Modernity on Christopher Carter

On The Existential Risk of AI

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I have written on the use of AI in the past, and how I believe widespread use of AI will lead to a further deterioration of human participation in essential human functions, like work, intellectual pursuits, and other tasks pertaining to natural human dominion. I believe this will play out similar to how the internet, smartphones, and social media (which were designed to enrich communication) have changed work and life in similar ways.

The Return to Normal

Sun, 25 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t advocate for recovering a family-centered economy because I want to “be Amish”. I’m not skeptical of continually increasing reliance on oil and electricity because I’m a “doomer”. I don’t think you should delete all your social media accounts and own a dumbphone because I’m “anti-technology”. My skepticism of the core elements of modern life does not make me “anti-progress”. My wife and I don’t abstain from birth control use because we’re “irresponsible”.

Get Rich By Not Buying Cheap?

Sun, 18 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It is a natural conclusion to make that more efficient things consume less. This is true on a micro scale: a car with greater fuel efficiency uses less fuel. However, at the macro scale, this is not the case. The Jevon’s Paradox is an observed paradox in economics which states that greater efficiency causes greater consumption at the collective scale. The mechanism for this is what Canadian economist Blair Fix calls “technological sprawl”: as a system gets more efficient, it gets cheaper. And because it gets cheaper, we tend to use more of it, often disproportionately.

Stop Eating Sugar

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Excessive sugar consumption is one of the most widespread vices in the modern world. Here’s why you should stop making sugar a staple of your diet.