There is one painful and time-honored tradition throughout all of human history: shuddering at some of the terrible things our ancestors did and believed. Slavery is an obvious example (even if many people at the time understood that slavery was bad). 

But there are other things—like lead—which almost everyone at the time viewed as totally fine, but ended up… Not being fine at all. There are also things that people viewed as good which turned out to be quite harmful. Like Dracula’s favorite medical practice, bloodletting, in which doctors drained patients’ blood with the intention of curing illness.

Today will one day be referred to as ‘the past’ in history books, and it would be naive to think that we aren’t still doing a bunch of stuff that future humans are going to look down on us for. Here are some predictions.

Note:These might be wrong and they do not all carry the same significance. Email us if you have any more.

  • The lean startup methodology
  • Spending hours every day on social media
  • Executive coaching
  • Telling everyone they need therapy
  • Not sleeping enough
  • Açai bowls and bowl/smoothie culture in general [0]
  • AI-generated art
  • Factory-farmed meat 
  • Mass deportations (or by contrast, ~unfiltered acceptance) of immigrants
  • Most commercial fishing
  • Being rude to AI
  • Not living close to your family and close friends
  • Gambling apps and websites
  • Plus free-for-all, legal advertisements for gambling (including to children on websites like Twitch)

Using AI as a crutch for interpersonal communicationHunching over our desksMaking important decisions based on ethnicity [1]Forced prison laborMarriage as a defaultHedge fundsAdvertisingHealth supplement companiesWorking

  • Specifically “work to put food on the table”, not “work you do because you love”

AI safety and alignmentAlcoholSleeping next to your phoneThe efficient market hypothesisThe death penaltyNot taking climate change seriously Powerful mind-altering drugs as the default to treat mild to moderate mental health issuesTheocraciesWar as a political toolPlasticsSalmon farming in oceansSending kids to school in groupsHandheld tech (iPhones, iPads) for childrenTikTok and the rise of short-form content Effective altruismHuge influencers (1M+ followers)How the world has interacted with the Middle East Cancel culture (i.e. extreme and reactionary intolerance)Mass tourism Short-term rental companiesMany modern accountability standards in policingThe pharmaceutical industryModern health insuranceModern justice and prison systems

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[0] Brazil does these pretty well. Still, the Brazilian versions are unhealthy too (often unhealthier than the American ones!) and probably won’t age well either.

[1] There are some obvious exceptions here, like in medicine, where your ethnicity may put you at an increased risk for certain diseases and your doctor should have those risks in mind.