Currently listening:
Currently reading: After 1177 B.C. by Eric H. Cline (US)
Currently temperature: 71°F – overcast with promises of rain later. The kind of weather for reading.
Currently working on: Clearing out my inbox from a week’s worth of gunk. I’ll be on the road next week and should make sure that most loose ends have been tied up.
Today’s Tao was Chapter 18 – When we lose touch with genuine goodness, we replace it with performative morality. That feels relevant.
Currently listening:
Currently reading: After 1177 B.C. by Eric H. Cline (US)
Finished The Precipice by Toby Ord on Sunday evening. It’s well thought-out albeit a bit out-dated. Written in early 2020, one of the existential risks Ord includes in his list is pandemics, and the irony almost made me put the book down. Some takeaways:
While markets do a great job of supplying many kinds of goods and services, there are some kinds that they systematically undersupply. Consider clean air.
And, notably:
The Anthropocene is the time of profound human effects on the environment, while the Precipice is the time where humanity is at high risk of destroying itself.
One thing he doesn’t highlight is that, quantum computing and artificial intelligence will converge in our lifetime. I’m not sure that we’re ready for that, but I am watching with equal parts optimism and trepidation.
It’s finally cooling down here.
Currently reading: The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity (US)
Currently listening:
This morning was an early one, and I spent nearly 6 hours muddling about in the world of post-quantum cryptography. While this isn’t something most people would get excited about, I love learning and I like computers. Although what I learned didn’t give me any real comfort for what were up against over the next ten years.
I’ve long believed that, while things like nuclear warfare and ground assaults are still very much part of the lexicon of modern conflict, that we’ve found ourselves in the unique position of having to worry about conflict on multiple planes: the physical and the digital (which often begets the mental). Different conflicts, to be sure. And most of us seem to be an unwilling participant in at least one (or both).
Production ready and commercially available quantum compute is not far from becoming reality. With that comes a new set of risks and real problems that we will have to deal with. For example, GenAI has accelerated scientific progress but has also enabled bad actors to create and distribute harmful propaganda at speed and scale.
Quantum computing will further accelerate technological, biological, and medical progress but will also completely break all forms of cryptography that protect our digital world. This poses a real problem.
This is such a fascinating time to be alive. Also kind of terrifying.
Current status: Cleaning out the inbox before disappearing into the weekend.
Be kind.
Currently listening: The Sleeping Forecast
Currently reading: The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity (US)
Current temperature: 81°F – Clear Skies
If you’ve not heard The Sleeping Forecast before, I urge you to check it out. It’s hypnotic. Thanks to Warren Ellis for the recommendation.
This is my sign of life. I’ve been working on de-toxing from socials again. My Threads account has been deleted, no more X. Facebook is a nightmare, so I hardly login to it anyway. Instagram remains a source of entertainment, but has been completely propagandized. My stint with TikTok was very short. Sleep is coming easier now.
We’re not out of the woods yet. I’ll write more soon. Hold on for now.
Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker argues that, despite the grim picture often painted by the news, humanity has made astonishing progress throughout history. He points to significant gains in life expectancy, literacy, and the fight against extreme poverty. Pinker credits these achievements to the spread of Enlightenment ideals like logic, science, and morality.
While this theory seems encouraging, a strong counterargument suggests that progress always comes at a cost. For example, globalization and economic policies have created an extreme income gap, and the resulting inequality can fuel populism, a force that has historically been detrimental to society.
This pattern is a social cycle, and the current phase of the social cycle we’re in now is not the first, nor will it be the last. I believe there is an implicit limit to the amount of progress we can make toward a utopian future. Our cyclical nature means that genuine, equitable progress cannot be measured linearly. It is a constant process of moving the proverbial goalposts. This, I believe, is the very nature of the human condition.
Advances in technology are often sold as net positives for humanity. This is sometimes true, but not always. The existence of delivery services, for example, comes at the cost of gig-economy workers struggling to afford basic healthcare. However, I believe that technologies like generative / agentic AI could be a net positive for humanity, given that their development is not guided by transhumanist or “effective accelerationism” philosophies.
To be clear, I do not believe that AI in its current form is a net positive yet. While I could discuss the environmental and infrastructural ramifications of this technology, that is not the primary focus of this series. Instead, I am concerned with the nature of our relentless pursuit of technological progress and whether we truly need it to realize our full potential.
The problem with defining a “potential” for humanity is that it sets an ultimate, achievable goal, which contradicts our inherently cyclical nature. Therefore, when I use the term potential, I am not referring to a finite end-state. Instead, I am referring to our ability to adapt and respond to our ever-changing environment in service of guaranteeing the foundational needs of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for as many people as possible.
In summary:
Therefore, the thoughtful use of technology should help accelerate the process of providing basic foundational needs for everyone. The key word here is should. Thoughtfully deployed technology should be a net positive for humanity. But is it necessary for this pursuit?
Many would say yes, but I argue that while not strictly necessary, it is essential. For instance: small-scale communities can meet their needs without modern technology, but providing for a global population of billions requires technological systems for efficient food production, water purification, and resource distribution.
The other key word is accelerate. Technology drives the pace of change. Without it, positive change would be slow and generational. But while technology accelerates progress, it almost always creates new problems, which in turn require further technological solutions. For example, renewable energy technologies are essential for addressing the environmental costs of industrialization. Technological advancement, in essence, requires more technological advancement.
So, do humans require technology to realize our full potential? Yes. The question now becomes: at what point do we recognize our full potential with the help of machines?
The vestiges of Autumn are beginning to reveal themselves here in South Texas and if you are unfamiliar with Fall here, then you are missing out. It’s the most beautiful season here in my opinion outside of a small 2-3 week window when Winter turns to Spring. I plan to capture some pictures this year to catalog here for anyone who might be reading, but more-so for when I get old and start forgetting things.
Currently Reading: The Thran by Robert J. King (Magic: The Gathering Novel). I was recently introduced to the Magic: The Gathering card game by a dear friend, and my lust for expansive lore immediately kicked into gear. I had a blast playing my first rounds, and have carried that excitement from the weekend into my weekly reading. It’s been nice to disconnect from the noise for a bit with some light sword and sorcery.
Currently Listening:
Currently Working On: A large thought exercise and trying to put most of it on paper. The muck and the mire of what is going on politically and geopolitically, as well as some of the metaphysical properties of human behavior involved, have gotten me wondering about our potential as a species in general. I intend to share what I uncover here in the coming days.
Until then, take care of one another. Be nice. Go outside and talk to humans.
Good afternoon from South Texas. The weather outside is what we consider “beautiful” here – lows in the 70s to start the day, highs in the 90s. Autumn is knocking on the door and I am so keen to let it in. Not in the least bit because it’s my favorite season, but because of what happens to the mood in my environment. Yes, we can finally go outside, but also, people are hopeful for the future. We get to wear comfortable clothing. And the soup – my god, the soup.
On a side note, I’m watching in horror as the proliferation of agentic generative AI is already doing what everyone with a working brain thought it would: exposing more supply chains to a larger attack surface.
Don’t get me wrong – the technologist in me is excited that we continue to try and push the boundaries of what is possible as a an intelligent society. But for the love of all that’s decent, I asked ChatGPT to recommend me a book that fit a very specific aesthetic, and it recommended me one of the most boring books I’ve ever read. In fact, I’m adding it to the DNF pile today after having plodded through the first 120 pages over the past week. If GenAI can’t tell me what Google pre-AI used to be help me infer myself, then why would anyone let it make decisions for a business with unfettered access to it’s CRM?
I’m three cups of coffee in and I’ve got lots to do. Will check in later. Enjoy this mix in the meantime:
Yes, I am alive. The past few months have been a blur, but I held on tight and made it through to the other side with a bit more hope and a success or two to tout.
Though things have been busy, I’ve still had time to ruminate on a few things, which I will share here as time permits. Altogether though, the world feels much different than it did two months ago.
Here is an album that I’ve absolutely devoured over and over in my absence. Best listened to outside with headphones and a beverage.
With love, of course.
It’s been a little while. I’ve no real excuse for why that is. However I will say that the amount of doomscrolling I’ve been doing the past two weeks is in direct correlation with my lack of posting here.
What’s happening in Los Angeles is altogether alarming and unsurprising. It’s also very distracting. I’m having a hard time keeping focus throughout the day because I feel as though I must refresh the feeds to see how it is escalating. Do not do this. You will get sick.
Outside of that, it is also the end of the fiscal year at my day job and, given the nature of my work, that means there is lots to do and very little time to do it.
The looming question at the top of my mind today: how do I empty? How do I get the fuzz out of my head so I can make way for clearer thought?
We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. – Lao Tzu
One of the authors I follow in the blogosphere talks a lot about filling notebooks. Maybe this is how.
Enjoy this photo of my city, and remember how beautiful life is regardless of what the news tells you.
Been doing lots around the house. Thinking lots about the latest white paper on Google’s AlphaEvolve, which I’ll write some thoughts on later. Trying to be present. Still staying far away from social media. Happy.
Signal Intent 