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AI will enable people with imagination more than it will enable people with money

“Most of the people I know working in AI—and I might have a biased sample size—are people who are inspired about fixing the world. They grew up on sci-fi, and they're from a really cool science fiction intellectual tradition that feels really modern, really American. I first got really caught up in that because, you know, in 2020 and stuff I was like, "Wow, the whole world is sad," and here everyone's really excited. Everyone's really happy, and everyone really wants to build America and really wants to make something great. But they are also fighting market forces. They're also just trying to stay alive.”

When a restaurant gets a Michelin star: Customer expectations rise, employee wage demands rise, suppliers expect you to pay more, and the restaurant is more likely to go out of business in the ensuing years.

Jerry Seinfeld saying Jerry Seinfeld things is amazing

What do you think has replaced film?

Depression? Malaise? I would say confusion.Disorientation replaced the movie business. Everyone I know in show business, every day, is going, What’s going on? How do you do this? What are we supposed to do now?

Do you feel the same way, or are you grandfathered in?

I’ve done enough stuff that I have my own thing, which is more valuable than it’s ever been. Stand-up is like you’re a cabinetmaker, and everybody needs a guy who’s good with wood.

Break down that metaphor for me.

There’s trees everywhere, but to make a nice table, it’s not so easy. So, the metaphor is that if you have good craft and craftsmanship, you’re kind of impervious to the whims of the industry. Audiences are now flocking to stand-up because it’s something you can’t fake. It’s like platform diving. You could say you’re a platform diver, but in two seconds we can see if you are or you aren’t. That’s what people like about stand-up. They can trust it. Everything else is fake.