Emad Mostaque argues that as AI makes intelligence abundant (e.g., free expert medical advice), our economic system, which is built on scarcity, interprets the resulting job displacement and disruption as poverty, even if overall well-being improves.
AI is separating computation (the 'how') from consciousness (the 'why'). In a future of material and intellectual abundance, human purpose shifts away from productive labor towards activities AI cannot replicate: exploring beauty, justice, community, and creating shared meaning—the domain of consciousness.
Emad Mostaque proposes that the math behind generative AI can describe economic systems. In this framework, Adam Smith's theories map to "gradient flows" (scarcity), Marx's to "circular flows" (compounding intelligence), and Hayek's to "harmonic flows" (structural rules).
When all major AI models are trained on the same internet data, they develop similar internal representations ("latent spaces"). This creates a monoculture where a single exploit or "memetic virus" could compromise all AIs simultaneously, arguing for the necessity of diverse datasets and training methods.
Beyond automating tasks, Emad Mostaque's "Intelligence Theory" suggests AI's deepest impact is shifting the foundational axiom of economics. Instead of scarcity, the new core principle is persistence: how complex systems (like firms or AIs) maintain themselves by accurately modeling and predicting reality.
The assumption that startups can build on frontier model APIs is temporary. Emad Mostaque predicts that once models are sufficiently capable, labs like OpenAI will cease API access and use their superior internal models to outcompete businesses in every sector, fulfilling their AGI mission.
AI agents, powered by GPUs, don't need to eat, sleep, or consume goods. This "metabolic rift" breaks the traditional economic loop where labor's earnings fuel consumption, creating a system where production is divorced from human needs and participation.
Historically, humans moved from manual to cognitive labor as technology automated physical tasks. Emad Mostaque argues AI now automates cognitive work, creating an "intelligence inversion." There's no obvious higher-value domain left for human labor to escape to, unlike previous technological shifts.
Emad Mostaque proposes a new digital currency where mining is replaced by dedicating compute to public-good AI projects like cancer research. The value of the "Foundation Coin" is backed by its direct contribution to human benefit, creating an incentive structure for building aligned, open-source AI infrastructure.
Emad Mostaque argues that the math for a tax-funded Universal Basic Income (UBI) doesn't work. Providing even a poverty-level UBI in the U.S. would cost $5 trillion, the entire federal tax base. Corporate taxes from AI giants wouldn't come close, necessitating a fundamental rethinking of how money is created and distributed.