Why is optimism unfounded today?
📝Post edited 3 months, 1 week ago (last paragraph)
After reading writer Emmanuel Carrère's speech at the Grand Continent 2025 awards ceremony, I thought it would be useful to gather some fundamental thoughts on the state of the world. But above all, what allows us to position ourselves in reality, in terms of our perception of the future.
We know this well, whenever we talk about something new around the coffee machine, or when we have a light conversation with anyone, beyond the weather, the famous phrase “it was better before” is inevitably heard.
This is easily explained: human intelligence always clings to what is known. It is even the principle behind a demonstration, research, or when we have to suddenly adapt to a change in environment.
In response to this phrase, which has probably been uttered since the dawn of humanity (in one way or another), there are words of comfort and optimism. Inevitably, at least, when conditions allow (it doesn't work in free fall, for example).
So let's take stock.
Today, we have: the IPCC reports (summaries here), government action, Trump, Putin, Putin and China or China and Putin, Europe, the rise of extremist parties, social media, AI.
This list is more than enough to foresee the coming catastrophe.
Widespread climate inaction, even regression thanks to the boundless foresight of the Trump administration. The brown plague lurking. $1 trillion spent on AI. The desire to change the era in the east of our country with two large Chinese and Russian blocs. The barely tolerable weakness of a battered Europe.
Until now, it was possible to guess where the world was heading. Today, with climate equations and the predicted ubiquity of AI, it is completely impossible. No one can predict it, neither the equations nor the architects of the augmented world. Although, when it comes to the equations, we already know the extent of the predicted climate catastrophe. But I think it is greatly underestimated.
These madmen who are spending our money to build millions of servers to feed AI, on Earth and soon in space, are completely unaware of their ambitions. If they were honest, it would be to transform humanity. To augment it. To deal with all problems according to Stalinist logic, which believed that “problems come from people.” However, he added immediately afterwards: “no people, no problem.”
Let's summarize.
The brown plague, the climate, AI, madmen.
And meanwhile, we scroll through TikTok, talk nonsense on X, post photos of cats and flowers on Facebook, sunsets or toes spread out at the seaside on Instagram, and award the first FIFA Peace Prize 2025 to Donald Trump.
There are now 8.2 billion of us on Earth but demographics aren't the problem. Elon Musk alone causes more damage than the entire African continent. We'll probably talk about this again in a future post, because while there is little basis for optimism today, you all have the solutions.