I wrote this post with an audience of "artists who are worried about AI" in mind, published on a new blog, The Human Spirit. [1]

My guess is, the 21st century will be a period of rapid change, that feels kinda crazy. I think there’ll be a few skills that used to be a Nice-to-Have (like knowing how to dance well), and that turn into more like a necessity (like reading and writing).

A particular skill I think will be important for people to cultivate is orient speed.

By “orient speed”, I mean: The skill of noticing when some new information has major ramifications. And, instead of shrugging and moving on with whatever you were doing anyway – rapidly thinking through the new implications, and re-evaluate your plans.

We spend much of our lives on autopilot – we get up, make our morning coffee, go to work, hang out with some friends or family in the evening, without having to explicitly strategize about it. You may have a way of living your life that mostly works for you. But sometimes life throws you a curveball. You get fired, your romantic partner breaks up with you, there's a global pandemic. [...]

The original text contained 1 footnote which was omitted from this narration.

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First published:

November 14th, 2025

Source:

https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/CHByipjioWRzoo5Ap/orient-speed-in-the-21st-century

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.