Abundant intelligence
What will we value when intellect is no longer scarce?
A recent piece, The 2028 global intelligence crisis, simulates a future with abundant machine intelligence, noting:
For the entirety of modern economic history, human intelligence has been the scarce input. … Nobody’s framework fits, because none were designed for a world where the scarce input became abundant.
This raises a profound question: What will humans value next in a world replete with artificial intelligence?1
Historically, human progress has been defined by overcoming shifting frontiers of scarcity: Physical Strength → Intelligence → Wisdom → Creativity
For most of human history, physical strength was the limiting factor of human achievement, until we invented machines that don’t tire. Today, intelligence is the bottleneck. But in the next few decades, it is highly plausible that intelligence, once a scarce resource, will become a widely available commodity.
When intellectual power is everwhere, its mere possession loses its premium. Instead, what becomes valuable is the wise application of that power. When anyone can effortlessly execute complex tasks with the help of powerful AIs, the ability to act thoughtfully and harmlessly will be held in the highest societal regard.
Wisdom as the New Frontier
In a world where intellect is abundant, Wisdom will become the critical bottleneck.
Wisdom in the age of AGI will require:
Proportionate use of power: Knowing when to deploy immense AI capabilities, and when restraint is the better option.
Consideration of externalities: Looking beyond the immediate goal to anticipate the second and third-order consequences of an action on society.
Pursuing the optimal good: Recognizing that taking a "good" action should never be an excuse to forgo a better one.
What’s next after we have mastered wisdom?
If society manages to master wisdom, what is left? The answer lies in Creativity.
Because the future is inherently unknowable, creativity will be the ultimate frontier. Even when AGI can execute any idea we give it, humanity will still need to decide what is worth exploring. Resisting stagnation, defining new subjective meanings, and continuously searching for novel ways to imagine and act will become our endless pursuit.
Lesser AGI (2030) and Greater AGI (2045). https://faeinitiative.substack.com/p/catalogue-of-agis