Part 10/15:

He discusses the economics of deployment, noting that bits and software are much cheaper and more adaptable than physical hardware—like self-driving cars—making widespread AI deployment more feasible. However, he cautions that the deployment rate depends heavily on safety guarantees and societal acceptance, particularly in safety-critical domains like self-driving vehicles or healthcare.

The Long-term Trajectory and Societal Impact

Addressing whether AI and superintelligence will result in a qualitatively different civilization, Karpathy views progress as a continuation and extension of automation. He predicts a gradual, perhaps diffusive, spread of autonomous entities acting on behalf of humans, rather than a sudden “intelligence explosion” or singular event.