Some startups emerge boldly, while others come forward with such radical ideas that you might think they’re just a joke. However, the latest initiative of renowned AI researcher Tamay Besiroglu – the Mechanize project is no joke. Its goal is to completely replace human labor with artificial intelligence.
From researcher to revolutionary
Tamay Besiroglu, who previously founded the prestigious AI research institute Epoch, introduced his new startup – Mechanize via X (formerly Twitter). According to him, the company’s long-term goal is to create an automated model of the economy.
Mechanize is developing data, testing environments, and evaluation systems necessary for AI agents to perform any task. The long-term goal? To create a world where any work, especially office work, can be delegated to AI.
To grasp the scale of this figure, Besiroglu calculated the startup’s “total market opportunity” as the sum of wages that all people receive – in the USA alone, the total wages people receive amount to $18 trillion, while globally it’s approximately $60 trillion.
Criticisms and controversies
As soon as this startup was announced, it was met with a barrage of criticism. Some critics expressed concern about the ethical aspects of this initiative, while others doubted the reliability of Epoch. One researcher wrote jokingly:
“Yes, that’s exactly what I needed for my birthday – a communications crisis.”
Even those who value Epoch’s research have expressed disappointment this time. The main concern is: An institute that objectively studies the impact of AI is now promoting artificial intelligence in its most radical form.
Besiroğlu, however, is being defended by high-profile investors – Nat Friedman, Patrick Collison, and Jeff Dean. One of them called the team “unique” and praised their views on AI. However, many still do not consider the complete replacement of the workforce with AI a positive future.
Is a world without work a utopia or a dystopia?
Besiroğlu emphasizes that this project leads to prosperity, not dystopia. According to him, enormous economic growth will occur when all work is performed by AI agents, and this will improve the lives of all people. Theoretically, people can live well without working.
But critics raise a legitimate question: if no one works, where will the income come from? Who will buy the products and services generated by AI?
In response, Besiroglu emphasizes that people will continue to earn money through dividends, rental income, and government assistance. He even suggests that salaries may increase in areas where AI cannot perform, although this seems to contradict the goal of automating all jobs.
Technical problem
Although the idea is radical, the problem that Mechanize aims to solve actually exists. Despite the hype surrounding AI agents, most of them still don’t work reliably – they forget instructions, make mistakes, and struggle with complex tasks.
Besiroglu wants to solve precisely this problem. Mechanize is creating the necessary infrastructure to bring AI agents to a level where they can work stably and efficiently at scale. Companies like Microsoft, Salesforce, and OpenAI are also working towards similar goals.
But Mechanize is fundamentally different from others – they don’t want semi-automatic agents or human-AI collaboration. Their approach is singular: complete replacement.
What’s Next?
For now, Mechanize is focusing on office work that can be performed digitally. They are quietly expanding their team with ambitious goals. While Silicon Valley is striving to create AI that will help more people, Besiroglu is betting on a future where AI completely replaces them.
Whether this future is a utopia or a disaster – only time will tell.
But one thing is clear: the debate that Mechanize has started won’t end easily now.
Prepared by Navruzakhon Burieva
