A Year of Magical Thinking

Do Less.

My year of magical not-thinking

The Intelligence Curse

This series examines the incoming crisis of human irrelevance and provides a map towards a future where people remain the masters of their destiny.

Imagination: a manifesto

One of The Millions's Most-Anticipated Books of Winter 2024 In this revelatory work, Ruha Benjamin calls on us to take imagination seriously as a site of struggle and a place of possibility for reshaping the future

I Fed the People Building the Metaverse

On AI, male ego, and other reasons I no longer believe technology is magic

Michel Bauwens on Twitter / X

This is the deeper motivation that inspires Caitlin's work:< " It is possible for the human organism to liberate itself from its habituated creation of the ego through the process commonly referred to as spiritual enlightenment. It is also possible for humanity as a species to… https://t.co/smsjPAnNFr— Michel Bauwens (@mbauwens) June 18, 2026

‘Self-termination is most likely’: the history and future of societal collapse

An epic analysis of 5,000 years of civilisation argues that a global collapse is coming unless inequality is vanquished

Collective Flourishing

Our tools for navigating the future haven't kept pace with its growing complexity. Creating new systems that integrate a deep understanding of people, profound advances in modelling and foresight, and expressive interfaces could help us see, reason, and choose a better future together.

Enough Debate about the AI Jobpocalypse. We Need To Plan for the Messy Middle.

Caught between arguments of abundance and apocalypse, economist Molly Kinder explores what workers can expect in the near future — and what we can do about it.

Large language memories: Psychosis and antisocial media

Using the fields of memory studies and digital humanities, this article argues that there has been a shift from more collective and social memory to more personalised and individual memory. This shift, it is argued here, can be conceptualised through the psychoanalytic concept of ‘psychosis’. While the causes of the changes in our patterns of memory have been located in capitalist and neoliberal principles, the effects of the changes in our memory habits might be found in psychosis. From falling in love with machinic AI replicas to indulging in conspiracy theories to acting as if we are social media influencers or backing ourselves to win out in impossible job markets, we are inclined towards personal fantasy, often at the expense of participating in social life. But why do we do this? Why is it easier to believe a farfetched conspiracy theory or wild personal dream than it is to participate socially and collectively in the world we live in? Part of the reason, at least, is found in our increasing habitual reliance on new and emergent technologies. Often presented to us as a brand-new form of Artificial Intelligence, these generative tools are the latest update to a longer pattern in our digital world: the trend of developing ‘relationships’ with algorithms that, to larger and smaller degrees, we come to rely on for habits of cognition and recognition. By affecting our patterns of memory, these technologies produce a kind of isolation that lends itself to individual and fantastical – rather than shared and realist – thinking.

Grow like Trees: An Organic Approach to Societal Regrowth

2026 is the year that system breakdown became impossible to deny.  Democratic norms, societal norms, rule of law, the fabric of the social contract tearing as we watch. Or hide, unwilling or unable to face the unravelling. The hopeful among us see opportunity through the dark.  Tentatively or boldly we

Humanity’s Endgame

A new history of societal collapse by an expert in existential risk argues that our globalized society is edging toward the precipice.

A psychologically rich life: Beyond happiness and meaning.

A list of other catastrophes that are probably fake

Adding to this over time