The Exponential Growth of AI: What It Means for You

We live in the most interesting time in human history.

I do not say that lightly. I have spent over a decade at the intersection of transformative technologies. I have watched blockchain evolve from a cypherpunk experiment to a global financial infrastructure. But what is happening right now with artificial intelligence is something different. Something unprecedented.

AI is not just advancing. It is advancing exponentially. And most people have no idea what that actually means.

Understanding Exponential Growth

Humans are terrible at understanding exponential growth. Our brains evolved to think linearly. If something grows by 10% per year, we intuitively expect it to be 10% better next year, 20% better in two years, and so on.

But exponential growth does not work that way.

If AI capabilities double every 18 months, then in 15 years AI will be over 1,000 times more capable than it is today. Not 10 times. Not 100 times. Over 1,000 times.

Think about what that means. The AI that seems impressive today will look like a calculator compared to what is coming.

What I Learned from Ben Goertzel

I had the privilege of sitting down with Ben Goertzel, one of the true pioneers of artificial general intelligence. Ben has been working toward AGI for decades, long before it became a mainstream topic. Our conversation changed how I think about what is possible.

The question is not whether AGI will arrive. The question is whether humanity is ready for it.

Ben sees a future where AI does not just match human intelligence but far exceeds it. Where machines can reason, create, and discover in ways we cannot even imagine. This is not science fiction. This is the trajectory we are on.

But here is what makes this moment unique: we have the opportunity to shape how this technology develops. The decisions we make in the next few years will determine whether AI becomes a force for human flourishing or a tool for unprecedented concentration of power.

The Convergence of AI and Blockchain

This is where my two worlds collide. AI and blockchain are not just parallel technologies. They are deeply complementary.

Consider the challenges AI faces:

• Trust: How do you know an AI is telling you the truth? How do you verify its outputs? Blockchain provides immutable audit trails and verifiable computation.
• Ownership: Who owns the data that trains AI? Who owns the outputs AI creates? Blockchain enables new models of data ownership and creator rights.
• Decentralization: Today, AI is controlled by a handful of massive corporations. Blockchain enables distributed AI networks where no single entity holds all the power.
• Value exchange: How do AI agents transact with each other and with humans? Cryptocurrency provides the native payment rails for machine to machine commerce.

The future is not AI or blockchain. The future is AI and blockchain, working together to create systems that are both intelligent and trustworthy.

What This Means for You

Here is the uncomfortable truth: AI is going to transform every industry, every profession, every aspect of how we live and work. This is not a prediction. It is already happening.

You have three choices:

Ignore it. Pretend AI is just another overhyped technology that will fade away. Hope that your job, your industry, your way of life will be spared. This is the path of denial, and it leads nowhere good.

Fear it. See AI as a threat to be resisted. Fight against the tide of technological change. This is understandable, but ultimately futile. You cannot stop exponential progress.

Embrace it. Learn how AI works. Understand its capabilities and limitations. Find ways to work with AI rather than against it. Position yourself at the intersection of human creativity and machine intelligence.

The third path is the only one that leads to opportunity.

The Skills That Will Matter

In a world of increasingly capable AI, what skills become more valuable?

• Critical thinking: AI can generate endless content, but humans must evaluate what is true, what is valuable, what matters.
• Creativity: AI can remix and recombine, but humans define what is worth creating in the first place.
• Emotional intelligence: AI can simulate empathy, but humans crave genuine human connection.
• Ethical judgment: AI can optimize for any goal, but humans must decide which goals are worth pursuing.
• Adaptability: The specific skills needed tomorrow will be different from today. The ability to learn and evolve is everything.

The Opportunity of a Lifetime

I have been fortunate to witness two technological revolutions. The first was blockchain, which is redistributing economic power from institutions to individuals. The second is AI, which is redefining what intelligence means and what is possible.

These are not separate revolutions. They are two aspects of a single transformation: the decentralization of power in all its forms. Financial power through blockchain. Cognitive power through AI.

The question is not whether you will be affected by these changes. You will be. Everyone will be.

The question is whether you will be a passive observer or an active participant. Whether you will let these technologies happen to you, or whether you will harness them to create the future you want.

The Time is Now

Every technological revolution has early adopters and late adopters. Early adopters face more uncertainty but capture more opportunity. Late adopters feel safer but often find the opportunities have already been claimed.

We are still in the early days of AI. Yes, chatbots and image generators have captured public attention. But the true applications, the ones that will reshape industries and create trillions of dollars in value, are still being discovered.

This is your moment. Not to panic. Not to hide. But to learn, to explore, to experiment.

The future belongs to those who can see it coming and have the courage to meet it head on.

We live in the most interesting time in human history. The only question is: what will you do with it?