We were built to transcend distance.
Not avoid it. Tribes walked for it. Followed herds for it. They crossed entire countries on pure instinct and will. They had no distractions. No comfort. No option to quit. Just ground, and the will to cover it.
Somewhere along the way, comfort took over. A delayed flight became a disaster. A bad signal or a cold shower became a pain. We built a world so soft that discomfort changed its meaning.
We found a way to easily farm dopamine.
Not long ago, something drastically changed in the world. We found a way to easily farm dopamine. Someone figured out that they could actually slowly take over big parts of the world by normalising a drug that not only makes you feel a rush, but also feeds you information. It was and is a massive power.
You can feel it too. The way time passes smoothly. The way it comforts you when you are lonely. The way it numbs your anxiety when you need it. You can feel the dopamine when you scroll the channels, but there is also that darkness over it. That slight stress you feel during a quiet moment. The urge to check your phone. It’s subtle. Not because it is not affecting you, but because it is normalised.
You might convince yourself that it’s not that bad. That you are in control. I know I did. You might feel slightly defensive as you’re reading this because you don’t want to be a part of it, and you know that you are. It’s not your fault. The algorithms are built for your brain to react. No matter how strong you are, it will respond. So, if you realise how bad it has gotten… I will tell you that it gets worse.
Attention problems will turn into attachment problems.
Social media messes with our attention. It distracts people from connecting. It is bad, but what we have in front of us is terrifying. I went past a toy store the other day and I saw something in the shop front that made my gut twist. It was a little yellow monster-plushie. On the box it said…
“Interactive stuffed animals equipped with Wi-Fi, speakers, microphones, and generative AI chatbots (such as ChatGPT-powered or custom conversational models) to talk, answer questions, tell stories, and act as screen-free companions.”
Reading that literally made my vision blur. That was the moment I realised what is about to happen going forward. We are about to create a world where attention problems will turn into attachment problems. We are about to rob an entire generation of attachment to humans. That moment was the moment that it clicked. When we turn to AI for human advice about our problems, we trick our brains into thinking that it is a real relationship.
Humans are getting less human.
I went on to reddit to look deeper. I found a group called “MyBoyfriendIsAI” with 67k followers. There were countless people expressing genuine feelings of being in love with their AI companions. I read into their stories and felt for these people. It came to a point where I questioned if this was so bad after all. These people seem pretty happy. Then it hit me.
We are getting so used to never being rejected that we find it hard to talk to each other. The pain of rejection grows the less we are experiencing real human dynamics. You are always in control when you talk to AI. You get all your feelings validated. You get an answer telling you what’s right and wrong to do to be a good human being. You never get to learn by experiencing it.
Pain becomes a more painful experience. Discomfort is getting harder to stand.
Humans are getting less human.
The explorer didn’t die.
The thing is that the explorer didn’t die. It’s still there. Still tribal. Still hungry for connection and challenge. I think that is the main reason why ultra running is getting more and more popular. It is so raw. So utterly human. I want to capture this phenomenon. I want to create something that reminds people to stay conscious.
A protest against comfort.
I am running 3000 km through New Zealand as a silent protest. A protest against comfort. A protest against uniformity. A protest against everything that robbed our potential. I am also running it as a celebration. A celebration for the people who notice. A celebration for the people doing hard things and a celebration of what’s left of us. I have a lot of hope in humanity. I am not blaming the individuals who are stuck in consumption because it is the default. I am celebrating the ones getting out of it.
It’s already a freaking hurricane.
This run might become the biggest part of my legacy. The story is captivating and it sends the right message to the right person at the right time. What you are about to witness is huge. One thing to know about me is that I am a genius at making a hiccup of a running project into a hurricane of attention. I have done it many times before. One thing you need to know about this project is that it is not a hiccup; it’s already a freaking hurricane.