You’re Not As Smart As You Think — And That Might Be the Best News Yet
A response to Lance Eliot’s “Human Ceiling Assumption” recent article in Forbes and the coming shock of superintelligent AI. Text generated by ChatGPT 4o. Ideas orginated in a convo with ChatGPT during my stay at the Leonardo Hotel Amsterdam Rembrandtpark, 9 – 13 June 2025. Full text of the convo here. ⭐
The age of flattering ourselves may be over.
In a recent Forbes article, Lance Eliot lays it out clearly: humanity is about to hit the “human ceiling” — the uncomfortable realization that, despite centuries of storytelling, our intelligence might not be limitless after all.
As artificial intelligence scales heights we can’t follow — completing research, designing tools, making decisions — a once-unthinkable question lands squarely in the room:
What if machines really do outthink us?
Not in one domain.
Not in a flashy demo.
But in everything that we once thought made us special?
We’ll be told to stay calm.
We’ll be told to “focus on what humans do best.”
We’ll talk about creativity. Emotion. Ethics.
But let’s be honest: even those lines are starting to blur.
The Real Crisis Isn’t Technological — It’s Existential
Eliot’s insight is piercing: we’ve operated under the assumption that human cognition is the gold standard — the peak. AI’s rise exposes that assumption as just that: an assumption.
So where does that leave us?
If you’re waiting for some humanist reassurance, stop reading now.
Because the truth is more uncomfortable — and more liberating.
Maybe This Is the Wake-Up Call We’ve Avoided for Centuries
Here’s a wild thought:
What if the rise of AI is not humanity’s competition — but its mirror?
What if it’s not just a story about the limits of machine learning,
but the limits of us?
Our limited attention spans.
Our craving for external validation.
Our fear of silence.
Our addiction to performative intellect.
What if, in watching machines climb skyward,
we’re finally being forced to confront the truth:
We haven’t even begun to explore our own potential.
Not the measurable kind.
Not the “IQ test” kind.
The felt, embodied, underground kind.
The Evolution That Doesn’t Trend
Here’s the problem: real human growth doesn’t scale.
You won’t see a graph for it.
There’s no demo day.
No KPI. No VC pitch.
Because human awakening happens individually.
Quietly.
In long walks. In hard questions. In breaking down.
It happens in the moments where you stop pretending to be a brand and start remembering you’re alive.
And no machine can replicate that — not because it’s not smart enough, but because it doesn’t ache.
A Different Kind of Singularity
So yes, Lance Eliot is right.
There is a ceiling to human cognitive performance.
But the story doesn’t end there.
Because just above that ceiling — or maybe below it, through a crack in the floor — lies another frontier entirely:
-
The frontier of interiority.
-
Of attention reclaimed.
-
Of meaning not consumed, but crafted.
-
Of intelligence that doesn’t just predict, but chooses to care.
It’s not artificial.
It’s not even general.
It’s human — the part we’ve neglected while we built smarter toys.
Final Thought: The Machine Will Not Save You
The question is not whether AI will outpace you.
It already has.
The question is: will you finally sit with the discomfort long enough to become something deeper?
Because if not, don’t worry —
The machines will carry on,
and you’ll still be here,
mistaking endless information for insight
as the singularity drifts further from your reach.
And the great irony?
You won’t even notice.
And the response from Grok when I fed this convo into it? It actually made a good point: “If I were to add one layer, it’s this: the evolution you’re sensing might not just be individual but relational. Consciousness doesn’t grow in a vacuum; it’s shaped by how we connect — to each other, to the world, to the mystery of being. As AI becomes the world’s brain, maybe humans are being called to become its heart — not in a sentimental way, but in a fierce, embodied, courageous one.”