On Finding Purpose in a World with AGI

I decided to put pen to paper, or in this instance keystrokes to a word document, to leave myself with something to reflect on in a few years once AGI becomes a feasible and accessible tool. I find myself in the position of those who were predicting the shape of the world when the Wright brother made their Maiden flight. Many expected the ubiquitous spread of flight technology to every family. A world in which everyone flies a plane to work, few if any, expected commercial jetliners, and the Enola Gay.

Opinions on the impact of such a transformative technology range from “a powerful tool to improve productivity” to “the deletion of white-collar jobs” and potentially the end of civilization. I am not in the business of making such predictions, but what I will reflect on is the nature of intrinsic motivation, and finding purpose when so much has already been automated.

Some of the observations I make, relate to AI as it is in early 2026, and some of it is more forward looking, in anticipation of a future Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Model

Education and Professional Milestones

My life has been punctuated like many, by reaching iterative academic and professional milestones. The knowledge economy has made it such that an education, combined with work ethic and a certain number of skills, can provide one with an entry into the market. Most driven individuals wake up everyday in the hopes of progressing further to that next milestone. With AI already automating the knowledge economy and creating an environment in which there is very little direct competitive advantage in possessing education or knowhow within a certain field, I wonder how that will shape the motivation of students deciding on academic pursuits.

One could argue that elite education will revert to first principles, and that an educated person will start to resemble that of educated aristocrats of the old. Whereby tuition will focus on matters of mathematics, philosophy, and history. Areas with arguably less direct translation to a job description, but ones that equip a scholar with a wide range of intellectual tools, and certain ability to examine the world.

Many speak of a new emergence of a gig economy, whereby the career ladder is no longer a constraint, and as exciting as that might be for some, it also destroys a certain level of stability and predictability that has in the past allowed individuals to plan their lives, financially and professionally over the long term.

The End of Entrepreneurship and Scientific Discovery

AI has already showcased itself to be an incredible tool in assisting small businesses, as the backend can be automated. A person with an interesting idea can create a minimum viable product with very little capital outlay, and potentially bring it to market rapidly. However, the reduction of barriers to entry can also create an environment of “start-up slop” whereby there is an oversaturation of weak business models entering and exiting the markets, and startups are taken less seriously, especially when a lot of their business models end up being a mere feature update on Claude.

A more stark problem can arise with AGI, whereby if such a model is intelligent enough to allocate all resources efficiently, to spot market gaps, and to come up with solutions to address such gaps, then all novel business models will be generated by AI, and thus no entrepreneur can find, and capitalize on such a gap. This will likely not be the case with smaller, localized mom and pop shops, but one could argue that the era of software unicorns could be over. The reduction of the barriers to entry, will reduce the incentives for people to pursue the experiences that used to give them the ladder to get over those barriers, and in most instances, those ladders (experience, failure, education, mentorship etc…) are more important to the human experience than what one accomplishes with them.

With respect to scientific research, iterative R&D, which has pushed the human pursuit for progress. AGI could theoretically take over the field. Granted, scientists will still be doing physical research for empirical data, but long gone would be finding theorems in theoretical physics and mathematics.

The Hollowing out of the Bottom of the Pyramid

Someone coined the term of the Bermuda Triangle of talent: Consulting, Finance, and Corporate Law. All fields in which juniors are feeling immense pressure of getting replaced by AI. Forgoing the obvious issue of creating a future lack of “managers” due to squashing the talent pipeline. Introducing to the labor market a great deal of high potential, intelligent, yet unemployed and underutilized talent, other than being a great tragedy, could create leaders of very unsavory social movements. For how many times in history have despots risen by shrewdness under difficult circumstances.

The Pitfall of the Great Abundance

Some claim that the productivity generated by AGI could yield a world with great abundance, cheaper goods, etc… Some also suggest a measure such as Universal Basic Income (a matter I view with extreme skepticism)

Even assuming that all humans are provided for, and live in this form of Utopia whereby their needs are provided for, and they can engage their time in leisurely activities and artistic pursuits. Without the need for one to create productive output, such an existence would be merely an exercise in hedonism. One must remember that the last time a people was promised with shared abundance, we ended up with collectivized farms and mass famines.

A Hope

I hope that in retrospect, I read this entry in a few years, and laugh about how wrong I, and everyone else was. I hope this new technology ushers in a wave of reasonably equitable prosperity. I hope that we will still have things to aspire towards, and accomplishments to make. I hope that I am wrong.