The Artificial Intelligence Show – Episode 193

Date: January 27, 2026
Hosts: Paul Roetzer (A) and Mike Kaput (B)
Main Topics: AGI at Davos, Amazon Layoffs, AI in Course Creation, OpenAI Cybersecurity Warnings, Claude Constitution, Credit-Based AI Pricing

Episode Overview

This action-packed episode dives deep into high-impact AI news and trends—including explosive AGI talk at Davos, massive Amazon layoffs attributed to AI, behind-the-scenes details on how the hosts use AI to supercharge course creation, OpenAI’s stark cybersecurity warnings, the philosophy behind Anthropic’s new Claude Constitution, and a reality check on shifting “credit-based” AI pricing. Throughout, Paul and Mike provide dynamic, sometimes sobering, expert commentary on what matters right now for AI-driven businesses and professionals.

Key Segments & Takeaways

[05:10] – AGI as the Centerpiece at Davos

Main Points:

• Davos 2026 saw AGI take center stage, making headlines with warnings and predictions from Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
  • Amodei: Predicts AI may exceed human capability in most fields—including Nobel Prize-level research—as soon as 2026–2027.
  • Hassabis: Gives a 50% chance of AGI by 2030.
  • Both warn AGI could "break traditional economic models" and expect disruption "10x bigger and 10x faster than the Industrial Revolution.”

    “This will be 10 times bigger and 10 times faster than the Industrial Revolution in terms of disruption.” — Demis Hassabis, [05:58]

  • Predicted scenario: 5-10% GDP growth with 10%+ unemployment (Amodei).
• Key insight: The hosts clarify that “AGI” means different things depending on the speaker. Amodei pushes “powerful AI” as his preferred term—systems smarter than Nobel prize-winners, functioning as “a country of geniuses in a data center.”
• Hassabis’ definition is more holistic: full human-level cognitive and creative capabilities, plus physical intelligence—he sees true AGI as still 5-10 years out.
• Paul’s advice: Don’t get too fixated on timelines—the tech will reshape work well before AGI by any strict definition.

  “So my point is, don’t get caught up in whether or not Demis thinks it’s five to ten years or Dario thinks it’s one to two. They’re not talking about the same thing, and it’s likely not even something that affects you in the near term.” — Paul Roetzer, [14:10]

[21:26] – Economic Divergence, Layoffs, and AI Acceleration

Main Points:

• White House Council of Economic Advisors report: Warns AI could spark a “Great Divergence,” where AI-leading nations/firms race ahead like in the Industrial Revolution.
• IMF at Davos: Managing director Kristalina Georgieva calls AI “a tsunami hitting the labor market,” with up to 60% of jobs in advanced economies affected—middle-class roles most at risk.
• Amazon layoffs: Rumored elimination of 14,000 corporate jobs (part of a 30,000 white-collar layoff plan).
  • CEO Andy Jassy’s memos (June 2025) make clear that “AI agents will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.”

  “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today and more people doing other types of jobs…we expect this will reduce our total corporate workforce.” — Andy Jassy, [35:59]

• Paul’s insider view: Layoffs are absolutely coming, and AI is the real reason—even if firms won’t say so publicly.
• The “AI adoption gap” was highlighted (see Kevin Roose’s viral tweet): advanced users are pushing the boundaries, while most employees have only minimal exposure.

  “People in San Francisco are putting multi-agent Claude swarms in charge of their lives… People elsewhere are still trying to get approval to use Copilot.” — Kevin Roose, cited at [34:47]

[38:59] – AI-Accelerated Course Creation at the AI Academy

Main Points:

• Behind the Curtain: Mike shares detailed workflows showing how the team uses AI as a “research engine, assistant, and co-worker” to create and update expansive course content at unprecedented velocity.
  • Master templates and outlines are AI-assisted, based on organizational pedagogy.
  • Deep research via Gemini/Claude, with sources integrated into NotebookLM for efficient verification.
  • AI scripting accelerates course narrative prep; experiments ongoing in AI-created slide decks.
• Benefit: Time-intensive manual prep now replaced by strategic thinking and nuanced customization for users; allows fast adaptation to AI’s rapidly evolving landscape.
• Paul: Reimagining what’s possible in business education—a scale now viable only because recent advances make it doable. The team (just three (!) people creating massive annual content output) is a proof point for AI’s productivity revolution.

  “The need to satisfy the vision…mandated the innovative use of technology to make it possible.” — Paul Roetzer, [51:45]

• Tip for listeners: Start by documenting workflows—AI augmentation is iterative.

[58:52] – Rapid Fire News & Analysis

[58:52] 1. Google DeepMind Hires a Chief AGI Economist

• Role is to model economic impacts of AGI, underlining DeepMind’s real belief AGI disruption is imminent (2028 forecast).

[62:06] 2. OpenAI Issues Cybersecurity Warning

• Altman admits: Next-gen models are approaching high thresholds for risk (end-to-end cyber-attacks). OpenAI implements product restrictions, formal review checkpoints.

  “Risks exist today that most people don’t want to think about… risks are coming that most people can’t comprehend.” — Paul Roetzer, [65:29]

• Self-improving AIs are a major concern.

[67:17] 3. Anthropic's New Claude Constitution

• Revolutionary 84-page “AI personality” document combines transparent values, reasoning, and explicit articulation for the model itself (“written for Claude”).
• Includes explicit reflection on whether AI could become conscious or have moral status.

  “The Constitution is basically trying to give Claude as much as possible full context…like you’re talking to a child and you’re trying to form them.” — Paul Roetzer, [73:18]

• Released under Creative Commons for industry use.
• Amanda Askell (Claude’s “character architect”) named by Paul as one of the most important (yet unknown) figures in AI.

[77:39] 4. New AI Workforce Proficiency Data — The Gap Widens

• Section’s 2026 Proficiency Report: 40% of workers see no time savings from AI; only 3% classified as real “practitioners/experts.”
• C-Suite perceptions and employee realities wildly diverge; failure to train and personalize AI use cases is the root cause.

  “It is literally impossible for a knowledge worker…to not save time using generative AI if they are properly trained.” — Paul Roetzer, [81:04]

[84:39] 5. Elon Musk’s XAI “Macro Hard” Agents

• “Human emulator” AI agents now deployed inside XAI; confusion as workers discover some “colleagues/meetings” are only bots.
• Ambitious goal: automate entire enterprise worksites, using idle Tesla cars as a distributed compute platform.

[88:29] 6. Credit-Based SaaS AI Pricing — Frustration Mounts

• HubSpot and others shifting to credit/consumption-based pricing for AI actions.
• Pricing complexity creates confusion for business planning and budgets.

  “If it takes more than 10 seconds to understand the pricing model, it’s probably not going to work…I can't comprehend this stuff.” — Paul Roetzer, [91:00]

• AI “intelligence” costs are racing toward zero, so how do you price it for long-term SaaS sustainability?

[98:22] 7. Product and Funding Updates (Ultra-Rapid)

• Anthropic releases Claude in Excel (debugging, financial modeling).
• Apple developing “AI pin” hardware for 2027.
• Slack graduates AI agents to enterprise customers.
• Startup “Humans&” (ex-Anthropic/Google/XAI folks) raises $480M (!) three months after launching.
• Google’s Gemini API usage up to 85 billion monthly calls.
• Google invests in Japan’s Sakana AI (automation of scientific discovery).

Notable Quotes

• “This will be 10 times bigger and 10 times faster than the Industrial Revolution in terms of disruption.” — Demis Hassabis at Davos, [05:58]
• “I can tell you point blank more layoffs are coming and they’re going to be significant.” — Paul Roetzer, [24:27]
• “Layoffs are absolutely coming, and AI is the real reason—even if firms won’t say so publicly.” — Paul Roetzer, [35:40]
• “People in San Francisco are putting multi-agent Claude swarms in charge of their lives… People elsewhere are still trying to get approval to use Copilot.” — Kevin Roose (quoted), [34:47]
• “It is literally impossible for a knowledge worker…to not save time using generative AI if they are properly trained.” — Paul Roetzer, [81:04]
• “If it takes more than 10 seconds to understand the pricing model, it’s probably not going to work.” — Paul Roetzer, [91:00]
• “The Constitution is basically trying to give Claude as much as possible full context…like you’re talking to a child and you’re trying to form them.” — Paul Roetzer, [73:18]

Key Timestamps

• [05:10] Davos AGI discussions: Hassabis & Amodei’s visions, definitions, and timelines
• [21:26] Macro-economic warnings, IMF/White House takes, Amazon layoffs and hidden drivers
• [38:59] Detailed workflow: How AI accelerates the hosts’ course creation
• [58:52] DeepMind’s Chief AGI Economist posting
• [62:06] OpenAI’s cybersecurity risk threshold warning
• [67:17] Anthropic’s “Claude Constitution” signals new AI ethics/philosophy era
• [77:39] Workplace AI skill gaps and the reality of corporate “proficiency”
• [84:39] XAI’s “Macro Hard” agents and Elon’s bot-powered org chart
• [88:29] SaaS “credit-based” AI pricing—complexity and future predictions
• [98:22] Lightning round: Product, funding, and partnership updates

Final Thoughts

This episode delivers a panoramic and urgent briefing for anyone leadership-minded or hands-on in the AI space. The AGI moment is coming faster than most realize—bringing both unprecedented opportunity and disruption. Business leaders are now making major decisions about workforce planning, tech adoption, and ethical adaptation in near real-time. The hosts’ candor, depth, and passion make this a must-listen for professionals trying to “grow smarter” in an AI-transformed world.

For further exploration:

• Go to SmartRx AI forward slash pulse to join the weekly survey ([101:13]).
• AI for Departments blueprint webinars: smartrxai.com/webinars ([55:58]).

Listeners will walk away with:

• A nuanced map of the AGI landscape (tech, economy, jobs, philosophy)
• An understanding that AI’s business impact is both an opportunity and a responsibility
• Actionable perspective on using AI as a real lever for change—not just hype or risk