To the dreamers, builders, and visionaries of Silicon Valley and beyond, to all who shape our collective tomorrow through technology, policy, and imagination, I write with deep admiration, and a hopeful sense of urgency. In your hands lies a rare gift: the power to influence not just what the future looks like, but how it feels, what kind of world we live in, and who we become within it.
Many today speak of humanity as a brief moment between ancient evolution and an imminent age ruled by artificial intelligence. It is a compelling narrative, and one that often carries echoes of Ayn Rand’s philosophy: the ideal of the self-made individual, pursuing personal gain as the engine of progress. This vision has inspired generations of entrepreneurs and political leaders alike. And there is undeniable power in celebrating creativity, ambition, and the drive to overcome.
But as we face the layered challenges of our time: technological disruption, ecological strain, social fragmentation. We must ask ourselves: does a focus on self-interest alone lead us where we want to go? Or does it risk hollowing out the very soul of our humanity?
Lived experience tells us that the more we consume, the more we crave. That fleeting satisfaction can become an endless chase, newer, faster, better, leaving us emptier, not happier. At a societal level, this spiral of overconsumption, isolation, and performance may yield innovation, but it can also erode meaning.
Social media once promised to connect us across the globe. And in many ways, it has. Yet the same platforms that enabled connection now too often reward curated identities, outrage, and attention economies over honest dialogue and community. We’ve built digital rooms with millions of doors, but too few windows.
These patterns mirror a larger question: if we design systems around competition, optimization, and ego, what values are we embedding in the world to come?
Each great leap in technology changes the nature of conflict. From mechanized warfare in World War I, to the cyber fronts of today, power becomes more centralized, and violence more remote. Drone strikes, disinformation, and digital manipulation happen behind screens, creating a distance that dulls accountability. We risk becoming spectators to battles waged in our name, losing the sense that peace requires our full and conscious participation.
The looming idea of the “Singularity”, the moment when artificial intelligence surpasses human cognition, has been called a fourth psychological rupture, following those revealed by Copernicus, Darwin, and Freud. But perhaps this moment, rather than diminishing us, can deepen us. Perhaps it is not our intelligence that must evolve first, but our wisdom.
Because the human spirit is more than logic. It is reflection, empathy, creativity, and grace. It is the quiet wonder of a shared sunset, the spontaneous generosity of a stranger, the joy of building something not just useful, but beautiful.
Technology can amplify all this, if we let it. AI can help doctors diagnose illness faster, personalize education, and make clean energy more accessible. Blockchain can make supply chains more transparent and ethical. Cradle-to-cradle design can help us rethink consumption, so that nothing is wasted and everything has a future. These are not distant dreams—they are already happening. What matters now is the intention we bring.
Let us not be content with systems that reward “stealing from the poor to give to the rich”, whether that means extracting data, attention, labor, or natural resources. Let us not assume that markets alone can heal what they helped fray. Yes, individual choice matters. But collective vision matters more.
From space, Earth has no borders. It is a single shimmering organism, alive with culture, biodiversity, and interdependence. Most spiritual traditions, in one way or another, tell us the same thing: we belong to each other.
This is not sentimental. It is strategic. If we want peace, prosperity, and purpose, we must design for them. We must create systems: economic, digital, political, that nourish connection instead of corrosion. That reward cooperation over conquest. That honor the fragile miracle of life on this planet.
Some argue that war has historically driven technological advancement. Perhaps that’s true. But must it always be so? What if peace were the greatest innovator of all? What if our shared yearning for justice, safety, and joy could guide the next era of invention? We stand at a crossroads, not between hope and despair, but between disconnection and unity. Between a world that optimizes for power, and one that harmonizes for dignity.
Let us choose the latter. Let us build technologies that protect the vulnerable, empower the many, and honor the Earth. Let us teach our machines to serve, not replace what is most human in us. Let us cultivate not just intelligence, but compassion.
The next chapter is unwritten. But it can be beautiful. Let’s write it together, with courage, care, and the quiet confidence that peace is not only possible, but essential.
Daan Deenik, Almere-Haven