Could the Convergence Of The Three Largest Problems Confronting Us Be Our Salvation?

For all the great concerns about the challenges facing our species in this new age the seeds of our salvation may be converging at precisely the right moment.

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Maybe it’s my contrarian nature, but I find myself quite optimistic about where the world is headed. I’m not just talking about governments and political systems – this is bigger than that. Don’t get me wrong, I believe we’re facing some very challenging times ahead. Many of the foundational assumptions we’ve held as Americans, and as inhabitants of this planet, are about to be tested. Perhaps it’s forced optimism or maybe simple delusion, I’m not entirely sure. But, as I’ve delved deeper into the major macro-trends confronting us as human beings I keep coming back to the idea that there’s as much working to save us as factors are working towards our demise.

Let me preface this by saying I’m no expert on the three trends I will discuss. There are undoubtedly gaps and blind spots in my understanding. But that’s part of the broader point I want to make: no one is truly an expert when facing unprecedented human challenges. And it is precisely in these moments of uncertainty that we must innovate to survive and thrive, rather than let our fears of an old world paralyze us. This spirit of innovation is what carried us from the swamp to caves, to huts, and eventually to houses. While I’m a believer in expertise and institutions, I’m equally convinced that technology and the human mind are the true drivers of history. Together, they enable us to escape old worlds by creating new ones.

Three of the most formidable challenges facing humanity today are global climate change, the impending population collapse, and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Each presents a unique and existential threat to life and civilization as we know it. These are not distant problems, they’re imminent, and no one knows exactly what the future holds when they converge.

But here’s what we do know: the governments we’ve relied on to address such issues have failed to slow or stop their progression. Continuing to depend on these institutions as the primary (or sole) means of our survival virtually guarantees our demise. This isn’t to dismiss the role of government entirely, it’s essential, but let’s stop pretending that a new round of Paris Accords, AI regulations, or pro-natal policy solutions - especially in the Trump era – will save us. Oddly, our lack of faith in government may be the very impetus we need to take matters into our own hands. Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.

How’s that for optimism?

Take climate change, for example. Addressing it will require dramatic reductions in global consumption, coupled with soaring technological advancements that increase efficiency and productivity while drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Alternatively, we’d need a level of conversation so extreme it’s unprecedented in human history.

Interestingly, the looming population decline might help address some of these challenges. Demographers warn we’re on the precipice of a dramatic drop in population. For instance, China, the world’s most populous country, has 1.4 billion people but only recorded 12 million births last year - an astonishing decline. Projections suggest that by the end of this century, China’s population could shrink to 730 million – half its current size.

Not only is this type of population decline unprecedented in recorded history, we have no understanding of what the calamitous economic impacts will be. Our current economic models are built on the premise of growth, which depends on increasing consumption. Historical examples of declining populations – like Japan experienced since the 1980s – paint a grim picture: deflation, shrinking markets, contracting economies, and strain on social safety nets as fewer workers support aging populations. Many experts predict social and economic collapse.

In fact, the only thing that could possibly prevent this nightmare scenario would be such a tremendous advancement in technology that worker productivity dramatically increases…and I mean like dramatically increases!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) enters the chat.

Throughout history, technological revolutions have reshaped societies. Consider the U.S. in the 19^th century: until 1880 80% of Americans lived on farms and worked in agriculture. But in 1920, rapid industrialization had shifted the majority of the population to cities. This transformation wasn’t without its disruptions, but few would trade the benefits of industrialization for a return to subsistence farming.

We’re now on the cusp of another seismic shift. Productivity, aided by exponential increases in technological capacity, is likely to explode at breathtaking rates precisely at the moment we need to fill millions of jobs and reduce our consumption footprints. Yes, this disruption will create new challenges – ethical, moral, and scientific – but if history is any guide, such transformations often lead to an improved quality of life.

While the way forward will certainly not be without a host of new problems, difficulties, and questions of great moral, ethical, and scientific import, I do take more than a slight bit of comfort knowing that even without having the specific solutions required in three massive areas of transformation, the general direction of humanity is clearly moving in the way of addressing these tectonic shifts which were unimaginable just a few years ago.

Our population growth rates and consumption and waste patterns seem to be positioned to slow at a time when the planet desperately needs a breather. New technology is coming online to increase productivity that will both sustain economies that would otherwise falter, and guide us towards more efficient patterns of human direction and labor. Disrupted labor forces and out-of-work laborers may be less plentiful on the natural.

We are heading into unprecedented times, and it looks frightening to many. That has always been the case in the arc of human progress. We have an opportunity to redefine, reimagine, and create new systems and institutions for a new era. We have a choice here: to succumb to an age-old habit of our species to be paralyzed and overwhelmed by fear as the new dawn awakens, or use our God-given talents, and lean into the optimism of the age.

For me, I choose optimism.