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Karpathy pivots Anthropic from doom toward jobs backlash

Thursday, May 21, 2026 · from 4 podcasts
This Week in AIBreaking PointsThis Week in StartupsAI Daily Brief
  • Anthropic's revenue doubled every six weeks to $44 billion ARR, upending SaaS valuations.
  • Graduates boo AI speakers while software job postings rose 18% this year.
  • OpenAI and Anthropic now capture 89% of all AI startup revenue.

Recent commencement speeches praising AI ended with boos, not applause. Graduates recognize the tool, but reject the replacement rhetoric. Breaking Points host Saagar Enjeti notes Ken Griffin’s Citadel now uses AI to automate PhD-level work. Polls show 70% of Americans think AI is moving too fast.

Nathaniel Whittemore on The AI Daily Brief says the doom narrative is hitting a data wall. Software engineering jobs, the roles most exposed to AI, have accelerated to their highest level since late 2023. Anthony Pompliano sees new college grad hires rising 5.6% over the past year.

“If bricks become cheap and easy to lay, you don’t use fewer builders; you build structures that were previously too expensive to justify.”

- Ezra Klein

It’s Jevons’ Paradox in action. Economist Eldar Maximov’s research shows employment grew faster in occupations heavily adopting computers. Cheaper code expands demand for builders.

The income isn't spreading. Jason Calacanis on This Week in Startups reports OpenAI and Anthropic now take 89% of AI startup revenue, a duopoly gaining share monthly. Infrastructure providers are winning; application-layer startups fight for scraps.

“College graduates fear AI not out of simple anxiety but from feeling betrayed by tech leaders who they believe have bad intent.”

- Jason Calacanis

Anthropic’s explosive growth marks the pivot from SaaS ‘seats’ to agentic ‘tokens.’ SemiAnalysis reports its annual recurring revenue jumped from $9 billion to over $44 billion, doubling every six weeks. Inference margins hit 70%.

This shift makes old software valuation frameworks obsolete. Ming Li notes AWS took 13 years to reach $35 billion; Anthropic passed that in months. The ‘token factory’ model redefines the economic ceiling.

Whittemore sees a vibe shift. Noah Smith calls Sam Altman’s recent statements about augmenting people a “huge messaging pivot” for an industry that once explicitly aimed to replace humanity.

Andre Karpathy’s move to Anthropic cements that pivot. Calacanis, on This Week in AI, argues CEO Dario Amodei’s fixation on ‘p-doom’ fueled regulatory panic. Karpathy, a master educator, makes the frontier feel accessible rather than apocalyptic.

The backlash is rational. Graduates used ChatGPT for two years to finish degrees. They watched 100,000 tech layoffs this year. When leaders talk of ‘optional work,’ they hear their skills liquidated before their careers start.

#Models#Big Tech#Startups
Andrej KarpathyAnthony PomplianoDario AmodeiNathaniel WhittemoreSam AltmanAmazonAnthropicOpenAIChatGPTNOAH

Source Intelligence

- Deep dive into what was said in the episodes

This Week in AI
This Week in AI

Grads boo AI, Reese Witherspoon gets dunked + Karpathy joins Anthropic | TWiAI E14 • May 20

  • Andre Karpathy’s move to Anthropic is more about communication than research, according to Jason Calacanis. He argues Dario Amodei’s grim predictions make him a poor AI spokesperson, while Karpathy’s credibility can alleviate industry pressure.
  • Imbue co-founder Kanjun Q bought a 10,000 H100 GPU cluster in 2022 as an investment to fund the company, which now generates substantial rental revenue. She avoided venture capital, taking investment from corporate arms and a non-profit.
  • Fundamental builds tabular models for enterprise structured data, a modality poorly handled by LLMs. They have a confidential compute partnership with AWS, allowing models to be deployed and encrypted within a customer’s own VPC.
  • Linear is shifting from project management to AI execution. The product now includes an agent that can research feedback, write proposals, examine codebases, and delegate tasks, with a native coding agent in development.
  • Karri Saarinen argues AI-generated design is often soulless and can worsen product quality. Founders who delegate design to AI without understanding the problem produce aesthetically pleasing but non-functional outputs.
  • Kanjun Q sees AI enabling bespoke, personalized user interfaces. She built her own agent UI for email and task management, stating that design principles shift when creating for a single user versus a mass audience.
  • The best use of AI is as a reflective surface to ask better questions, not just a solution generator. Imbue open-sourced ‘Blueprint,’ an agent skill tuned to ask high-quality questions to gather user context.
  • AI industry leaders are forming distinct cultural cults. Jason Calacanis categorizes them: SpaceX for tech libertarian monks, Anthropic for the left-leaning and earnest, and OpenAI for cutthroat capitalists.
  • Kanjun Q warns frontier AI labs will vertically integrate into profitable application layers. The defense for startups is building headless products with orchestration layers that can easily swap underlying models.
  • A New York Times editorial attacked Reese Witherspoon for encouraging AI adoption. Kanjun Q argues this conflates two separate issues: using a helpful tool versus critiquing systemic power concentration.
Also from this episode: (5)

AI & Tech (2)

  • Anthropic’s API pricing penalizes third-party providers. They offer a 20x token savings plan only for customers using Anthropic’s first-party products, a subtle anti-competitive move aimed at locking users into their ecosystem.
  • Jeremy Frankle defines poor AI etiquette as shifting the burden of reviewing AI-generated slop onto coworkers. He asserts all AI output is the user’s responsibility and must be reviewed before delegation.

AI Infrastructure (1)

  • A cost-effective local AI cluster can be built by daisy-chaining multiple Apple Mac Studios with high RAM. ExoLabs provides software to address multiple units as a single cluster.

Society (1)

  • Graduates are booing AI commencement speeches due to real fear and disempowerment. They perceive a future where entry-level jobs are automated and wealth creation excludes them, reacting against condescending advice.

Education (1)

  • Jeremy Frankle calls graduating students hypocrites for booing AI while using ChatGPT for essays. He argues this is the best time to graduate, as AI is a powerful tool for creative expression and starting companies.
#Agents#Startups#Coding
Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar
Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar

5/19/26: Trump $1.8 Billion Slush Fund For Allies, Students Boo AI At Graduation, Kars4Kids Scandal Erupts • May 19

  • A federal court rejected Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI on a technicality, stating the statute of limitations had run. Musk alleged OpenAI abandoned its original non-profit, open-source mission by becoming a for-profit entity.
Also from this episode: (12)

Politics (5)

  • Donald Trump dropped a lawsuit against the IRS, initiating a settlement that created an "Anti-Weaponization Fund" of taxpayer dollars. The fund aims to compensate individuals politically targeted for prosecution.
  • Saagar highlights the unusual nature of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, noting that similar compensation funds, like the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund, are typically created by Congress, not through an executive settlement.
  • Krystal and Saagar contend that the fund is intended to benefit Donald Trump's allies, including January 6th participants and individuals prosecuted during previous administrations, raising concerns about direct government payouts without a clear process.
  • Saagar reports that at least 33 pardoned January 6th individuals faced other criminal charges, including DUI, felonies for threats, and child sex crimes, with some allegedly reoffending after receiving pardons.
  • Benjamin Netanyahu publicly stated that Israel controls "60% of the strip" in Gaza and implied further expansion, boasting about retrieving hostages without ceding territory and noting his corruption trial was again delayed for security reasons.

Corruption (3)

  • Saagar criticizes the administration for dropping fraud charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, involving allegations of hundreds of millions in bribes to secure deals in India. US jurisdiction applied due to misleading US investors.
  • Krystal and Saagar argue that inconsistent application of fraud laws, pardoning wealthy individuals while prosecuting others, erodes public trust in the rule of law and the social safety net.
  • Testimony in the Cars for Kids case showed that out of $45 million raised annually, 60% went to Aura, a New Jersey-based Orthodox Jewish organization that funded adult matchmaking, teen trips to Israel, and summer camps, with 16.5 million used to buy a building in Israel.

Society (2)

  • Recent college graduates booed commencement speakers who discussed AI, reflecting widespread skepticism, especially among young people, about AI's impact on the job market and their future.
  • Polling shows 70% of Americans believe AI is developing too quickly, with over 50% holding negative views. Only 18% of young people express hope about AI, largely due to concerns about job displacement.

AI & Tech (1)

  • Ken Griffin, a top financier, noted that AI tools have profoundly increased productivity in the past nine months, automating work that previously took weeks or months for highly skilled professionals into hours or days.

Regulation (1)

  • A California court banned Cars for Kids advertisements in the state after finding the charity violated false advertising laws. The lawsuit, filed in 2021, revealed donations did not go to underprivileged children in California as implied.
#Corruption#Agents#Macro
This Week in Startups
This Week in Startups

Why is Gen Z hates AI? • May 18

  • Calacanis highlights that tech companies cut 100,000 jobs in the first part of the year, a figure already surpassing the total data center jobs projected for 2030.
  • Calacanis believes the only way to escape a permanent underclass in the AI economy is to start a company, as being a worker for someone else makes you a cost center.
  • Jason Calacanis advocates for 'delightful scale' companies making $500k to $5M annually as a viable path, arguing necessity and modern tools like ChatGPT lower the barrier to entry.
  • The Information reports Anthropic and OpenAI generate 89% of all AI startup revenue, creating a duopoly that is consolidating power.
  • Hosts note that six months ago, Anthropic and OpenAI represented 4.5% less of total startup AI revenue, indicating they are rapidly gaining market share.
  • Calacanis argues AI model providers like OpenAI and Anthropic are likely selling tokens at a massive loss currently, similar to Uber and Lyft's early subsidized growth phases.
  • Hosts discuss the risk for application-layer AI startups, as major labs gaining access to their usage data could quickly build competing features and erase their market.
  • The shooting incident in Austin highlighted the privacy-versus-safety debate around Flock Safety's license plate readers, which the city council had removed but a neighboring county used to capture suspects.
  • Calacanis believes running AI models locally on hardware like Mac Studios is the future for privacy and cost reasons, not a fad, especially for sensitive corporate data.
Also from this episode: (7)

AI & Tech (4)

  • Jason Calacanis argues college graduates fear AI not out of simple anxiety but from feeling betrayed by tech leaders like Eric Schmidt, who they believe have bad intent about job displacement.
  • Calacanis says this generation has used ChatGPT for two years to complete degrees and understands the technology well, which fuels their cynicism about future job prospects.
  • Hosts note a stark gap between business excitement about AI and average consumer sentiment, particularly among recent graduates entering the workforce during economic uncertainty.
  • Jason Calacanis advises against using AI alone to file patents due to the high-stakes, specialized legal nature of IP, though it can be used with a human-in-the-loop for initial work.

AI Infrastructure (1)

  • A University of Utah study projected US data center construction jobs will peak and then decline, with total direct operations jobs reaching only about 65,000 by 2030.

Education (1)

  • A viral New York Times essay by Stanford senior Theo Baker claimed cheating with AI is omnipresent on campus, dissolving the foundations of liberal arts education faster than the workforce.

Society (1)

  • Calacanis suggests potential safeguards for surveillance tech like Flock include strict audit trails, biometric access logs, and enforced data retention policies of up to 36 months.
#Startups#Labor#Big Tech#Regulation
The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis
The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Nathaniel Whittemore

Beating the AI Doom Cycle • May 18

  • Greg Eisenberg predicts an unprecedented explosion of entrepreneurship as intelligence becomes cheaper and displaced workers create new businesses out of necessity and opportunity. Stripe Atlas data supports this, with 100,000 incorporations and Q1 up 130% year-over-year.
  • Roger Karma in The Atlantic notes a market shift: from concerns over AI infrastructure lacking profitability six months ago, to fears of insufficient data centers today. This change is driven by revenue catching up to hype, particularly with the rise of "Claude code."
  • The market narrative has shifted from "seats" to "tokens," as AI agents consume vastly more resources, making a single user generate hundreds or thousands of dollars monthly in token sales. This redefines the economic model for AI companies.
  • Anthropic's run rate revenue surpassed $30 billion by early April. SemiAnalysis reports its ARR surged from $9 billion to over $44 billion today, doubling every six weeks, with inference margins reportedly at 70%, up from 38% last year.
  • Ming Li highlights Anthropic's rapid growth, noting it's adding $96 million in ARR per day. He contrasts this with AWS taking 13 years to reach $35 billion and Salesforce over 20 years to pass $20 billion, indicating that old software valuation frameworks are obsolete.
  • Morgan Stanley raised CapEx forecasts for five hyperscalers to $805 billion this year (from $765 billion) and $1.1 trillion next year (from $951 billion). Andreas Steno Larsen notes that the backlog of demand for additional capacity is rising even faster than CapEx spend.
  • Mag Seven companies spent over $400 billion in CapEx in Q1 this year, but their reported and projected backlog stands around $1.3 trillion, indicating significant unmet demand. David Sacks argues AI CapEx will contribute a 2% tailwind to GDP growth this year, potentially 2.5% this year and over 3% next year per Morgan Stanley.
  • Atlassian's stock surged almost 30% after its earnings report, with revenue growth accelerating to 32% (from 23% last quarter). Customers using their new AI search tool, Rovo, increased their own ARR at twice the rate of non-users.
  • Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, stated on May 1st that the goal is to augment and elevate people, not replace them, and believes jobs doomerism is likely wrong long-term. He also noted that even with powerful AI, he has "never been busier."
Also from this episode: (13)

AI & Tech (11)

  • Nathaniel Whittemore identifies an emerging "AI vibe shift," characterized by a growing discourse that moves beyond doomerism, appearing in both job market discussions and financial markets. This dual emergence suggests a potential narrative shift rather than a temporary blip.
  • Jasmine Sun's New York Times essay, "Silicon Valley is bracing for a permanent underclass," reflects a prevalent doomer narrative among AI builders in Silicon Valley who believe AI will eliminate jobs. Whittemore questions over-reliance on builders' perspectives due to potential biases and their limited understanding of broader economic impacts.
  • Ezra Klein argues that the AI job apocalypse is unlikely, highlighting AI labs' role in creating negative narratives to excite investors or unwind post-COVID hiring. Economists, he notes, are generally skeptical of mass joblessness.
  • Klein cites ASU professor Eldar Maximov's research, indicating that employment grew faster in occupations heavily adopting computers than in those that did not. Cost reductions from task automation led to new demand, expanding overall occupations.
  • Klein also uses a personal example, noting his podcast team grew significantly after starting with one researcher, leading to more extensive and challenging episodes. He observes that enthusiastic AI adopters are working harder than ever due to increased possibilities.
  • Klein suggests AI is more likely to displace a limited number of workers rather than cause mass unemployment. He argues this localized displacement, similar to the 2 million jobs lost to Chinese competition, might be harder to manage than a mass event.
  • Macroeconomic data does not support the doomer narrative, with the unemployment rate at 4.3% in March 2026 and 4.4% in March 2020, and stable average hourly earnings. Demand for software engineers, despite AI exposure, continues to accelerate, up 18% since May last year.
  • Anthony Pompliano notes a shift in his view, now observing increasing hires for software engineers and growing open roles. He states that new college grad hires rose 5.6% over the past 12 months, and unemployment for 20-24 year-olds with college degrees dropped from nearly 9% to almost 5%.
  • A Wall Street Journal and LinkedIn analysis reports AI created 640,000 jobs in the US between 2023 and 2025, including new white-collar positions like Head of AI. Pompliano suggests companies are aggressively hiring, leveraging AI to boost employee productivity.
  • Merzmik Ahmed argues that AI increasing demand for software engineers is now a tech consensus. He applies Jevons' paradox, explaining that cheaper "digital bricks" (code) make previously expensive projects feasible, thus expanding demand for builders.
  • Economic commentator Noah Smith views Altman's statements as a "huge messaging pivot" for OpenAI and the AI industry, which previously explicitly stated goals of replacing humanity. This shift suggests a more constructive dialogue about AI's impact.

Enterprise (1)

  • Atlassian's Rovo leverages existing knowledge graphs in Jira and Confluence for context, significantly reducing token usage compared to token-hungry RAG search. This token efficiency, crucial in an agent intelligence era, helps maintain seat-based pricing models.

AI Infrastructure (1)

  • The Associated Press reports that construction unions are collaborating with tech companies to overcome community opposition to data centers. Rob Bear of the Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council emphasizes data centers create significant construction jobs.
#Agents#Enterprise#Startups#Labor#Macro

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