Devolution: How I became a Eukaryote

Devolution: How I became a Eukaryote

What will humans look like after million years ?

I look around. It’s a normal day — people everywhere, waiting for buses, walking down the streets, sitting in cafes. But something is amiss. There are people, yet they aren’t really there. I see them glued to their smartphones, eyes glazed over, mindlessly scrolling. Is this a zombie apocalypse? I know the answer now …..I sink into a reverie.

While atheists and theists are engaged in arguments about evolution and God , there’s a more pressing matter at hand: the devolution that’s happening right before our eyes. The cyclical nature of existence — the idea that what goes up must come down, the pendulum swing of life — reflects the natural rhythm of the universe. Everything eventually returns to its origin. The idea that every imbalance eventually corrects itself is an ancient understanding found in many philosophies. Some call it nature. But now the pendulum has swung the other way, and the devolution of humanity is well underway.

Now in my present form, I am just an Eukaryote ….a single-celled organism. No hands , no legs and no mind .I am no longer bogged down by questions of existence or purpose. Simple yet at peace with the world.

But how did I get here?

It’s a long story. A very long one indeed, going back more than 100,0000 years. And it all began in the year 2075 AD.

2075 AD: The Height of Human Achievement

By 2075, humanity had reached the peak of technological progress. AI systems were running everything from managing global economies to health care. Humans ? Well, we were no longer needed. Machines could think faster, act more precisely, and manage the world without any bias or conflicts.

At first, humans resisted. They feared that the human touch, the emotional drive, would be lost. But with time, they grew dependent. Society changed, and humans became increasingly reliant on their AI overlords. Why bother to think when a machine could solve all your problems? Why work when the machines could earn your living for you?

Over centuries , people became complacent in their comfortable, tech-infused lives. Even the most basic tasks — walking, thinking, even caring — became the domain of machines. Humans no longer had to strive for anything. The very concept of effort became a distant memory.And so, we reached the apex of human existence: an existence of total convenience, total comfort, total apathy. Humans, once the creators, became obsolete. Without a role to play in the grand scheme of things ,humanity’s purpose disappeared. When you no longer need to work for anything, when the machines do everything for you, what remains? What is left for the human spirit to achieve?

The Slow Decline

Nature optimises. Nature is ruthless .We lost our tails 25 million years ago. An uncompromising drive to eliminate traits which no longer serve the purpose . Efficiency …nothing else matters. Humanity, too, has adapted, but in ways that weaken our bodies and minds.As a result, we find ourselves at the peak of human achievement, but also at the edge of devolution. Physical health is deteriorating as we become more sedentary, and mental capacity is diminishing as we rely more heavily on machines. Children born into this world are less likely to experience the challenges that once sharpened the human mind. Instead, they scroll and tap, communicating through avatars and virtual spaces, while the tangible world slips further from their grasp.

The question is no longer about human advancement, but about how to survive in a world where we’ve forgotten how to live.

The Final Step: Devolution

The truth is, humans didn’t need to evolve anymore. And Nature corrected the course and we devolved. From thinking, purposeful beings to mere blobs of cells. Not because we chose it, but because it was the inevitable result of a world where technology became the centre of everything, and human beings were reduced to the sidelines. We had created machines to do everything for us, and in doing so, we stopped evolving. We stopped thinking. We stopped living.

So here I am ….. just an Eukaryote ….a single-celled organism. No hands , no legs and no mind .I am no longer bogged down by questions of existence or purpose. Simple yet at peace with the world.The complexities of human life, the struggles for meaning, the ceaseless striving toward progress — they are no longer my concern. I simply exist… and that is enough.

As I wake up from my reverie , I still see people around me glued to their smartphones , mindlessly scrolling ….

The machines will keep going, long after we are gone. They will continue to manage the world, to think, to solve problems, to progress. But as for us, well, we are all now just Eukaryotes. And perhaps, in a strange twist of fate, that is all we ever truly were.

Disclaimer: I had no idea about Musk’s predictions when I wrote this. He believes that by 2029, machines will become smarter than humans, with AI development increasing tenfold each year. He also suggests that by 2040, there could be 10 billion anthropomorphic robots roaming the earth, which might have consequences — he estimates a 10–20% risk of human extinction. Read more here.