Nine years
Reflections on writing a newsletter for nine years and what are my future plans for Humanity Redefined
On this day, nine years ago, I sent out the first issue of a newsletter that would eventually become Humanity Redefined, my longest-running project.
The newsletter began as a weekly collection of links to news and articles that I found interesting or noteworthy. For eight years, the newsletter remained just that—a collection of links sent out every Friday. However, after eight years, I started to lose interest in continuing this project.
At the beginning of 2023, I spoke with multiple people to help me figure out what I should do next. During one of those conversations, the idea of moving to Substack was put on the table. I contemplated the idea for a couple of days and decided to make the move.
That was one of the best decisions I have made in the last couple of years.
Being on Substack opened new possibilities. I now have a space where I can publish articles that go deeper into various topics, from AI and robotics to biotech and explore different visions of the future.
Along the way, the newsletter started to grow at a rate I had never experienced before. When I joined Substack, the newsletter was very close to crossing 1,000 subscribers. Now it is getting close to passing 2,500 subscribers. The number of people reading my work has more than doubled since joining Substack. Additionally, I have met and spoken with many interesting people, either virtually or in person. The ride has been, and continues to be, crazy.
I also have to acknowledge where I have failed in the last year. I promised to publish a weekly news roundup every week and at least one in-depth article every week.
I kept my word to publish the news roundups every Friday. There was only one week when the news roundup did not go out on Friday but a day later.
My record of publishing in-depth articles is not as great. There were weeks without any, and there are specific articles that I promised to publish but still haven’t left the draft folder. I admit I have not delivered what I promised. I’ve had to confront my perfectionism and let it go, as it does not help me. Instead, I am now focusing on improving my workflow, completing articles as best as I can at the moment, and improving my writing to be at least a little better each time. I promise to deliver a high-quality, well-researched, and informative article to your inbox at least once a week.
My goal with Humanity Redefined is to shed light on the cutting edge of technology and to show that a positive future, a future in which humans flourish, is possible. I am optimistic about the future, despite what is going on in the world and in my personal life. I have experienced the alternative. A jaded, resigned life is not how I want to live, and I don’t wish that for anyone. The future can and will be better. That’s the message I want to share with my work.
Before I share my plans for the future of Humanity Redefined, I want to say thank you.
Thank you
for suggesting the move to Substack. Without your suggestion, I’d probably have lost interest in writing a newsletter and abandoned it. Luke runs the FUTURES Podcast where he interviews incredible individuals daring to imagine the world of tomorrow, which I enjoy and recommend.Thank you
for being a mentor here on Substack and for giving me the opportunity to publish in your newsletters. I deeply appreciate your advice and support, and I wouldn’t be here without them. Micheal writes and curates AI Supremacy, one of the largest newsletters about AI and technology on Substack and he is the pillar of the AI community on Substack.A big shoutout goes to everyone I have collaborated with in the last year -
, , , and . It was a pleasure working with you and learning from you as well.Thank you to all my paid subscribers for supporting my work. Every one of you brings the dream of making Humanity Redefined my job a bit closer to reality. I find it hard to put into words how grateful I am for your generous support.
Thank you to everyone who reads Humanity Redefined and to all of you who leave a like, comment, or share my articles. Every time I see a notification that someone liked, commented, or shared my work, it gives me the motivation to continue and to strive to be better.
The future of Humanity Redefined
Here is the plan for the newsletter for the next year: a weekly news roundup and at least one in-depth article per week. There are some interesting conversations happening behind the scenes, and that's all I'll say for now.
Sometime in the next few weeks, the weekly news roundup will get a refresh. It will get a new name and a fresh look, but the general format—a write-up focused on the big news of the week followed by a collection of links—will remain the same.
I will be sending a survey in the next few days to ask you, dear reader, what you want to get out of reading Humanity Redefined. If you already have feedback or ideas, please share them with me by either replying to this email or reaching out directly.
Last but not least, I am contemplating branching out into podcasts, or YouTube, or both. The final decision on whether I pursue creating other forms of media will depend on how much time I have (and if I can overcome cringing while editing and listening to my own voice). I want to make it clear that I won’t abandon writing if I pursue that path.
As a stretch goal, I’d love to attend a conference or two as a speaker. Before the pandemic, I practised public speaking regularly and even had the opportunity to be on stage a couple of times. Today, I signed up for a public speaking course to refresh my skills, and we will see where that path takes me.
I am excited to see what the next year will bring!
And again, thank you for being part of the journey, no matter if you joined nine years ago or today.
I’ll finish by sharing a quote that has stuck in my head and reminds me to strive for a better future.
Never accept the world for what it appears to be. Dare to see it for what it could be.
Becoming a paid subscriber now would be the best way to support the newsletter. As a token of my appreciation, I'm offering a limited-time anniversary deal of 20% off a paid subscription for your first year. The offer is valid until Sunday, 16th June 2024.
Alternatively, please like posts that resonate with you and leave your thoughts in the comments. Share the newsletter with someone who will enjoy it as well. This will help the newsletter grow and reach more people.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post, please click the ❤️ button or share it.
Humanity Redefined sheds light on the bleeding edge of technology and how advancements in AI, robotics, and biotech can usher in abundance, expand humanity's horizons, and redefine what it means to be human.
A big thank you to my paid subscribers, to my Patrons: whmr, Florian, dux, Eric, Preppikoma and Andrew, and to everyone who supports my work on Ko-Fi. Thank you for the support!
My DMs are open to all subscribers. Feel free to drop me a message, share feedback, or just say "hi!"
Conrad writes, "My goal with Humanity Redefined is to shed light on the cutting edge of technology and to show that a positive future, a future in which humans flourish, is possible. I am optimistic about the future, despite what is going on in the world...."
Definitely an interesting topic.
It seems such predictions may depend on what time frame we're looking at. What future specifically are you referring to?
It seems it would take an astronomical event to make humanity extinct. Though it's possible that a global nuclear war would crash agriculture all over the world. But even then, somebody would make it through.
My prediction is that civilizations will keep rising and falling, rising and falling, rising and falling, and that very gradually over very long periods of time there is indeed a chance we'll learn through pain what we need to learn to finally have a stable human environment on this planet. So at that scale, I'm optimistic too.
But there's close to no chance this civilization will be the one that figures it out. You know, we have thousands of massive hydrogen bombs aimed down our own throats, an ever imminent existential threat we typically find too boring to bother discussing. The chance that we can keep these weapons around forever and they'll never be used hovers somewhere around zero, imho.
As example, if I walked around all day with a loaded gun in my mouth, and I was bored by the gun, how would you rate my chances for survival?
It's a pleasure following your work. Thanks for the mentioning 🙌