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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 26, 2026

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mature AI simply renders human intelligence obsolete

I’m skeptical, because intelligence includes just knowing what to ask the AI or dealing with whatever it inflicts on you.

It’s true that in an AI dystopia, intelligence won’t stop you from being tortured or gunned down by an AI drone, but this is true today and was true s/drone/barbarian/ millennia ago.

Those who have any opportunity, intelligence still matters. And the only way everyone will have zero opportunity is if AI kills us all. Even if it fully provides for you, there’s still opportunity in self-actualization (which includes things like, figuring out your favorite food) that I doubt ASI can completely provide. And even if it can self-actualize you, even if it can fully simulate and predict your brain, then you still have “intelligence” in every meaningful way, just simulated by the AI (in the same way we could be or not be living in a perfect simulation, but it doesn’t matter because it doesn’t change anything).

Well sure, human intelligence is only obsolete to the extent artificial intelligence is available as a replacement. There are scenarios where it's not that widely available, but I don't think they're very likely (possibly besides AI killing us all). As we transition to a bread-and-circuses model for keeping the useless masses content (which we probably will because it will be cheaper and less risky than other approaches once AI drives the marginal cost of labor down far enough), direct AI access provides good bang-for-the-buck.

In terms of self actualization: people can self-actualize by doing things inefficiently -- say, playing chess without an engine -- but that doesn't make it not-inefficient. When I say 'obsolete' I mean 'devoid of instrumental purpose,' not necessarily any purpose. Though I suppose playing chess well without an engine, while not high-status in any absolute sense, is certainly higher status than playing it well with one, so maybe that is a flaw in my definition or reasoning.

Human intelligence is valuable even with artificial intelligence, unless it's practically omniscient, because intelligence includes the ability to prompt the LLM correctly. Even if it's perfectly aligned, unless it's practically omniscient, it can't know what you truly want, part of self-actualization, you must figure that out on your own.