# Dragoncatcher: Rex's provocation

> Source: <https://www.robinsloan.com/lab/provocation/>
> Published: 2026-07-22 19:00:00+00:00

[Rex's provocation](/lab/provocation/)

I really like this prompt/provocation [from Rex Sorgatz](https://x.com/fimoculous/status/2074810215078273342?utm_source=Robin_Sloan_sent_me):

Imagine you were the only person on earth with access to AI. No one else knew it existed.

What would you do with it? How much of an edge would that give you?

I suppose one “easy” answer is “I would generate and sell zero-day exploits”. But that is, obviously, extremely boring. What else? “I would write a ton of software, super cheap”? Also boring. “I would become a legendary feral mathematician, disproving conjectures without any apparent connection to the field”? Okay —

You can make Rex’s prompt retro in a revealing way:

Imagine you were the only person on earth with access to a computer. No one else knew they existed.

What would you do with it? How much of an edge would that give you?

The answer is, paradoxically: not that much of an edge?? Not because a computer in isolation isn’t valuable, but because the real value of computers only emerges —

So maybe the same is true for AI. Maybe it isn’t primarily a powerful tool, but a social system. (Not again! Why do they keep being social systems?!) This feels weird to write, because AI sure *seems* like a powerful tool … yet, what’s *your* answer to Rex’s prompt?

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