Evolution Won't Help!

Where we’re at:

Technology is transforming our world faster than evolution can keep up.

Machines are replacing people in jobs faster than new jobs can be created.

Artificial intelligence, still in its infancy, is already superior to humans in many ways.

Our basic institutions, political, economic and social, are being disrupted as humans lag behind technology.

A fair question to ask is: Do homo sapiens have a future?

The short answer is: We will continue to evolve and we do have a future on this planet, but our days of being in charge are numbered.  We won’t be replaced by computers and other still-to-be-developed machines, but we will be overtaken by them.  Like it or not, this is inevitable – transformation trumps evolution.

Speaking of Trump, the same phenomenon is in play.  For white, working class men his candidacy is appealing because it promises to stem the tide of history that is leaving them in its wake.  Their ego/identity is premised on being in charge, and they’re no longer in charge.  Too bad, boys.  You’ve been overtaken.

We can call it a paradigm shift.  For millions of years we have lived in an evolutionary paradigm.  It has done a great job of getting us to now.  Living in a new paradigm is unknown territory.  Struggling against it won’t help.  We should relax and enjoy the ride, wherever it takes us.