# AI Atlantis Breaks the Link Between Effort and Reward by Emad Mostaque > “The problem [is] that you have a new continent, AI Atlantis, with a billion trillion workers that will work harder than you, faster than you, and better than you. That’s what breaks that link [between effort and reward] for the first time ever.” > **— Emad Mostaque**, *Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Recording and full passage:** [THIS is What Happens When AI Gets Smarter Than Humans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsdcF7EEvhM&t=3971s) — Mostaque introduces “AI Atlantis” at 1:06:11 immediately after arguing that effort should still lead to something. - **Editorial clarification:** `[is]` repairs spoken grammar; `[between effort and reward]` restores the link explicitly named in the preceding contiguous sentences. Neither bracket changes the scale or conclusion of the statement. - **Original source passage:** “Effort does lead to something. The problem being that you have a new continent, AI Atlantis, with a billion trillion workers that will work harder than you, faster than you, and better than you. So that’s what breaks that link for the first time ever.” - **Reconciled transcript record:** [[research/AI Is Now So Good They Will Pay You to Quit|AI Is Now So Good They Will Pay You to Quit]]. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public|The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public]] - **Article:** [[articles/Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower from AI Factory to Citizen|Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower from AI Factory to Citizen]] - **Wired essay:** [[wired/Wired About the Age of Agentic Empowerment|Wired About the Age of Agentic Empowerment]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Technological Unemployment|Technological Unemployment]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Emad Mostaque|Emad Mostaque]] - [[wiki/AI Atlantis|AI Atlantis]] - [[wiki/Post-Employment Society|Post-Employment Society]] - [[wiki/Technological Unemployment|Technological Unemployment]] - [[wiki/Universal Income|Universal Income]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “The problem [is] that you have a new continent, AI Atlantis, with a billion trillion workers that will work harder than you, faster than you, and better than you. That’s what breaks that link [between effort and reward] for the first time ever.” — Emad Mostaque, Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-emad-mostaque-ai-atlantis-effort-reward ```