Ilya Varlamov

In February 2026 the Mexican army killed one of the most wanted cartel bosses in the world. A week later, the same country buried him in a solid gold coffin — with a military escort and near-presidential honors. The soldiers who killed him patrolled the route.

That's Mexico in one image: a country pulling in record billions from Tesla, BMW and Sony, with luxury districts where rent beats Manhattan — and two miles away, army checkpoints and territory nobody controls but the cartels. I drove 3,000 kilometers across both of them to see which one is winning. New video drops Thursday.

1 day ago | [YT] | 48

Ilya Varlamov

Our people, raise your hands!

2 days ago | [YT] | 31

Ilya Varlamov

In one of the border villages, the local community club is an abandoned, rusting building with a leaking roof. But the locals told me its dark history—during WWII, it was part of a concentration camp, and there is still a hole underneath where executioners sat. Why a historic site like this is left to rot—that's what we uncover in the new video ⬇️

5 days ago | [YT] | 17

Ilya Varlamov

When I visited Aunt Nina in Yustozero, she was the only permanent resident left in her part of the village. Inside her simple wooden house, the stove was warm, and three cats were sleeping on top of it. She kept one sheep, one goat, and a majestic rooster that she has to defend herself against with a shovel. In the winter, her electricity only turns on at 2:00 PM. Yet, she welcomed me with tea and home-baked cake, showing a warmth that the freezing weather couldn't touch. That cozy moment on her stove made it into the film — her story starts around the middle: vrlmv.com/878knt

6 days ago | [YT] | 75

Ilya Varlamov

Karelia — northern Russia, on the border with Finland, about as far north as Anchorage. Two hours past the last city there are villages with no shop, no bus and no phone signal.

A pension there is $139 a month. That is the entire monthly income. Firewood for one winter costs $415 — three months of it. A taxi to a hospital costs $36, so one woman has not left her village in three years.

Once a week a van drives in with bread. The woman who drives it wants to quit.

New video on Thursday!

1 week ago | [YT] | 87

Ilya Varlamov

All rise for the honorable court! Speaking of AI, there's one specific area where I’d love to see real automation: the courts.

The judiciary is the bedrock of everything, one of the most vital institutions of any state. An independent and strong court can put a sitting president behind bars. In a country with a proper justice system, police brutality drops significantly because victims can actually sue their abusers. With a functional court, rigging an election becomes nearly impossible because the judges will simply annul the results. That is precisely why every politician aiming for total power starts by destroying judicial independence. And it is why any real reform must begin by cleaning up the courts.

However, a judge is still human, and humans carry bias. For instance, studies show that female judges hand down harsher sentences to sex offenders than male judges do. Republican judges in the US are much stricter with asylum seekers than Democratic ones. And at the end of the day, a human judge can always be bribed or intimidated.

So, what’s the solution?

Here’s a startup idea: AI justice. Imagine an AI model capable of weighing both sides’ arguments rapidly and without bias. It would instantly catch a lying witness or flag fabricated evidence from the prosecution. You can't threaten it, you can't buy it off, and it stays completely objective.

Of course, we know AI can make mistakes and hallucinate, so an appeals system would be an absolute must. But overall, a virtual court like this would easily outperform the current systems in most countries. After all, a human could still oversee the entire process.

What are the perks?

Cases would take hours instead of years. Speeding up dispute resolution is a huge win, especially for businesses.
A significant drop in judicial errors.
Massive savings in taxpayer money.
True access to justice. Right now, many people skip court altogether simply because they can’t afford the legal fees. Taking on a big corporation is especially tough.

Rollout could be gradual. We could start with minor stuff, like appealing traffic tickets, small claims, or basic administrative disputes. Down the line, this could even be an international project overseen by a coalition of countries with solid legal systems, giving people the freedom to choose whether they want a traditional judge or an AI court.

What do you think of the idea, guys?

By the way, thanks to www.instagram.com/prrresnetsova/ for the photo!

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1 week ago | [YT] | 43

Ilya Varlamov

The Japanese government is investing millions in humanoid robots to care for the elderly, but the reality in the labs is far from science fiction. I tried to get a highly advanced AI robot to turn me over on my side, and it was a complete failure. It was physically too weak to move a grown adult.

My new video is out now — watch it here ⬇️

1 week ago | [YT] | 18

Ilya Varlamov

Over 76,000 people died completely alone in Japan last year. Many of them weren't found for weeks, sometimes months, until neighbors complained about the smell or bank accounts stopped withdrawing funds. In a country of high-tech marvels, lonely death—kodokushi—has become a massive, commercialized industry.

My new video is out now — watch it here: vrlmv.com/h15lmq

1 week ago | [YT] | 30

Ilya Varlamov

Right now in Japan there’s a company whose entire job is cleaning the apartments of people who died alone — and weren’t found for weeks. Last year they had 76,000 cases. In the country with the best hospitals on Earth.
That’s when I realized the “country of the future” is actually the country of the past. A third of it is over 65. Pensions are $107 a month, so I met an 82-year-old sweeping streets at midnight. The government funds robots to care for the elderly — I let one try to turn me over in bed, and it couldn’t.
So what does it really cost to live to 100? Full video Thursday.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 86

Ilya Varlamov

Lately, my friends and I have been debating the role of creatives in an AI-driven future. It’s obvious that almost every profession is under threat today. However, it feels like some will have a better shield than others. For instance, people will likely keep visiting human doctors for a long time, even if robots are the ones diagnosing and operating. I also think the era of couriers and drivers won’t end overnight. Not because they are hard to replace, but because governments simply can’t afford that level of mass unemployment. But when it comes to creative minds? There’s no one to protect them.
I’m particularly fascinated by how the music world is going to change. Statistics show that nearly half of the content uploaded to Spotify and Apple Music today is already AI-generated. Sure, the charts are still dominated by real, flesh-and-blood artists, but sooner or later, that will change. Here’s why I think so:
— Most people have never actually seen their favorite artists in real life. Millions of people love legendary bands like The Beatles, Queen, or The Rolling Stones without ever having been to their shows. They fell in love with a virtual image, a myth. This proves that love and fame can theoretically exist without any physical presence.
— Even at massive stadium concerts, people go for the show. The artist themselves is just a tiny dot somewhere on the stage. Who is to say it’s actually Kanye West walking around on that stage? Effectively, the audience has zero direct contact with the artist, unless it’s an intimate club gig.
— Producers and labels hold all the cards today. From an industry standpoint, the artist is actually the weakest link. A human artist can get sick, make controversial statements that lead to cancellations, die of an overdose, or simply grow old. Investing in a human being is a massive financial risk. It is far safer to invest in artificial persona.
I’m convinced that in the near future, we will see stadium concerts by completely non-existent artists. It might seem strange now, but things are moving incredibly fast. In 5 to 10 years, no one will bat an eye if a virtual Taylor Swift is headlining sold-out stadium shows in ten different global capitals simultaneously.
What do you think?

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 71