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Civilization: The Great Filter [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-02-22
Perhaps we are experienceing the Great Filter theory in action—the idea that civilizations might reach a certain level of technological advancement, but instead of thriving, they self-destruct. Maybe through war, environmental collapse, AI gone wrong, or just drowning in their own disinformation and division.
It does seem like intelligence—at least in the way humans define it—might not be the evolutionary advantage we assumed it was. Intelligence got us incredible technological advancements, but it also gave us the ability to manipulate, exploit, and self-destruct in ways no other species can.
Traditional evolution selects for survival and reproduction, not wisdom or long-term thinking. That’s a problem because the very intelligence that helped us dominate the planet might also be what wipes us out. We’re running global-scale systems with brains that evolved for tribal survival. We can split the atom, but we still think in terms of “us vs. them.” We can create AI, but we can’t even agree on what’s true.
Maybe intelligence isn’t inherently flawed—maybe it just doesn’t evolve fast enough to keep up with the problems it creates. We’ve spent thousands of years building tools that extend our power, but we haven’t had the same evolutionary pressure to develop the wisdom to wield them responsibly.
So, does that mean intelligence is a dead end? Or is it just a rough transition period where we have to learn, painfully, how to use it without destroying ourselves? If evolution is still at work, maybe the next phase isn’t about being smarter—maybe it’s about being wiser. But the clock is ticking.
What do you think?
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