I’m glad to share the profitable entry in my hopeful futures contest. Impressed by an 1859 paragraph trying again on the earlier eight years of progress, Mano Majumdar took up the problem of trying again at at this time from 2030 (or maybe 2032). He’ll obtain a care package deal of “upwing” books, together with a few my very own. Right here’s his self-description, adopted by his profitable entry:
Manosij ‘Mano’ Majumdar believes with conviction what Hamlet stated with irony, and that’s mirrored on this piece of writing. His pursuits embody New Urbanism, sustainable abundance, and indirect references to Star Trek. He’s a administration marketing consultant by career, after earlier innings as a chemical engineer, a enterprise lecturer, and an educational designer. He lives a metaphorical minute away from the espresso café he co-owns in London, Canada.
Historical past rhymes, or people excel at discovering patterns. The twenty first century began disastrously, and continued steadily to search out one near-death expertise for civilization after one other. From the Western vantage level alone—a singular act of terrorism, adopted by two protracted wars, a once-in-a-century financial shock, a once-in-a-century world pandemic, culminating in a European battle threatening to go nuclear. Humanity appeared to be reliving a speedrun of the early twentieth century, heading in direction of some last breaking level at breakneck pace. Some virtually welcomed it—as catharsis, as karmic comeuppance, as degrowth-as-secular-penance. There was resignation within the air.
That’s what makes the final ten years a narrative of redemption. A variety of quiet developments got here to tipping factors within the second act of the twenties, and coincided brilliantly. AI, neither the supplanting god nor the detached destroyer of early creativeness, turned a commonplace and accessible supertool, multiplying the pace of discovery and design throughout the economic system. Tropical ailments that lay uncared for for hundreds of years now fell to reasonably priced AI-designed molecules inside months. Personalised training at scale broke the longstanding stress between high quality and quantity. There are some weeks when years go by, and years that do the lifting of a long time. Accessible, no-code AI delivered a century’s value of human flourishing in years in locations, uplifting billions from poverty, producing trillions in wealth.
As social media grew into the metaverse, political polarization truly softened—it turned out it’s simpler to recollect the human when they’re rendered photorealistically in 3D. It turned a second entrance in training, permitting for deep simulations, heartfelt connections, and empathy. The metaverse created an emotional web, an final result troublesome to extrapolate from its roots in soulless renderings firmly in uncanny valley. The entry to 3rd locations and counselling-at-scale it supplied revolutionized psychological well being greater than we understand. There was once a whole bunch of shootings that used to happen within the States yearly; that there hasn’t been one since 2028 is exceptional in that context.
And naturally, vitality! Gen Z now is aware of what Millenials felt like because the era that lived on each side of the Web revolution. ITER, accomplished in 2026, reached engineering breakeven on the twenty-second of August 2029, a second later celebrated as Everlasting Mild. By the summer time of 2030, replicas had been underneath building in China, India, the USA, Australia, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Botswana, and Iran. There’s one within the metaverse, as a technical reference.
What was maybe even much less predictable was the Nice Thaw in geopolitics. ITER couldn’t remedy for historical past, however it took vitality (and by extension, water) off the board. In the identical decade that Europe had been held hostage by heating oil, the Russian regime voluntarily surrendered Crimea to Ukraine in return for entry to fusion expertise. Fusion even broke the stalemate on carbon sequestration, with carbon ranges within the ambiance now already at 2018 ranges because of competing Chinese language and European gigaprojects. What used to devour the world’s consideration all of a sudden turned… solved.
Collectively, these three keystone applied sciences stole upon historical past and quietly resewed the ties of belief and commerce that weave humanity out of 9 billion folks. Intelligence, empathy, and vitality make us human—and more and more, maybe, one thing extra….
Overlook flying automobiles. I need footwear with AI to stop tripping.
The previous week has not been what I anticipated, because of my newest face plant. Coming down some ill-arranged steps in Previous City Tustin, I missed the final one and landed flat. Though nothing was damaged—miraculously together with my lip—I significantly screwed up my proper hand and have been unable to do a lot with it for the previous week. And, no, I used to be not my cellphone. If I had been, I may need seen that sudden step. My hand damage reduce significantly into the writing and weaving I had deliberate. And it made me fear in regards to the future.
I undergo a critical fall a minimum of annually, regardless of smart footwear and steadiness that checks as tremendous. (I can stand on one leg with out bother.) As I advised my physician, the issue appears to be that I’m simply distracted and have a poor sense of the place I’m in house. I shudder to suppose what is going to occur when my bones get brittle. The bruises are dangerous sufficient. Therefore my want for a footwear software of AI.
OTOH, given Secure Diffusion’s responses to variations of the immediate “lady falling face first down a step,” I’m not optimistic about placing my face within the palms (or toes) of AI.
Odds and Ends
The LAT experiences on why scofflaw cities like Santa Monica can have their zoning powers quickly stripped (as I mentioned on this put up and the associated Bloomberg Opinion column). Zoning powers come from the state and what the state may give, it might probably additionally take away.
You’ve in all probability by no means heard of a mangle, however they was once family requirements. Why they went away is a part of the never-appreciated-enough story of laundry progress. I got here throughout this nice explainer, tapping the reminiscences of a lady born in 1906.
AI cat costumes. I made this one with Secure Diffusion: “cute cat in princess costume.” It clearly understands cats higher than folks.
This essay was initially revealed on Virginia’s Substack. Header photograph by nathaniel abadji.
