Science Corporation

The biological imperative of existential dread Humanity is hardwired for pessimism. For thousands of years, survival depended on anticipating the predator around the corner or the famine after the frost. Today, that evolutionary programming manifests as a deep-seated fear of technological progress. David Friedberg notes that every generation identifies its own version of the apocalypse—whether it was the great flood, the population bomb of the 19th century, or the current anxieties surrounding AI. In the late 1800s, the world feared mass starvation as natural fertilizer supplies dwindled; then the Haber-Bosch process unlocked atmospheric nitrogen, and the population skyrocketed. We are currently in a similar transition. The dislocation of social and economic systems causes a natural instinct to put a break on progress. However, the facts on the ground suggest a different trajectory: people are living longer, healthier lives than at any point in history. The perceived threat of AI is often viewed as a difference of kind rather than degree, but history suggests that technology follows a predictable path of diffusion. While value may aggregate centrally at first—much like Cisco in the early internet era or Nvidia today—it eventually commoditizes, empowering the individual rather than the institution. Why the moon is the next industrial frontier While space exploration is often framed as a quest for a backup planet, the moon represents a massive economic opportunity that Silicon Valley has largely underestimated. The moon is not just a destination; it is a manufacturing hub. Because the moon lacks an atmosphere and possesses only one-sixth of the Earth's gravity, the energy cost to move material is drastically lower. Friedberg proposes using a mass driver—an electric rail gun—to launch material from the lunar surface. This system would use solar energy and magnetic levitation to accelerate a ton of material to 20,000 km/h in just 4.5 seconds. By using lunar rock as a heat shield, parcels could be delivered to Mars or back to Earth with minimal fuel. The moon contains aluminum, silicon, carbon, and ice for hydrogen and oxygen. With AI and robotics, we can build self-replicating factories that mine these raw materials, potentially reducing the energy cost of setting up colonies on Mars by 100-fold. This is not science fiction; it is a logistical optimization of the solar system's resources. Solving the plasma equilibrium with superintelligence Energy remains the master variable of human prosperity. If the cost of energy drops to one cent per kilowatt-hour, every economic constraint evaporates. Friedberg argues that fusion energy—the same process that powers the sun—is finally within reach because of AI. The challenge of fusion has always been maintaining a stable plasma at 100 million degrees Celsius. Protons naturally push each other apart, and as they get denser, they create magnetic fields that disrupt the containment fields of the reactor. AI is now being used to train the control systems of these magnetic fields in real-time. This has allowed researchers in China to maintain stable plasmas for up to 30 minutes, a massive leap from the few seconds achieved only years ago. Once we achieve net-positive industrial scale, we move into an era of abundance. A swimming pool’s worth of ocean water could theoretically power the entire planet for a year. This isn't just a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels; it is the end of resource scarcity as we know it. The epigenetic reset and the end of aging Perhaps the most transformative shift on the horizon is the reclassification of aging from a natural inevitability to a treatable disease. Our cells all contain the same DNA, but they function differently based on which genes are switched on or off—a process called cellular differentiation. As we age, DNA breaks caused by radiation and toxins lead to epigenetic errors. The "on" and "off" switches get moved to the wrong places, causing the heart cell to stop beating efficiently or the skin to wrinkle. In 2006, Shinya Yamanaka discovered that four specific proteins could reset a cell to a stem-cell state. Subsequent research has shown that a partial reset can return an old cell to a youthful state without losing its identity. This has already reversed blindness in mice and monkeys. Companies like Altos Labs and David Sinclair's clinical trials are moving toward systemic treatments. Within the next decade, we may see the first "longevity cocktails" that reset the human epigenome. Extending human life by even one year adds tens of trillions of dollars to global GDP, but the psychological impact of "longevity escape velocity" is even greater: we will finally have the time to reach our full potential. Embryo selection and the competitive race for IQ As AI reaches superintelligence, humans face a forced adaptation. One path is the human-machine interface, such as Neuralink or the retinal devices being developed by Science Corporation. However, a more controversial and likely path involves genetic optimization. Friedberg points to companies like HeraSight that allow parents to sequence embryos and select for traits like immune function, lower rates of depression, or higher IQ. While critics label this as eugenics, the Overton window is shifting rapidly. Parents already select against negative traits like Huntington’s disease. As soon as it becomes a competitive game—where children with optimized genomes are outperforming others in school and sports—the "ick factor" will vanish. If a child’s IQ is moderately negatively correlated with life satisfaction because of the burden of awareness, parents will still choose the higher IQ to ensure their child can compete in a world dominated by AI. We are moving toward a future where being a "natural" human may be viewed as a disadvantage. The collapse of the California model While technology moves toward abundance, social systems in the West are rotting. California serves as a warning for the rest of the world. Politicians have stayed in power by making promises—free college, guaranteed pensions, and healthcare—that the state cannot fund. California currently faces a pension hole of up to $1 trillion. To fill this gap, the state is considering a wealth tax, which Friedberg identifies as the fundamental end of private property rights. Unlike an income tax, a wealth tax targets assets that have already been taxed. It requires the government to assess the value of everything you own—your car, your art, your home. Once the government has the right to take a percentage of your property based on a majority vote, 51% of the population will eventually vote to take everything from the other 49%. This is the end state of Socialism, a philosophy that Friedberg calls the worst idea in human history. The irony is that as we enter an era where technology can provide everything, we are voting for systems that strip away individual agency and property. Reclaiming optimism in an age of luxury beliefs Society has become pathologically pessimistic. In the 1950s, Disney's Tomorrowland was a vision of microwaves and moon rockets. By the 1970s, that vision shifted to apocalyptic warnings about robots taking over. Today, shunning nuclear energy or GMO seeds has become a "luxury belief" for the wealthy in the West, while farmers in Africa or India would see their lives transformed by the same technologies. We are at a crossroads. We can choose the path of abundance—unlocked by AI, fusion, and genetic engineering—or we can retreat into fear-based government control. The future is epic, but only if we have the courage to embrace it. True growth happens one intentional step at a time, but it requires us to recognize our inherent strength to navigate the change rather than trying to stop it through legislation.