Venkatesh Rao criticises AI elites for hoarding intelligence
What happened
On 3 November 2026, engineer Venkatesh Rao wrote in a blog post on Contraptions comparing current fears about AI to mercantilism: some elites treat intelligence as a scarce and dangerous resource, arguing it should be controlled by experts, kept expensive and restricted for rivals, and viewing open models as a threat. He argues AI will make previously too-difficult or too-costly projects feasible, that people will think more rather than be displaced, and that demand for creativity will grow; the political focus should be fair access to AI, not protecting traditional knowledge jobs.
Written by AI from the reports · updated 3 h ago
Timeline
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- The DecoderAI elites might hoard intelligence like mercantilists hoarded gold
Engineer Venkatesh Rao compares the fear of AI job losses to mercantilism: intelligence is treated as a scarce resource that elites want to control. But AI could boost demand for human thinking, much like early capitalism made people voluntarily work more.
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Current heat 9·Peak in the comparable range 9（Nov 3 07:00）·Change over 24 hours in the comparable range –
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