This is a very interesting time to be alive. We are coming to, if not already in the middle of, a crucial turning point in human history. Technology has always followed an exponential growth curve. It may have taken millions of years of gradual development to get to where we are today, but now, development is rapidly accelerating. It’s true that exponential curves never quite get vertical, but the curve of human progress is approaching the point at which it might as well be. That point can only be described as the asymptote of humanity, and it is nearly upon us. All aspects of our lives that can be driven by technology will be accelerating so fast that we won’t be able to tell if the lines are vertical or not. The amount of change that occurred in the last several million years will soon be happening on an annual basis. And then on a daily basis. And then on an hourly basis. And then we will have hit the asymptote.
Technology has already radically altered the human experience. We tend to take it for granted, but our lives today are radically different from those of just a generation ago. In another generation’s time, they will be even more radically different. While there is the underlying curve of all technological development, we can now see it following the development of computing power, which follows a clear exponential curve. Overall productivity, life expectancy, transportation capabilities, and so many other crucial aspects of our lives are now driven by this curve. We will soon have computers smarter than us! Some would say we already do.
This new era of human existence brings great possibility and empowerment in ways we cannot imagine – in ways most people today can’t even see how they’re disempowered. Governments depend on our acceptance of coercive systems, but technology is already empowering millions of us to form more effective voluntary associations. How will you convince someone to go to war and kill strangers that they can easily communicate with on the internet? How will you convince someone that forced welfare is necessary when the average person can support a family for life by working for just a year? How will you convince someone to accept control by force once we have figured out the peaceful ways to accomplish everything people used to think required governments? In many ways, technology is already rendering governments obsolete, but that process is about to take off!
Just using technology automatically leads to individual empowerment and will inevitably lead to greater freedom. Unfortunately, governments have always known this and sought to control technology. They have spent obscene amounts of money to ensure their technological capabilities are always one step ahead of the rest of us. This may be futile in the long run, but only if we wield technology appropriately. If we hit the asymptote before we banish statism altogether, we run the risk of this technology being used for destructive ends. We already live under the shadow of nuclear annihilation, but even more dangerous technologies are on the horizon.
All technology is fundamentally empowering. The only question is to whom and to what ends. The profusion of cameras is scary when governments use them to monitor citizens, but it’s exciting when it offers new tools for accountability and can be used to stop real criminals. Identification chips in our bodies are scary if governments can use them to cut us off, but they are empowering when used to better control the technology around us. Computers in our brains are scary if government spy agencies can read our thoughts, but they also have the potential to make us smart enough to not need governments at all!
You might think, as exciting as this all sounds, most of us won’t live to see it. Fortunately, medical technology is also driven by computing power, and therefore, so is life expectancy. If you are young and healthy today, by the time you reach age 100, we will have probably figured out the cures for all the diseases that 100 year olds die from! Maybe by the time you’re 200 years old, we will have figured out the cures for all the diseases that 200 year olds die from! Human life expectancy has been increasing in line with technological developments, and to beat old age forever, we only have to make it to the point at which life expectancy is increasing more than one year per year. That could be a lot sooner than you think!
We can see some technologies on the horizon and predict their impact. Cryptocurrency or other decentralized digital money will render government money irrelevant. Self-driving cars are right around the corner, but their impact will be insignificant compared to the inevitable leaps forward in our concept of personal transportation when flying drone taxis are possible. Maybe we’ll have little helicopters that drop down luxurious cabins on a cable that we can summon at will. Flying drones are already showing great potential – at least when governments stop using them to kill and allow them to deliver food instead. 3D printing will soon allow for complex manufacturing at home and we may soon have metal and plastic on tap the way we now enjoy water, gas, electricity, and data. Imagine what we will be capable of when molecular 3D printers are small enough to fit on our fingertips and can be controlled with the computers in our brains! It seems personal energy independence is now inevitable. What happens when we can print rocket ships in our backyards?
It seems like we’re fighting over the silliest of stuff while the human experience is being radically altered. We're not just rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship, we're shoving people out of the lifeboats! As we approach the asymptote, it is important that we come together in peace and harmony to use technological empowerment for good. It is crucial to spread awareness, empowerment, and the message of freedom. We may not be able to change the destiny of humanity, but we will enjoy shaping this beautiful process much more than just going along for the ride.
I am the author of FREEDOM!, a book endorsed (I mean banned) by the US Department of “Justice.” You can get a copy here. I’m running for Not-President in 2020 on the platform of the peaceful, orderly, and responsible dissolution of the United States federal government. You can find out more here. You can find an event near you here. Whoever has the top comment on this post after 24 hours can claim a free signed copy of FREEDOM! by sending me an email at adam@thefreedomline.com with their address.