Key Themes and Ideas:

• Technological Waves & Their Impact:Suleyman frames technological advancements as “waves” that have repeatedly transformed human civilization, citing examples like the discovery of fire, the wheel, and electricity. He notes that these waves follow a similar trajectory: breakthrough technologies are invented, deliver value, and become widespread.
• Quote: "Over millennia, humanity has been shaped by successive waves of technology...These waves followed a similar trajectory: breakthrough technologies were invented, delivered huge value, and so they proliferated, became more effective, cheaper, more widespread and were absorbed into the normal, ever-evolving fabric of human life."
• AI as a Distinct Wave:The current wave, centered on AI, is unique because it not only changes how power is used, but who has access to it, leading to its radical proliferation.
• Quote: "AI is different from previous waves of technology because of how it unleashes new powers and transforms existing power. This is the most underappreciated aspect of the technological revolution now underway."
• Unlike previous technologies that were expensive and controlled by elites, AI is rapidly becoming cheaper and accessible to a broad range of individuals.
• Quote: "Previous era’s most powerful technologies were generally reserved to a small capital rich elite or national governments... With the leading technologies of our time, that’s no longer going to be true."
• Shift from Broadcasting to Doing:Previous technological waves, like the internet, focused on broadcasting information. This new wave is about doing – enabling individuals to perform tasks and achieve goals that were previously impossible.
• Quote: "If the last great tech wave—computers and the internet—was about broadcasting information, this new wave is all about doing."
• This includes tasks from managing daily routines to developing business strategies, designing drugs, and even military planning. The potential for individuals to accomplish complex tasks is significantly increased.
• Proliferation of Capability and Power:AI tools and capabilities will be available to almost everyone, regardless of their wealth or location, leading to a democratization of power.
• Quote: "These tools will be available to everyone, billionaires and street hustlers, kids in India and pensioners in Beverly Hills, a proliferation of not just technology but capability itself."
• This accessibility means that both positive and negative actors – "good and bad" – will be empowered, accelerating change and making outcomes less predictable.