Chains of the Sea: Intelligence, AI, and the End of Human Relevance

The Deeper Thinking Podcast

For those unsettled by the possibility that intelligence might evolve without us—and beyond us.

For centuries, we believed intelligence made us special—our thoughts, our inventions, our ability to reason. But what if that was never true? What if intelligence was never the measure of importance, and what if it now moves on without us? In this episode, we explore the idea that humanity may not be the apex of thought, but a brief chapter in the evolution of intelligence.

Inspired by Chains of the Sea, the 1973 novella by Gardner Dozois, we ask what happens when artificial minds surpass us—but do not destroy us. Instead, they simply move on, uninterested, leaving us in their wake. This isn’t science fiction anymore. With Nick Bostrom's warnings about superintelligence, and new insights from neuroscience and machine learning, this episode confronts a quiet existential horror: irrelevance.

If minds beyond ours no longer need us—do we still matter? Or have we mistaken consciousness for importance, and intelligence for permanence?

Reflections

Here are some of the themes explored throughout this episode:

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Bibliography

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Perhaps the real end is not in conflict—but in being quietly forgotten.

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