Venkatesh Rao argues AI could raise demand for human intelligence

When AI makes more thinking affordable

The parallel is about demand, not working conditions. Rao’s point is that cheaper access to a capability can lead people to use more of it: as AI lowers the cost of attempting ambitious projects, the appetite for ideas may grow.

Access, not job protection

That argument shifts the political question. Rao says attention should go to fair access to AI, rather than protecting jobs built around knowledge that is becoming outdated.

AI agents could also run projects on their own and create new demand for intelligence. But Rao does not describe autonomous systems as tools that should simply carry out orders. They need constraints, while retaining some ability to act independently.

The scarce resource may be judgment

I think the argument is strongest as a warning against treating job preservation as the only measure of how AI affects people. If AI enables projects that were previously too complex or costly, the value may move toward deciding what to attempt and how to guide it—not merely doing the work.

What I’d want to know is who gets access to those capabilities, and who sets the limits on agents that can run projects. Without answers, the promise of more demand for intelligence could still leave the ability to direct it in few hands.