A reflective commentary on two essays by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei — 'Machines of Loving Grace' (2024) and 'The Adolescence of Technology' (2026). The author questions Amodei's core premise that intelligence scarcity is the primary bottleneck to human progress, arguing that societal and political resistance may be equally limiting. The post draws a striking parallel to Carl Sagan's 'Swamp of Camarina' parable and his asteroid defense dilemma: developing powerful AI, like developing asteroid deflection technology, may introduce risks that outweigh the benefits. The author laments the lack of philosophical depth in Amodei's essays given the gravity of the topics covered, including bioweapons, extinction risk, and the moral implications of super-human intelligence as a utility.
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