The Adolescence of Technology

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darioamodei.com
darioamodei.com Saved Tuesday, January 27, 2026 Readwise
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This article strongly resonates and has clear angles for your perspective

Quick Take

Amodei lays out five major AI risk categories (autonomy, misuse for destruction, power seizure, economic disruption, indirect effects) with concrete timelines (1-2 years for powerful AI). For Brian, the economic disruption section is particularly relevant—50% of entry-level white-collar jobs displaced in 1-5 years, plus massive wealth concentration effects that could reshape his industry and career planning.

Relevant Domains

AI/agents/future of software work - Core focus on how AI will transform engineering roles Engineering craft/architecture/productivity - Direct implications for how he builds systems Side projects/automation/earning from skills - Opportunities and threats to his business models Personal finance/risk/long-term planning - Wealth concentration and economic disruption implications

Blog Angles

1

"The 1-5 Year Software Engineering Survival Guide"

Thesis

Smart engineers should be building AI-amplified skills now, not waiting for disruption

Your Hook

His experience with Claude already writing "all or almost all" code at Anthropic vs. his current workflow

2

"Why I'm Betting My Side Projects on AI Displacement, Not AI Replacement"

Thesis

The real opportunity is building tools for the transition period, not competing with AI directly

Your Hook

His print-on-demand automation and Chrome extensions as examples of human-AI collaboration

3

"The Fintech Engineer's Guide to AI Economic Disruption"

Thesis

Financial services will be hit early and hard—here's how to position yourself

Your Hook

His credit-card-linked offers platform and how AI could transform financial product development

4

"Building for the 'Country of Geniuses': An Engineer's Practical Response"

Thesis

Instead of panicking about AI capabilities, focus on building systems that leverage rather than compete with them

Your Hook

His current AI integrations and webhook work as foundation for AI-native architecture

Key Quotes

AI is already writing much of the code at Anthropic
50% of entry-level white-collar jobs displaced in 1-5 years
Country of geniuses in a datacenter... operating with a time advantage: for every cognitive action we can take, this country can take ten
GDP growth is 10–20% a year and AI is rapidly taking over the economy, yet single individuals hold appreciable fractions of the GDP
Claude Opus 4.5... performs better on a performance engineering interview frequently given at Anthropic than any interviewee in the history of the company

Tags

#ai-displacement #engineering-career #economic-disruption #ai-agents #side-projects #fintech #automation-opportunities