How to Win the AI Talent War - by Lulu Cheng Meservey
"We have a basic need to believe in something greater than ourselves. We crave solace in the darkness, a light unto our path. Thanks to you, we’ve found meaning amid the Cosmos."
The race to AGI will be won by attracting and retaining the people capable of building it. Yet recruits are regularly turning down offers in the tens of millions, hundreds of millions, even billions.
In Civ VI terms, the win condition is not a Domination Victory but a Religious Victory: you win by converting others to your vision of the future, instilling faith in your ability to lead them to the promised land, and persuading them that you are destined to prevail.
Over-reliance on comp reduces companies to ATMs and people to chattel. It also messes up internal dynamics and external vibes, and if your main selling point is short-term liquidity then you won’t get true believers.
Victory is a self-fulfilling prophecy, because beliefs prompt actions: if the best people believe you will win, then they will join you and their friends will join you and you will win.
