From time to time, Silicon Valley introduces startups with missions that appear so outlandishly described, it becomes challenging to determine whether they are legitimate ventures or mere satire.
This situation is exemplified by Mechanize, a startup whose founder, along with the non-profit AI research organization he established, called Epoch, is facing criticism on X following the announcement of the new venture.
Criticisms target both the mission of the startup and suggest it could tarnish the reputation of his esteemed research institute. A director at the institute expressed their concerns on X, commenting, “Yay just what I wanted for my bday: a comms crisis.”
Mechanize was unveiled on Thursday through a post on X by its founder, renowned AI researcher Tamay Besiroglu. According to Besiroglu, the startup aims for “the full automation of all work” and “the full automation of the economy.”
Essentially, Mechanize is striving to replace human workers with AI agents, providing data, evaluations, and digital environments to facilitate the automation of any job.
Besiroglu calculated Mechanize’s total addressable market by aggregating human wage earnings, noting a vast market potential—workers in the United States earn around $18 trillion annually, with the global figure exceeding $60 trillion.
However, Besiroglu clarified to TechCrunch that the startup’s immediate focus is on white-collar work rather than manual labor, which would require robotics.
The startup’s launch was met with harsh reactions. A user on X, Anthony Aguirre, expressed disappointment, stating, “Huge respect for the founders’ work at Epoch, but sad to see this. The automation of most human labor is indeed a giant prize for companies, which is why many of the biggest companies on Earth are already pursuing it. I think it will be a huge loss for most humans.”
Criticism also touches upon the implications for Epoch, which provides analysis on the economic impact of AI and performance benchmarks. The institute was perceived as a neutral body for verifying performance claims, including those made by companies developing frontier AI models.
Epoch has faced controversy in the past. In one instance, it disclosed that OpenAI had supported one of its AI benchmarks used in unveiling the ChatGPT-maker’s new model, raising concerns about transparency.
When Besiroglu announced Mechanize, Oliver Habryka responded on X, expressing disappointment with the direction, noting concerns about the research directly influencing capability work.
Mechanize has attracted backing from notable figures such as Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Patrick Collison, Dwarkesh Patel, Jeff Dean, Sholto Douglas, and Marcus Abramovitch. Despite requests for comment, Friedman, Gross, and Dean did not respond.
Marcus Abramovitch, a managing partner at crypto hedge fund AltX and a self-proclaimed “effective altruist,” confirmed his investment, citing confidence in the team’s deep understanding of AI.
Besiroglu contends that automating labor entirely could lead to economic growth, enriching humans through new opportunities. In conversations with TechCrunch, he argued that complete labor automation might generate significant abundance and higher living standards.
However, this optimistic vision raises concerns that automation might lead to the displacement of human jobs, potentially reducing purchasing power.
Despite skepticism, Besiroglu maintains that wages could increase in an AI-driven world due to human value in roles AI cannot perform. He acknowledged potential wage decreases but highlighted other income sources like rents, dividends, and government welfare.
Though Mechanize aims to solve substantial technical challenges, the vision of increased economic abundance through personal AI agents is seen as a viable possibility, even as significant technical hurdles remain.
Besiroglu acknowledges the current limitations of AI agents, including unreliability and difficulty in executing long-term plans. Nonetheless, several major companies like Salesforce, Microsoft, and OpenAI are working on similar agentic platforms, evidencing a broader industry interest in advancing AI agents.
Meanwhile, Mechanize continues to seek new team members.
