Import AI 397: DeepSeek means AI proliferation is guaranteed; maritime wardrones; and more evidence of LLM capability overhangs
Welcome to Import AI, a newsletter about AI research.
Jack Clark
But beneath all of this I have a sense of lurking horror - AI systems have got so useful that the thing that will set humans apart from one another is not specific hard-won skills for utilizing AI systems, but rather just having a high level of curiosity and agency.
In other words, in the era where these AI systems are true 'everything machines', people will out-compete one another by being increasingly bold and agentic (pun intended!) in how they use these systems, rather than in developing specific technical skills to interface with the systems.
DeepSeek FAQ
DeepSeek has completely upended people’s expectations for AI and competition with China. What is it, and why does it matter?
What fully automated firms will look like
Everyone is sleeping on the *collective* advantages AIs will have, which have nothing to do with raw IQ - they can be copied, distilled, merged, scaled, and evolved in ways humans simply can’t.
Dwarkesh Patel
Deepseek: The Quiet Giant Leading China’s AI Race
Annotated translation of its CEO’s deepest interview
Jordan Schneider
Only fools think Elon is incompetent
Underestimate a man like this at your peril.
Noah Smith