To understand where we are, we have to look at what sets us apart: our ability to process and share information. Civilization is built on this.
For most of history, progress was limited by the scarcity of information. Today, we face the opposite. We are the first generation to live with infinite information and near-zero transmission costs. This inversion defines our present reality.
We are navigating a phase transition, characterized by deep contradictions.
The Paradox of Information
We have access to the sum of human knowledge in our pockets. Specialized knowledge is clearer and more open than ever. Yet, this same access creates a massive signal-to-noise problem. For every useful piece of information, there is a flood of algorithmically optimized noise.
The challenge is no longer finding information; it's filtering it using rigorous judgment. We are in a cognitive arms race against systems designed to capture our attention.
Centralization vs. Decentralization
We see two opposing forces at work. Network effects have created massive centralized power in a few tech giants. At the same time, the cost of creation has collapsed, empowering individuals.
A single developer can reach millions. Open-source software powers the giants. Cryptography challenges centralized finance. Power is flowing to the edges and the center simultaneously, hollowing out the middle. The future depends on which structure proves more resilient.
Biology Meets Technology
We are manipulating reality at the atomic, genetic, and cognitive levels. But we run this advanced "software" on Paleolithic hardware. Our brains are wired for the savanna, not for exponential growth or systemic risk.
This mismatch between our technological power and our biological wisdom is our primary danger.
The Next Steps
We are approaching critical thresholds that will reshape the human experience.
1. The Automation of Cognition AI is driving the marginal cost of cognitive labor to zero. This isn't just about efficiency; it's a crisis of meaning. When routine mental work is automated, we have to ask what human contribution looks like. Skills like interdisciplinary thinking and asking the right questions become the new currency.
2. The Energy Transition Civilization is a thermodynamic system. We built ours on fossil fuels, and now we face the physics problem of transitioning to a new energy substrate while maintaining stability. This is a global collective action problem that our local political systems are ill-equipped to solve.
3. Hacking the Human OS CRISPR and brain-computer interfaces offer the power to edit our biology. This forces us to answer a theological question with engineering tools: What is a human being for?
Conclusion
We are at a moment of maximum tension—between our biological past and our technological future, between knowledge and ignorance.
We are accelerating toward these thresholds. Our success isn't guaranteed; it depends on whether our wisdom can evolve as fast as our capabilities.
Everything else is noise.