Scott Galloway: AI Wasn’t Built For You. The Rich Don’t Need You Anymore!

The brand of AI has significantly eroded over the last 18 months, with public perception becoming increasingly negative. This perception is directly correlated with wealth: only people making over $200,000 annually tend to view AI positively, seeing it as a portfolio booster and innovation. For the average middle-class person, AI is perceived as scary and a wealth creator exclusively for the already rich, exacerbating concerns about energy costs and job security.

Galloway states, 'Your view of AI is directly correlated to your wealth. The only cohort that has a positive rating of AI is people making over $200,000.'

Many public statements by AI CEOs, such as Elon Musk's prediction of 'AI and robots will replace all jobs' or Sam Altman's 'dystopian future' scenarios, are primarily a 'thinly veiled attempt' to inflate valuations and secure massive investments. The actual data on employment does not support an impending 'job apocalypse,' with current unemployment rates remaining low and new business permits doubling in the last decade.

Galloway asserts, 'I think it's mostly the catastrophizing is nothing more than thinly veiled attempt to say my technology is so devastating that it's going to shift society and you should invest at this crazy valuation.' He cites US unemployment at 4.5% and new business permits doubling.

While AI will cause disruption and job displacement in certain sectors (e.g., customer service, legal entry-level roles, long-haul trucking), it is expected to create more jobs overall in the medium to long term. The key is for individuals to adapt and upskill, becoming 'AI fluent' to leverage these technologies rather than be replaced by them. Examples include increased demand for radiologists and coders who can utilize AI as a supplement.

Galloway states, 'I believe over the medium and the long term it's actually going to create more jobs than it destroys.' He mentions radiologist job listings are up because AI supplements diagnosis, and coder listings are up 11%.

A 'nihilist vein' runs through big tech, where many billionaires have 'go bags' and elaborate plans to escape societal collapse (e.g., bunkers in New Zealand). This reflects a profound disassociation from the health and well-being of society, as their immense wealth allows them to bypass public services (private jets, concierge medicine, elite schools) and avoid the consequences of societal decline. Their focus remains on maximizing shareholder value, often at the expense of the 'tragedy of the commons'.

Galloway describes billionaires with 'go plans' and bunkers in New Zealand. He states, 'The 0.1% are not invested in the health of America' because they are 'sequestered from it.'

The US military action in the Middle East is characterized by 'operational excellence and strategic incompetence.' It was initiated with a miscalculation by the Trump administration, believing it could 'liberate the Middle East' after a successful Venezuela operation. However, a lack of coordination with allies, congressional briefing, and understanding of game theory has led to a 'quagmire,' diminishing the US brand globally and empowering adversaries like the IRGC. Iran is winning the 'AI meme war' through effective propaganda.

Galloway states, 'I would describe the war as being operational excellence and strategic incompetence.' He notes Iran is 'winning what you would call the slopp' through 'highly produced, highly effective' AI-driven memes.