly positioned in this AI revolution to end up near the top of whatever human pile gets constructed, so he will not have the kinds of fears and anxieties that most people do.
- AI RSI is being actively developed and is likely to arrive within 1-2 years. I wouldn't consider this a fringe scenario; it's the main bet. Even if models stay weaker at theory building than humans, organizations will spin up 100k agents and the fire-hose of generated ideas will probably compound far faster than anyone can keep up.
- His remaining arguments are basically training people to problem-solve, and joy. For the next few years, I can see his particular niche doing quite well as infotainment, and he will probably make a lot of money. However, I don't really see people being able to join and partake in his industry 10-20 years from now. Also, if we project a realistic and grounded understanding of our current world onto the next couple of decades, what would give anyone the idea that political and economic systems would have any incentive to train people to problem-solve if AI becomes the real work-horse? Teaching will likely be defunded and turned into a consumption good (which it arguably already is becoming with these YouTube channels.)
- So, for me his entire argument boils down to... joy?
Others have already commented that this feels like unprincipled optimism, and I agree. I also think that because this is something made to generate revenue through a social media platform, it's inherently performative and on-brand. His incentives pull toward keeping his audience happy.
Unfortunately, outcomes follow incentives, not optimism. If our economy comes to rely on RSI-enabled AI, most people will simply have no place in any industry it touches.