The information age was the age of the nerds — it had enabled humans with high intelligence to flourish. But the AI age might strip many of those advantages away.
That’s the provocative thesis put forward by legendary programmer John Carmack in a recent post on X. The co-founder of id Software and former CTO of Oculus argues that we’re entering an era where the traditional advantages of raw intelligence may matter less than the willingness to act decisively and trust AI guidance.
Carmack observes that the modern economy has disproportionately rewarded individuals who combine high intelligence with high agency—the ability to take action and make things happen. But as artificial intelligence systems increasingly automate cognitive tasks that once required exceptional human intellect, this dynamic may fundamentally shift.
“The modern age has richly rewarded people with a combination of high intelligence and high agency. Now that many aspects of intelligence are successfully being automated, it seems likely that people with relatively lower intelligence but exceptional agency will come into their own if they are willing to egolessly accept AI advice. Now that many aspects of intelligence are successfully being automated, it seems likely that people with relatively lower intelligence but exceptional agency will come into their own if they are willing to egolessly accept AI advice,” Carmack wrote.
The key qualifier in his observation is egolessness—the willingness to trust and act on AI recommendations without letting pride or assumptions get in the way. To illustrate the concept, Carmack offers a striking hypothetical: a ruthless criminal who completely trusts their always-on AI glasses, knowing the system is looking out for their best interests rather than scheming to betray them.
While the example is deliberately extreme, it highlights a crucial point about the coming shift. Success in an AI-augmented world may depend less on being the smartest person in the room and more on being the most willing to leverage artificial intelligence effectively. Those who can suppress their ego, trust algorithmic guidance, and execute rapidly could gain significant advantages over those with higher raw intelligence who hesitate or second-guess AI recommendations.
This represents a fundamental inversion of information age dynamics. For decades, the tech industry and knowledge economy have been dominated by those who could out-think others—the engineers, analysts, and strategists whose cognitive abilities gave them an edge. But if AI can provide that cognitive firepower on demand, the differentiator becomes execution ability rather than analytical capacity.
The implications extend far beyond individual career trajectories. Organizations may need to reconsider how they hire, promote, and structure teams. Rather than optimizing solely for credentials and IQ proxies, companies might benefit from identifying individuals who demonstrate high agency and comfort with AI collaboration.
There are, of course, significant caveats to Carmack’s vision. The reliability and alignment of AI systems remains an open question—egoless trust requires trustworthy systems. Issues of AI bias, hallucination, and misalignment could severely punish those who follow bad advice with high agency. The transition period, where some domains are well-served by AI while others remain treacherous, may create new risks.
Additionally, intelligence and agency are not perfectly separable traits. High agency without sufficient judgment to evaluate when AI guidance is appropriate could be as problematic as high intelligence without the will to act.
Yet Carmack’s core insight remains compelling. We may be witnessing the early stages of a historic shift in which the economic value of raw cognitive ability begins to decline as AI systems commoditize intelligence. In such a world, the winners may not be those who can think the best thoughts, but those who can most effectively harness AI to amplify their ability to act.
The information age belonged to the brilliant. The AI age may belong to the bold.