From Peak Horse to Peak Human: How AI Could Replace Us (with Calum Chace)

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Show Notes

On this episode, Calum Chace joins me to discuss the transformative impact of AI on employment, comparing the current wave of cognitive automation to historical technological revolutions. We talk about "universal generous income", fully-automated luxury capitalism, and redefining education with AI tutors. We end by examining verification of artificial agents and the ethics of attributing consciousness to machines.

Learn more about Calum's work here: https://calumchace.com

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Preview and intro

00:03:02 Past tech revolutions and AI-driven unemployment

00:05:43 Cognitive automation: from secretaries to every job

00:08:02 The “peak horse” analogy and avoiding human obsolescence

00:10:55 Infinite demand and lump of labor

00:18:30 Fully-automated luxury capitalism

00:23:31 Abundance economy and a potential employment cliff

00:29:37 Education reimagined with personalized AI tutors

00:36:22 Real-world uses of LLMs: memory, drafting, emotional insight

00:42:56 Meaning beyond jobs: aristocrats, retirees, and kids