ForeCast Politics and Power Post-Automation (with David Duvenaud)
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Sep 25, 2025 David Duvenaud, an associate professor at the University of Toronto and a co-author of 'Gradual Disempowerment', shares insights on the societal impacts of advanced AI. He discusses job protection measures as automation progresses, the evolution of credentialing systems, and the rise of political activism due to increased leisure time. Duvenaud warns of the moral stakes in losing human bargaining power and stresses the need for concrete visions for a post-AGI world, advocating for strong institutions to safeguard human interests.
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Bifurcated Post-AI Labor Market
- Advanced AI will create a bifurcated society: protected make-work roles and a large segment with abundant leisure or activism.
- Human oversight will often be rubber-stamp and symbolic because AI outputs will be clearly superior.
Regulatory Sinecures Protect Jobs
- Regulations and credential requirements create persistent sinecures that protect groups from automation.
- As automation rises, these regulatory protections will likely expand and entrench special interests.
More Free Time Fuels Activism
- With more leisure, many people will shift into activism or identity-driven movements that compete for state attention.
- Governments will prefer policies that keep people busy and stable to avoid instability from abundant free time.