Humanity’s Understanding of the Future Always Lags Behind
A hundred years ago, people could not imagine life with mobile phones and the internet.
Fifty years ago, no one foresaw globalization and cultural conflicts becoming part of daily life.
And today, we do not truly understand how the wave of technology is reshaping our destiny.
In fact, humanity always tries to comprehend new things through the lens of the past.
This cognitive limitation creates the “blind spots” of every era.
World War I: The Clash of National Consciousness and Ethnic Awakening
At the beginning of the 20th century, nation-states became the core units of social organization.
Fueled by industrial power expansion and colonial conflicts, national consciousness surged.
Nationalism, sovereign independence, and territorial competition intertwined, eventually igniting World War I.
Behind this war lay a new type of conflict driven by ethnic awakening:
Every nation and people fought for survival and their right to be heard, which evolved into a full-scale war.
Nationalism, at once, was both the progressive force of that era and the source of disaster.
World War II and the Cold War: Class Confrontation and Bloc Rivalries
In the aftermath of WWI, class consciousness gradually took center stage.
After the October Revolution, capitalism and communism entered full ideological opposition.
Post-WWII, the Cold War divided the world into two blocs, making class struggle not only a domestic issue but the central theme of international relations.
During this time, “Which side are you on?” became the fundamental question in global politics.
Class conflict, ideological clashes, and great power rivalry dominated the mid-20th century narrative.
Contemporary Society: New Contradictions of Diverse Identities and Cultural Conflicts
Entering the 21st century, the end of the Cold War diminished class confrontation as a singular narrative.
In its place emerged fragmented and diversified social tensions.
Differences in ethnicity, gender, culture, region, and values became new fault lines.
From the backlash against globalization to the rise of identity politics, human society has entered a new phase — one defined by struggles over recognition and identity.
Unlike the past, these conflicts are no longer driven by grand narratives.
Instead, they persist and evolve within the details of everyday life.
The Future: The Rise of Technological Concepts and the Necessity of Decentralized AI
Today’s technological wave signals the birth of a new main storyline.
AI, brain-computer interfaces, gene editing — these frontier technologies are reshaping societal structures and directly challenging the fundamental question: “What does it mean to be human?”
The relationship between technology and humanity is replacing culture and class as the defining contradiction of future societies.
In this context, decentralized AI technology becomes especially vital.
Centralized AI risks exacerbating power monopolies, information control, and social stratification.
By contrast, decentralized AI architectures can:
- Ensure various social groups retain their voices amid technological upheaval;
- Mitigate risks of technological despotism, preventing AI from becoming an oppressive tool;
- Promote fair distribution of knowledge and computing power, strengthening global collaboration and resilience.
The deeper technology embeds itself into society, the more governance models will shape the future social order.
Decentralized AI is not just a technical choice — it is a necessary path to prevent humanity from falling into new forms of centralization and imbalance.
Just as nationalism, class struggle, and cultural identity once dominated history,
the future may belong to the story of how we defend human and societal autonomy in the age of technological dominance.
The Story of Human Civilization Never Stops Evolving
Nations, classes, cultures, and technologies intertwine, collectively writing the chapters of human advancement.
In the coming technology-driven era, maintaining decentralization and protecting individual and collective freedoms amid AI’s rise may become the central theme for the coming decades — or even centuries.