In the End, it's the Optimists Who Win
FUTURE OF THE WORLD - Edition 25
Hi everyone,
We need a good dose of optimism right now. Without it, we could easily succumb to the notion that we are headed for an AI-induced dystopian future, where machines rule and humans submit.
This edition is filled with ideas and resources that help you see the future in an optimistic way.
It’s another Kevin Kelly-heavy newsletter.
I hope you find it useful. As always, leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Have a great weekend!
Misha
Here’s what you’re getting today:
Term: Protopia
Quote: Science fiction makes us fear tomorrow.
Video: How we build the future.
Article: The case for optimism.
Newsletter: Recomendo
Term:
Protopia - a state that is better today than yesterday. It’s 1% progress or slowly crawling towards betterment. A direction, not a destiny.
A protopian mindset is based on grounded optimism. It’s the kind of worldview that we need right now.
Protopia was coined by WIRED founder Kevin Kelly.
Quote:
“Today we’ve become so aware of the downsides of innovations, and so disappointed with the promises of past utopias, that we now find it hard to believe even in protopia — that tomorrow will be better than today. We find it very difficult to imagine any kind of future we would want to live in. Name a single science fiction future that is both plausible and desirable?” - Kevin Kelly
Kelly wrote about Protopia in this blog post in 2011:
Video:
How we build the future by Kevin Kelly
In this Big Think video, Kelly gives us optimistic lenses to view the future.
Kelly says:
“This is not a world where we have fewer problems. This is a world we have as many, if not more problems, but those problems themselves are opportunities. It is much, much harder to create a future that we would like to live in—unless we can imagine it
Most of the problems in the future are gonna be caused by the technologies today- that's the Protopian view. But, the solution to the problems made by those new technologies is not less technology. It's not to dial back the technology. It's not to stop AI. It's to make better AI.”
Click on the link to watch:
Article:
Kevin Kelly: The Case for Optimism
Here are some of the key points:
In the long run, optimists shape the future.
Civilization requires trust; trust requires optimism; civilization requires optimism.
Optimism enables us to reach good and great things beyond the capability of a single generation.
Optimism recognizes that our potential for improvement is infinite in all directions.
Being optimistic puts you in alignment with the long arc of history, and a part of something much bigger than yourself.
Optimism looks past the superficial to reckon with the essence of deeper change.
Optimism is a skill that bestows resilience and adaptability.
We should be optimistic not because our problems are smaller than we thought, but because our capacity to solve them is larger than we thought.
Dive in here:
Kevin Kelly: The Case for Optimism
Newsletter:
Recomendo is a newsletter that is built on optimism and curated by Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, and Claudia Dawson.
You will get 6 delightful recommendations each week on tech, media, cool gadgets, and more.
The best part is it’s a weekly dose of optimism.
I dedicated a previous edition to Kevin Kelly’s work. You can find it here:
12 Technological Forces, Optimists Shape the Future, & More
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The next group starts on March 29th, and applications close on March 4th.
Last chance for EARLYBIRD rates.
If you share it on social media, tag me on Twitter so I can thank you.
This was a timely read. Thank you so much!
Gm Gm, Really loving this piece and the work you do, Misha. I also run a web3 news substack for underrepresented creators called Facesofweb3. Would you be open to a recommendation exchange? Our subscribers need to be able to find each other!
Great job, once again!