The title might be a tad melodramatic, but I’m not optimistic anymore.
At one point, I thought things would level out or I could simply wait them out. But the following trends seem to be resilient and increasing. Much to my chagrin and the ultimate impact to our humanity and our planet.
Social Software
The advent of Meta, X, TikTok, etc., has allowed anyone to publish anything to the world. It’s created the opportunity for—
Disinformation & fake news
Social addiction
Information overload & cognitive confusion
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction. And it enables rumors to run amok.
Finally, if you want a wakeup call, look what it’s doing to our children and their children.
Narrowing of wealth
Political influence – note the wealthy component of the US government
Elon Musk spent over $250M on the 2024 election. He’s a wise man, so what do you think he received for his investment?
Government influence – laws that largely benefit the wealthy, continuing to increase their wealth and widen the disparity.
Trump’s first-term tax cuts largely benefited the wealthy (Upper 1%) even though he marketed them as a boon to everyone.
Looking at the chart, do we even have a middle class?
AI
Artificial intelligence. It’s not that I think it’s inherently bad. It’s that in the hands of a flawed species, us humans, it will not end well. You can see the same tendencies in Social Software. We tend to lean into something too far, not realize what we’re losing in the effort until it’s too late to do anything effectively.
Impacting creators – writers, film, losing the ability/skill to create on our own.
Implications for sustainability – energy use.
Bandwagon in corporations – human replacement, sidelining, bandwagons.
SPAM misleading the elderly and vulnerable (voices, visual, complexity)
Ignoring Sustainability
Our planet is at risk, perhaps not for me, but for my children and especially my grandchildren.
It’s evident to everyone. Increasing extreme weather. Catastrophic events like fires, floods, and famine.
And there’s the link to politics in that we’re still denying the truth, giving lip service to true change over money.
Let’s face it, the males of our species have failed in their leadership.
Wrapping Up
Is it too late to course correct on any of these? Possibly.
What am I suggesting—to bend over and kiss you’re a** goodbye? Of course not.
There is a fifth thing that amplifies all the others. It’s called complacency. It boggles my mind how little we react to any of these in real time. It’s as if we consider them too big for action when that’s the very thing needed.
So, my call is for action—yours, mine, everyone’s—for us to gather such a stir that our governments and the world cannot ignore these any longer.
Stir the pot, my friends,
#weshouldbebetterhumansthanthis
Agile Moose
