Esoteric knowledge in the sense I described is very common in everyday life. In my work as a researcher, some of the topics are esoteric. Many of the codebases

Esoteric knowledge in the sense I described is very common in everyday life. In my work as a researcher, some of the topics are esoteric. Many of the codebases I use in my work are esoteric, because the ideas behind them only exist inside a few people's heads. The administrative processes at the university are esoteric. Many details about the gaming convention I've organized as a hobby for 20+ years are esoteric. Other topics may be difficult and advanced, but they are not esoteric, because they are more universal. You don't need a specific context to understand them, only the basic expertise. The internet turned much esoteric knowledge into common trivia by making information more accessible. I don't think AI will have a similar effect. At least not the public models that are mostly trained using information that is already accessible. Large organizations may achieve something with internal models, but in many cases, esoteric knowledge is esoteric because it's implicit.