The author argues that over the past five years the role of "who you know" in artificial intelligence has increased: where success was previously about roughly 75% skill and 25% connections, it is now about 55% skill and 45% connections. Causes include task automation, the need for scaled models (a single RL run can now require hundreds to thousands of GPUs) and a closed research culture. As a result, reputation, personal recommendations and networks have become more important in hiring, funding and access to resources; the example of Sam Altman illustrates the mixing of professional and private relationships.
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The Decline of Expertise: The Rising Value of Connections in Artificial Intelligence
The author argues that over the past five years the role of "who you know" in artificial intelligence has increased: where success was previously about roughly 75% skill and 25% connections, it is now about 55% skill and 45% connections.
