The Efficiency-Mad Frankenstein We Are
Our Role In Nature’s Relay Race
Homo sapiens (that’s us) have been around for at least 200,000 years, merely an instant in Earth’s 4.6 billion year history. We left rival species behind, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, some 50,000 years ago, yet have since carried them with us into the future. Depending on where you live, up to about 5% of your DNA can be traced back to these formidable rivals. Human society, as we know it, emerged more recently, when our nomad forebears hesitantly settled down and eventually industrialized, a process that started some 10,000 years ago. It has been catalyst to the development of tools that allowed us to grow in numbers. Although our morals and conduct did not change a lot, we have been particularly successful in bashing inefficiency. Today, we have entered another era of transition. Our progress is culminating on the back of ‘Artificial Intelligence’, a new way of interpreting and handling data to unveil and materialize efficiencies that we could only dream of. What’s more, it might do so all by itself. My research on the matter points to a stinging societal scenario that will unfold in the not-too-distant future.
A scenario is what you get when you evaluate how unassuming events today may lead to other events that will change our world against the odds on the medium to long term. To…
