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 4 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.
Heat of this event
Current heat 8·Peak in the comparable range 9（Nov 3 07:00）·Change over 24 hours in the comparable range –
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