Podbit · God Mode Podcast
Despite the Manus demo that looked like AGI a year ago, and despite Fable 5's capabilities, AGI hasn't arrived. Ben is more bullish because of it: models are great but still need human direction, and that's exactly where skilled builders create value.
Where this was said
At 51:30 · chapter starts 51:26
Ben lands the episode's emotional close with characteristic self-awareness. He walks back to the Manus moment — dozens of phones and computers running AI in tandem, everyone on the timeline declaring AGI had arrived. A year on, the models are significantly better, but they still require constant human direction. He frames this not as disappointment but as opportunity: builders who can steer AI well, catch its mistakes, and direct its output are still essential, and that skill is durable in a way pure hype cycles are not. Rik adds his own lesson 25 from the investing angle: average intelligence will be free, and the capital will flow through the inference providers routing those cheap models. The routing layer — OpenRouter, Stripe's apparent interest in it, Elon Web Services — is where the structural opportunity lives. Both hosts close bullish on the next 25 episodes, and Rik puts out a direct call for sponsors, offering a referral fee to any listener who connects them with a brand deal.
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