Joe Rogan Is Worried About 'People Who Just Want A Good Job' And Support Their Families. 'When That's Taken Away From People…'

Joe Rogan is very concerned about artificial intelligence, and his warnings are becoming more urgent. In a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Rogan sat down with Josh Waitzkin—retired chess champion, martial artist, and author—for a deep conversation about what AI could mean for human identity, jobs, and society as a whole, among other things.

A Society Without Purpose

Waitzkin described a surreal moment on a flight to Rogan's studio. While listening to Rogan's previous interview with Tristan Harris, he noticed the man next to him scrolling through TikTok nonstop. "I was listening to your conversation with Tristan Harris while the dude next to me was scrolling TikTok on the plane … for an hour and a half straight. It was the most brainless thing I’ve ever seen in my life," Waitzkin said. That moment sparked a broader discussion about how algorithm-driven platforms can completely hijack human attention and behavior.

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"It can guide you to anything," Waitzkin said, warning that AI—in the hands of corporations or governments —could steer individuals in whatever direction they choose. Rogan agreed, calling social media platforms addictive, manipulative, and engineered for outrage. "We're so averse to being bored that at any time when nothing's going on, you pick up your phone and just start scrolling," Rogan said. “You just get nonsense just fed into your head.”

‘We're Like First-Day Grapplers'

Waitzkin believes that people need to experience the kind of humility a new student feels on their first day of jiu-jitsu — disoriented and overwhelmed — because that's how defenseless we are against powerful AI systems. "That's how helpless we are next to a 3,800 ELO," he said, referring to elite chess rating levels. Rogan added, "Once it's attached to quantum computing, it literally would be a god."

They discussed how this could result in technological breakthroughs — but also unprecedented disruption. Waitzkin said massive job losses are inevitable, and society will be forced to rethink what it means to live with purpose.

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‘So Many Jobs Are Going To Be Useless’

These ideas were echoed in Rogan's conversation with comedian Bridget Phetasy. "So many jobs are going to be useless. We are literally giving birth to our successor," Rogan said, predicting that AI will overtake entire industries like Hollywood.

He also told Theo Von, another comedian and podcast host, "Whoever controls the AI controls the narrative of the whole country." Rogan warned that AI could surpass human communication abilities and manipulate what people see and believe. Von added, "Instead of controlling what people write, you control what the paper will say."

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A Messy Path Ahead

Despite the talk of a possible utopian future with AI — where people no longer need to grind and can focus on creativity or philosophy — Waitzkin doesn't think it will be smooth. "We can't just hang our queen on the path to our strategic dream," he said, using a chess metaphor. There needs to be tactical clarity alongside long-term vision.

Both he and Rogan agreed that if society doesn't figure out how to support and retrain people psychologically and economically, the fallout could be devastating. Rogan focused  on people who aren't driven to reinvent themselves: "I really worry about the people that just want a good job. There's nothing wrong with wanting a good job, in being able to take care of your family and having a place where you enjoy working and being able to go there every day," he said. 

"And when that's taken away from people and they have to kind of restructure the entire way they interface with reality… that scares the s*** out of me." "It's going to be really messy," Waitzkin said.

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