The Age of Hyper Acceleration: AI, AGI & Beyond! | Josh Kale
Human progress has always been exponential, built upon a cumulative base of knowledge stretching back thousands of years. But today, we're witnessing an inflection point unlike anything in human history: the Age of Hyper Acceleration.
Josh Kale joined us on the Bankless Podcast to unpack how AI, especially the rapidly approaching Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), is drastically reshaping our trajectory. Historically, human innovation relied on incremental improvements—steady advancements in technology layered upon each other, growing by a few percent each year. Now, thanks to a combination of powerful computing (Moore's Law) and unprecedented efficiency leaps described by Huang's Law, intelligence itself is becoming nearly free and infinitely scalable.
Consider protein sequencing as an example: historically, it took humanity 60 years to sequence just 150,000 proteins. With AI, we've leaped to 250 million sequences in mere months. These leaps extend far beyond biology. From gene therapies curing blindness to autonomous vehicles transforming transportation, we're entering an era where problems previously thought insurmountable become solvable, practically overnight.
But what's driving this explosion? Two fundamental factors: abundant energy and accessible intelligence. Countries rich in energy are invariably wealthy, and intelligence multiplies the effectiveness of that energy. As intelligence costs drop sharply, industries ranging from aviation to agriculture will experience rapid deflation and productivity leaps. Imagine supersonic flights at the price of today's budget airline tickets, or synthetic biology solving climate change by engineering organisms to clean our oceans.
Yet, with great acceleration comes great responsibility. As intelligence grows cheaper, the power it grants to individuals—and the potential risks—also grow. Ensuring this technology remains defensive, not destructive, will be critical. But Kale argues the benefits outweigh the risks, provided we advance carefully yet ambitiously.
The message is clear: the future isn't just arriving faster—it's practically here. Welcome to the Age of Hyper Acceleration, where intelligence and energy converge, unlocking infinite possibilities.