My husband Steve told me about a demonstration he once saw: they put one drop of oil on a small pond, and it spread to cover the entire surface. One molecule thick, nearly invisible, but absolutely effective at cutting off the oxygen exchange that keeps the ecosystem alive.
Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have been living in an ecosystem of accelerating change. Each new disruption—from industrialization to the internet to AI—arrives faster than we can fully adapt. Like that oil spreading across the pond's surface, these rapid changes can suffocate established systems of communication and shared understanding.
We see this most clearly in America's fractured democracy. The internet's potential for connection has been co-opted for profit and political power. People now live in algorithmic silos with completely different realities. When we can't agree on basic facts, every conversation becomes a battle over foundational truths rather than a discussion of solutions.
At the same time, we're gaining unprecedented adaptability, new forms of collective intelligence, and expanded possibilities for cooperation. We can choose to harness these potentials and ameliorate the challenges.
The answer lies in values-based navigation—choosing principles that help us steer through constant disruption with intention rather than being swept along by whatever forces happen to be strongest. We can rebuild communication systems, choose shared values to guide our adaptation, and learn to flourish under new conditions.
Read the full article: Suffocation and Recovery: Navigating Accelerating Change
