AI and the Future of Business: Why Eric Schmidt's Vision is Both a Warning and a Call to Action

Macro Monday: Why we don't sleep at ATOMIQ harnessing AI for humanitarian regenerative business models in our portfolio

In a recent interview during a class at Stanford University with Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, that mysteriously disappeared from the Stanford YouTube shortly after airing but was reposted by others (see below), Schmidt offered a sobering glimpse into the near future of artificial intelligence.

Full Video here

TL:DW version with my two cents:

This interview touched on cutting-edge AI developments and the profound societal and business impacts we’re on the cusp of facing. His insights are not only a reflection of where we’re headed but a strong validation of our focus here at Wealth Matters 3.0 and ATOMIQ STUDIO. Schmidt’s revelations help frame why building circular, regenerative business models that integrate AI and human potential isn’t just wise—it’s required for the inevitable disruption to our current incentive structures and economic value drivers.

The AI Frontier: A Double-Edged Sword

Schmidt highlighted a startling acceleration in the development of AI, particularly large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI, Gemini, etc. In the next few years, AI systems will move beyond being mere tools for generating text like the world-famous ChatGPT. They will leverage short-term memory capabilities to perform complex actions, such as creating entire digital platforms like TikTok, and integrate deeply into our daily lives with fractions of the time and cost structures. The imminent leap in AI's power poses an enormous opportunity but also a significant challenge and threat given the web2 infrastructure for data ownership and monetization that has consolidated into just a handful of behemoth tech giants in the last two decades.

As Schmidt explained, the gap between cutting-edge AI and more basic models is widening. The cost of pushing AI into true artificial general intelligence (AGI) will skyrocket, not just in financial terms but in resource consumption. For those not familiar with AGI. Simply put when AI reaches the collective intelligence capabilities of today’s dumbest human, we will have achieved artificial general intelligence and from that point in under 12 months AI will have more intelligence than every human on the planet combined! At that point, although blissfully unaware for the most part, we become housepets or the equivalent of animals in the zoo to the AGI.

This underscores why energy, particularly electricity, will be a scarce and valuable resource. It’s clear that, while profit-driven businesses are important, future models must also account for sustainability in the form of regenerative capitalism that doesn’t require a purely zero-sum game or the endless printing of fiat funny money to sustain, or they along with the systems they are built upon will collapse under their own weight leaving us in a form of dark ages.

The Cost of Falling Behind: U.S. vs. China and the AI Race

Schmidt asserted that the U.S. currently has a 10-year lead over China in chip technology (Note: I am not sure if this is true or false, but I do know that we have 4 to 5 times as many data centers in our borders than the second closest nation), a critical advantage in AI development. But as we’ve seen in industries from manufacturing to telecommunications, that lead can evaporate faster than anticipated. This is why at ATOMIQ, we focus on creating circular economies and building resilient startup commercialization frameworks that harness not only cutting-edge technology but also maximize human potential in a capital efficient way.

These frameworks ensure that we’re not overly reliant on any one source of advantage or one geographic hub, such as a fleeting technological lead or potentially restrictive regulatory environment. Staying focused yet nimble is a key to our venture studio’s design and operation and a practice I encourage you to consider in your own life and business.

Asymmetric Warfare: Lessons from Ukraine and the Power of Decentralization

Schmidt’s mention of 3D-printed drones in Ukraine was a stark reminder of the power of decentralization. Inexpensive, scalable technologies are enabling individuals to challenge multi-million-dollar military assets. This mirrors what we’re seeing in decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain, where small, agile innovators can disrupt long-standing financial institutions. The future of business—and war—will be built on the same principles: decentralization, adaptability, and leveraging new technologies to do more with less.

ATOMIQ’s commitment to web3 infrastructure and bringing Bitcoin to DeFi in parallel to AI deployments is also a fundamental strategy we have bet on to create underlying monetary reserve dynamics that don’t allow for or promote the ongoing endless war machine or advertising industrial complex that has emerged in parallel which props it up with endless propaganda and anti-democratic designs.

The Black Box of AI: Can We Trust What We Don’t Understand?

One of the most significant challenges with AI is that as it becomes more powerful, it also becomes harder to understand. Schmidt likened this to trying to understand a teenager—complex, unpredictable, and often inscrutable. This is why adversarial AI will become critical: much like cybersecurity red teams test defenses, adversarial AI will need to rigorously probe and challenge existing models to expose their vulnerabilities. It’s a strategy we should adopt not just in AI but in business—constantly challenging our assumptions and refining our models to prevent catastrophic failures.

Harnessing AI for Explosive Returns: The Profit, People, and Planet Equation

The interview also pointed to an essential truth: AI can no longer be viewed in isolation from its human and environmental impact. Misinformation, especially on platforms like TikTok, can threaten democracy and be manipulated by nation-states like China. It’s a reminder that while AI can provide unprecedented opportunities, it can also have devastating consequences if misused.

However, this CAN NOT be the excuse we let the powers-that-be lever as evidence for why they need to curtail FREE SPEECH. This is too convenient of a way to keep intelligent but powerful men like Eric Schmidt in their collective cocoon of power deciding how the rest of us get to live. WE THE PEOPLE (globally and in America) must be responsible to hold strong to our first-amendment rights and work with leaders like Governor Gordon in Wyoming or Senator Cynthia Lummis and other digital-asset friendly jurisdictions to create regulatory protection for speech and open source code operations as the majority of people using it do no harm and the temptation by the status quo big tech oligarchs to mislead you in fear so they can create more controls that become irreversible once AI hits scale.

This is where our mission to empower, inform, and inspire at Wealth Matters 3.0 aligns with the future Schmidt envisioned but also where it departs as we want more decentralized decision-making and governance hard-coded into the AI designs and applications as well as the monetary reserve systems. We are committed to creating regenerative, circular business models that not only focus on profit but also prioritize people’s experience, genius, and creativity, while respecting the scarce but richness of our home planet.

The future isn’t just about harnessing the raw power of AI; it’s about ensuring that this power is used responsibly, in ways that create sustainable growth for businesses and the societies they serve. It is also about thinking through as many “unintended consequences” as possible before deploying by asking simple recurring questions like “Just because we CAN do it, should we do it???”

Preparing for the AI Revolution

Schmidt’s vision of the future is both awe-inspiring and terrifying. AI will not just be a tool but an active participant in the economy. Yet, it’s up to us to ensure that the future we create with AI benefits everyone, not just a select few.

The world Schmidt describes may seem far off, but the pace of AI development suggests these changes will come sooner than we think. We can’t afford to wait. The time to act is now. As I have said for the last 15 years on my personal-website tagline “The Real Risk Is Doing Nothing” Let’s build a future where AI doesn’t just serve the bottom line but lifts humanity as a whole. Together, we can shape a new golden age—one built on the foundations of regenerative capitalism, human ingenuity, and the incredible potential of AI.

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