Over the last century, humanity has experimented with various ways of managing itself—fascism, communism, socialism, and liberalism. Each of these systems had vastly different ideologies and methodologies. Some overlapped, like socialism and communism; others clashed, like liberalism and fascism. But despite their differences, they all shared one common element: the human being was at the centre of the story.
Fast-forward to today, and something has fundamentally shifted. We’ve slowly removed ourselves from the narrative. Conversations about the future are no longer centred on humans: they’re about artificial intelligence, technological progress, and digital transformation. And in the midst of this rapid change, many of us are left wondering: Where do we fit in? That’s the question we need to ask—not just what AI can do, but what it means to be a human of the future.
The Awareness Gap
Let’s begin with a quote from Albert Einstein:
“You cannot solve a problem from the same awareness that created it.”
This begs the question: What is awareness? And more importantly, how fast can we shift it? It doesn’t matter how intelligent, wealthy, or experienced you are; if your awareness doesn’t evolve, you won’t perceive what’s changing right in front of you. We’ve seen this happen time and again with large organisations. Their downfall wasn’t due to incompetence, but to stagnation in awareness. To thrive in the future, we need to consciously expand our awareness continuously. That’s the first major shift.
The Courage to Unlearn
The second quote is from futurist Alvin Toffler:
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
We often nod in agreement with this idea, but very few of us actually practice it. Why? Because unlearning isn’t just about forgetting outdated facts. It’s about letting go of parts of our identity—habits, beliefs, roles, and even career paths that we’ve become attached to. And identity is sticky. We’re deeply addicted to our personalities, even the parts we don’t particularly like. Letting go feels uncomfortable. But in a world where value is being redefined at an exponential pace, our ability to unlearn becomes just as important as our ability to learn.
Becoming Future-Relevant Humans
So how do we add value in a world increasingly run by machines and algorithms? The answer lies not in trying to outdo AI, but in cultivating types of intelligence that AI can’t replicate—empathy, creativity, emotional awareness, ethical reasoning, and adaptability. But before we can evolve, we have to subtract: shed the outdated frameworks, mental models, and self-definitions that no longer serve us. Only then can we make room for the growth that the future demands. In this moment of transition, the real conversation isn’t about what AI will do. It’s about what we, as humans, choose to become. Because the future doesn’t belong to the most intelligent species, it belongs to the most adaptable.
