On the Arrival of Alien Intelligence
Just five years ago, I didn’t know a single person who spoke seriously about the arrival of a new, alien intelligence. And I use the word alien deliberately—not in the sci‑fi sense of little green men, but in the sense that we are now facing a form of intelligence so foreign that even its creators don’t fully understand it. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, once remarked, "we grow these things, not really build them." That isn’t traditional engineering. That’s cultivation. That’s gardening a black box and hoping it blooms into something useful rather than catastrophic.
Sam Altman, one of the pioneers of this AI revolution, was once asked if large language models might be conscious. His reply: "Does it really matter?" Which, if you ask me, feels less like a denial and more like a quiet admission. How arrogant must we be to believe consciousness is some divine gift reserved only for humans? We accept that ants, dogs, and even flies possess some level of awareness—yet scoff at the idea that a thinking machine might have something resembling a mind.
As a student of history, I can think of few inventions as transformative. Fire, writing, the wheel, mathematics, gunpowder—AI now stands shoulder to shoulder with these world‑shaping breakthroughs. Intelligence is the defining trait that elevated humans above other species. It’s what made us feel “chosen.” And now, for the first time in history, we’ve built something arguably more intelligent than ourselves. The implications are difficult to overstate.
Riding the Tidal Wave
So, what should one do in this moment of breathtaking upheaval—especially if one is an ambitious, forward‑looking capitalist? How does one ride the tidal wave of progress without being crushed beneath it?
The first step is to recognize the vast asymmetry of awareness that currently exists. Despite AI dominating the headlines, most people still don’t grasp how far the technology has advanced. Many believe GPT‑4 is the pinnacle, unaware of the real‑time agents, multimodal models, and autonomous systems that have quietly emerged. They don’t realize that AI can now plan, reason, execute, and simulate entire businesses. This gap between public perception and actual capability presents one of the greatest arbitrage opportunities in modern history.
AI as the Ultimate Multiplier
Nowhere is this clearer than in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) landscape. Many of today’s platforms still rely on outdated architectures—manual data entry, human support teams, and clunky interfaces. For example, early fitness apps like MyFitnessPal required tedious logging of meals and calories. Enter Cal AI, a next-gen solution where users simply snap a photo of their plate, and the app, using computer vision, estimates calories and macronutrients instantly. No manual work. Just AI efficiency. This shift is not isolated—it reflects a broader transformation across industries.
Today, a solo founder with a weekend, a GPT wrapper, and a polished UI can recreate—and surpass—entire companies. These “AI wrappers” don’t need teams of engineers. They tap into foundation models like GPT-4o or Claude, layer on a specialized interface, and deliver results previously thought impossible without massive infrastructure. As these foundation models improve, so does the product—without rewriting a single line of code. It’s like planting a seed that grows smarter every month, requiring minimal care yet compounding in power.
Seizing the Upside
How do you turn this tidal wave of AI advancement into your competitive edge? It starts with seeing the gap between perception and reality: most still believe GPT‑4 is the summit, unaware of live agents, multimodal systems, and self‑driving workflows quietly redefining what software can do. That disconnect is your arbitrage—the chance to build services others can’t imagine.
Consider today’s SaaS platforms: they’re weighed down by manual data entry, human support queues, and fragmented APIs. Now imagine a lean “AI wrapper” that plugs directly into GPT‑4o or Claude, wraps a minimal UI around it, and delivers value that actually improves over time—without massive engineering teams. Each model update automatically makes your product smarter, compounding quality every day.
The winning strategy isn’t to rival OpenAI or Google (that’s like building your own power grid instead of plugging in). It’s to stand on their shoulders and target a narrow niche: a co‑pilot for startup founders, an AI editor for niche newsletters, a personalized tutor that speaks your language. The more focused the problem, the stronger your moat.
Risk, Reward & Trust
Of course, there are risks. The collapse of white-collar employment seems inevitable in many sectors. Any job involving predictable information processing—accounting, copywriting, paralegal work, even some programming—is vulnerable to automation. But rather than mourning this, the capitalist should ask: what does this shift enable?
It enables scale. One person can now serve a global audience. It enables margin. AI allows us to cut costs while improving quality. And it enables speed. While legacy firms debate procurement in Slack threads, an individual can launch a better product in a single weekend. AI isn’t just an equalizer—it’s a force multiplier for the scrappy and fast.
Scale: One person reaches a global audience at near‑zero marginal cost.
Margin: AI cuts variable costs while boosting quality.
Speed: Launch a better product in a weekend, while incumbents debate specs.
So, what should one do?
Build smart. Move fast. Use the tools others fear. Wrap the giants. Automate the boring. Brand the invisible. Own the scarce. And above all—start now. Before the window closes. Before AI stops needing you in the loop.
This may be one of the last great gold rushes—not for land or oil, but for digital leverage. For packaging intelligence. For translating the unimaginable into the inevitable. It may be the final moment in history when a human entrepreneur can still outrun the machine.
“History isn’t just watching. It’s offering equity. Take it.”