As far as I can tell, Sam is saying no to size. That does not mean saying no to compute, data, or scaling.
“Hundreds of complicated things” comment definitely can’t be interpreted to be against transformers, since “simply” scaling transformers fits the description perfectly. “Simply” scaling transformers involves things like writing a new compiler. It is simple in strategy, not in execution.
I took the survey. I did Political Compass for the first time, and I found its questions and results rather baffling. Political Compass themselves admit it is culturally biased and mainly for western democracies.