Breaking the Intelligence Curse (with Luke Drago)

Luke Drago is the co-founder of Workshop Labs and co-author of the essay series “The Intelligence Curse”. The essay series explores what happens if AI becomes the dominant factor of production thereby reducing incentives to invest in people. We explore pyramid replacement in firms, economic warning signs to monitor, automation barriers like tacit knowledge, privacy risks in AI training, and tensions between centralized AI safety and democratization. Luke discusses Workshop Labs’ privacy-preserving approach and advises taking career risks during this technological transition.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(00:55) Intelligence Curse Introduction

(02:55) AI vs Historical Technology

(07:22) Economic Metrics and Indicators

(11:23) Pyramid Replacement Theory

(17:28) Human Judgment and Taste

(22:25) Data Privacy and Control

(28:55) Dystopian Economic Scenario

(35:04) Resource Curse Lessons

(39:57) Culture vs Economic Forces

(47:15) Open Source AI Debate

(54:37) Corporate Mission Evolution

(59:07) AI Alignment and Loyalty

(01:05:56) Moonshots and Career Advice