THE UNEARNED PRIVILEGE: COGNITIVE CAPABILITY

So you are smart. Congratulations! Good for you! But have you ever stopped to consider how much of that intelligence is truly earned? How much of your ability to reason, analyze, and problem-solve was the result of deliberate effort, and how much was simply given to you by chance? If you're being honest, the answer is uncomfortable: you did little to nothing to deserve the cognitive advantages you were born with.

Social vs. Cognitive Privilege

When we talk about privilege, we often focus on external factors—education, wealth, social networks, or access to technology. But there's a more fundamental privilege that gives us a significant edge: our cognitive capabilities themselves.

Consider this: What did you do before age five to develop your abstract reasoning? Your ability to recognize patterns? Your capacity for logical deduction?

The answer, of course, is nothing. Just as we recognize that being born into wealth isn’t a personal achievement, our basic intellectual capabilities are also unearned—the product of genetic luck, prenatal conditions, and early developmental factors beyond our control.

The truth is, while we often distinguish between "raw intelligence" and "grit" or "effort," these qualities are not entirely separate—people with higher cognitive abilities may also have an advantage in developing discipline, problem-solving approaches, impulse control, delayed gratification and resilience. Again, I´m not trying to belittle the effort people put into honing their intellect. But even the ability to engage in that effort—to push cognitive boundaries and pursue knowledge effectively—is an advantage you did not choose.

The Rationalist's Blind Spot

Communities like LessWrong pride themselves on identifying and correcting cognitive biases, yet there is a glaring blind spot when it comes to acknowledging the role of luck in intelligence. This manifests in subtle ways:

• The implicit assumption that anyone could reason as we do if they simply tried harder.

• Frustration or dismissal when others fail to grasp concepts we find intuitive.

• The common refrain: "If I can understand this, anyone can."

This attitude betrays a misunderstanding of cognitive privilege. Just as a person born into wealth has a head start in life, a person born with high cognitive ability begins the race miles ahead of others. Yet, many in rationalist communities resist this conclusion, likely because it challenges the notion of a purely meritocratic intellect.

Why This Matters

Recognizing cognitive privilege has profound ethical implications:

1. Increased Humility in Intellectual

   DiscourseUnderstanding that intelligence is largely unearned should make us more patient, empathetic, and less dismissive of those who struggle with complex reasoning.

2. A Responsibility to Use Intelligence Ethically

   If intelligence is an unearned advantage, then those who have it should consider how they can use it for the benefit of society, rather than for personal gain or intellectual gatekeeping.

3. AI and the Future of Cognitive Inequality

   AI is poised to either mitigate or exacerbate cognitive inequality. The question is: who will shape its development? Those already at the top of the cognitive hierarchy? If so, what biases will be embedded in the AI systems of the future?

AI: Amplifier or Equalizer?

AI will likely reshape human intellectual hierarchies in ways we are only beginning to understand:

• AI as a Cognitive Multiplier for the Privileged

  Those already gifted with intelligence will use AI to extend their advantage, automating complex reasoning tasks and deepening the cognitive gap between them and everyone else.

• AI and the Widening Education Divide

  Personalized AI tutors could help those with lower cognitive capabilities catch up, but access to these technologies is uneven. If high-quality AI education tools remain expensive or exclusive, the divide will only widen.

• Cognitive Enhancement Through AI

  AI-driven neurotechnology may one day offer direct augmentation of intelligence. Who gets access? If it’s only the already-intelligent, the gap between cognitive elites and the rest of humanity will become insurmountable.

The Ethical Responsibility of Intelligent Individuals

If you are among the cognitively privileged, what should you do?

1. Acknowledge Luck

   Recognizing your cognitive privilege is the first step toward engaging with others more fairly and constructively.

2. Ensure AI Benefits Everyone

   AI tools should be designed to uplift those with lower cognitive capabilities, not just serve the most intelligent.

3. Challenge the Idea of Pure Meritocracy

   Intelligence should not be the sole determinant of value or opportunity. If it is largely unearned, then structuring society around cognitive hierarchies is deeply unjust.

Questions for Reflection

• How would your life be different if you had been born with average or below-average cognitive abilities?

• What implicit assumptions do you make about others based on your own cognitive experiences?

• How should the recognition of cognitive privilege shape discussions on AI ethics and policy?

Final Thought

LessWrong and similar communities value rationality, yet rationalists often overestimate the role of effort and underestimate the role of luck in intellectual ability. As AI reshapes our world, it’s time to recognize that intelligence, like wealth, is a privilege—and with that privilege comes responsibility. 

I invite the LessWrong community to consider the above questions and discuss how it might better acknowledge and account for this fundamental form of privilege in its discourse and activities.

Thanks for reading. Abrazos.

Diego Rojas