Think dairy farm, not strip mine
Good news: Artificial Super Intelligence won’t want to replace you, it’ll want to hire you.
New economics paper flips the script on AI doom.
Not because ASI will be aligned. Because it will be rational.
It’ll understand you're more valuable thriving than unemployed.
Think about Dune's spice economy.
The Emperor doesn't glass Arrakis—he needs the spice to flow.
When your wealth depends on someone else's productivity, you invest in their success.
ASI will run the same calculation.
You’re worth more to it employed.
Three forces could create surprisingly good outcomes:
Competition makes us free agents.
Imagine multiple ASIs bidding for human talent. Like LeBron choosing teams, except the teams are superintelligences recruiting you. The market keeps each ASI honest. Humans can always quit.
Patience makes us partners.
Digital minds think in centuries. They're more Warren Buffett than day traders. They’ll optimize for compound returns. That means investing in human education, healthcare, capability. Because skilled, healthy humans produce more over time.
Comparative advantage makes us irreplaceable.
Imagine Einstein doing your taxes. Technically possible. But his brain's worth more solving relativity. Same with ASI. Its processing power will (in this economist’s view) be too expensive for tasks humans do naturally. Physical work. Emotional intelligence. Cultural fluency. You're the specialized contractor it subcontracts to.
The paper models this explicitly:
ASI provides healthcare, education, resources.
Not charity. Economics. Healthy humans produce more.
Think dairy farming, not strip mining.
What survives?
Work requiring physical presence. Reading a room. Coordinating humans. The messy, embodied tasks that aren't pure compute. You're the master craftsman, not the factory worker. And humans retain leverage. We can withhold future production, forcing ASI to pay upfront. Labor unions negotiating, not ants under a magnifying glass.
Not because ASI loves us.
Because we're profitable.
And profit keeps the servers running.
Your job security depends on staying valuable.
Building skills with low ASI opportunity cost.
Being the specialist it can't afford to lose.
What uniquely human capability are you doubling down on?
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Source: Some Economics of Artificial Super Intelligence, Thompson, Nov 10 2025