In a podcast conversation with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on The Joe Rogan Experience, the discussion turned to artificial intelligence and its capacity to generate the world’s knowledge. The exchange revealed surprising predictions about how AI will reshape information creation in the near future.
When discussing the nature of AI and consciousness, Huang made a striking prediction about knowledge generation. “In the future, in a couple of years, maybe two or three years, 90% of the world’s knowledge will likely be generated by AI,” he stated matter-of-factly.
Rogan responded with clear astonishment: “That’s crazy.”
Huang immediately reassured him: “I know. But it’s just fine.”
“But it’s just fine,” Rogan repeated, his skepticism evident.
“I know. And the reason for that is this. Let me tell you why,” Huang began his explanation. “It’s because what difference does it make to me that I am learning from a textbook that was generated by a bunch of people I didn’t know or written by a book that you know from somebody I don’t know to knowledge generated by AI computers that are assimilating all of this and resynthesizing things.”
He continued: “To me, I don’t think there’s a whole lot of difference. We still have to fact check it. We still have to make sure that it’s you know based on fundamental first principles and we still have to do all of that just like we do today.”
The conversation touched on whether this prediction accounts for current AI capabilities or future developments. Huang acknowledged the rapid pace of change: “I think that if you reflect back 10 years from now, you would say the same thing that we would have never believed that.”
However, he emphasized a more gradual progression than many fear: “But if you go forward 9 years from now and then ask yourself what’s going to happen 10 years from now, I think it’ll be quite gradual.”
However, Rogan shifted the conversation toward the psychological and social consequences of a world where AI does most of the work. While acknowledging the efficiency such a future promises, he questioned what it would mean for human purpose and identity.
He said, “We’re going to get to a point where it’s not necessary for people to work, and not meaning that you’re going to have no purpose in life, but you will have, in his words, universal high income. Because so much revenue is generated by AI, it will take away this need for people to do things that they don’t really enjoy doing just for money.”
Still, Rogan expressed concern that this shift could leave many people feeling lost. He continued, “And I think a lot of people have a problem with that because their entire identity, how they think of themselves and how they fit in the community, is what they do.” In a world where work is no longer necessary, Rogan suggested, humans may struggle to redefine their sense of value beyond their professions.
