Intelligent Machines (Audio) IM 847: Caked Up Football Man - Why Small AIs Are Smarter
20 snips
Nov 27, 2025 
Imad Mostaque, founder of Stability AI and creator of Stable Diffusion, dives into the concept of 'intelligence inversion.' He predicts a future where AI could outsmart human cognitive labor, potentially rendering traditional jobs extinct. Mostaque showcases the rise of small, specialized AIs that can outperform humans in various tasks. He emphasizes the shift from generic models to tiny, domain-specific systems, arguing that adapting to AI's capabilities will be crucial for future generations. His insights on AI's role in education and the economy are both provocative and enlightening.
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The Intelligence Inversion Is Coming
- Emad Mostaque argues we’re entering an “intelligence inversion” where AI becomes the economically dominant cognitive worker.
- He predicts human cognitive labor will lose value as multi-hour agentic AIs outperform people on complex workflows.
Automate Workflows Not Single Tasks
- Focus AI on full workflows, not single tasks; agentic flows create economic value by chaining tasks with verifiers.
- Design AI to run proactive cycles that adjust prompts and context to complete complex goals like campaigns.
A Unit Of Intelligence Is Nearly Free
- Unit costs of AI intelligence have plunged from hundreds per million tokens to pennies, making replacement economical.
- Emad extrapolates that replacing an accountant could cost only about ten dollars a year at current trends.
