Thiel is skeptical of the superintelligence cascade theory—that sufficiently smart AI will automatically unlock progress in the world of atoms (curing dementia, building factories and rockets)—because the gating factor on progress has not been IQ; we have had many smart people and things stayed stuck for other, deeper societal reasons.
causalpending
Speaker
Peter ThielEvidence Quote
“that suggests that the gating factor isn't IQ, but something that's deeply wrong with our society.”
Source
A.I., Mars and Immortality: Are We Dreaming Big Enough? | Interesting Times with Ross Douthat— Interesting Times with Ross DouthatCreated: 6/18/2026, 2:32:27 PM
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