gm, welcome back to interop/acc.
Most of the time on this podcast, we talk about interop. But sometimes you notice something big happening outside your usual scope, and you can't help but follow the thread.
This episode is about AI. I think it's the only other technology right now, besides crypto, that is obviously going to change everything about our lives. I don’t just mean jobs or productivity, though that is already happening, but something deeper: how we think about intelligence itself, and how we interact with the systems and people around us - and I think these changes will accelerate exponentially from here on.
Today’s guest is Arjun Bhuptani. While all of us know him as the co-founder of Everclear and one of the more thoughtful voices in interoperability, he’s also someone who’s been paying close attention to AI. If you’ve read his posts on Twitter, you know what I’m talking about.
We recorded this episode because I wanted to understand how someone who thinks so clearly about systems and incentives is thinking about AI: its impact on society, on crypto, on the way we live, and maybe even on the idea of being human.
Here are a few takeways from the episode that will stay with me:
1. Your Competition Isn’t AI, It’s AI-Augmented Humans.
The first thing we usually hear when someone talks about the impact of AI is that a lot of people are going to lose their jobs. Sam Altman often brings this up - his go-to example is customer service. AI is already outperforming humans in that role.
While that point is valid and worth discussing, there’s another side to AI’s impact on jobs that’s often overlooked: AI alone might not take your job - but a curious, problem-solving human who knows how to use AI definitely will.
This quote from the episode says it all:
"People mistakenly believe that AI is your competition, but it's not... Your competition is not AI models. It's AI-augmented humans. It's the superhuman ability for someone who actually knows how to use this stuff to like really just knock you out of the park."
2. Intelligence Becomes a Commodity, Authenticity Becomes Priceless.
One of the more surprising outcomes of AI becoming widely accessible is that the textbook kind of intelligence is not scarce anymore. An AI can already write code, answer trivia, and write essays. Although it’s still pretty average at things that require creativity but it’s only getting better and is arguably better than the average person.
When AGI can perform any intellectual task instantly, the value of "book smarts" and learned knowledge plummets. As Arjun puts it, "nerds are cooked." For all we know is how to solve problems with code and logic but what all of us in crypto lack to some extent are social skills, things that perhaps make you a better person are hardest for an AI to authentically replicate: taste, intuition, charisma, empathy, and genuine creativity. You can’t prompt those into existence.
In a world flooded with AI-generated text and images, the imperfect, real "human touch" becomes the ultimate premium good. The focus will shift from what you know to who you are.
So, go touch grass and talk to humans – maybe even call your mom.
3. Crypto Can Help Build the Guardrails for a Safe AI Future.
One of the best parts of this conversation was how it reminded me why I got into crypto in the first place.
If you think crypto is just speculation and memes, this episode will give you hope again. Arjun makes the case that crypto has a serious role to play in making sure AI doesn’t destroy us.
Crypto gives us tools to build verifiable systems. That matters a lot in a world full of hallucinating AI models, deepfakes, and automated decision-makers. Well, crypto can fix this. You can use blockchains to build systems that can’t lie. You can use ZK-proofs to verify truth without revealing private data. You can use crypto-native primitives to create accountability for AIs that otherwise feel like black boxes.
The episode made me optimistic again, not just about AI, but about what crypto is for. I think more people should be talking about this, or more people should atleast know that crypto can be used in this way, to improve something as critical as AI.
I learned a lot from this one. I hope you enjoy the episode.
- Jun
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