I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what the next decade holds, and I’m convinced we’re about to experience something unprecedented. A period where technological progress will accelerate so dramatically that we’ll witness 100 years of change compressed into just 10 years. Call it the “inflection decade”.

This isn’t science fiction wishful thinking. It’s happening right now, driven by three massive forces converging at exactly the same time.

When Everything Changes at Once

Remember when smartphones took over the world? That felt fast, right? Well, that was just one technology. Now imagine three technologies, each as transformative as the internet, all hitting their exponential growth phase simultaneously.

First, artificial intelligence is becoming as cheap and ubiquitous as electricity. The cost to run AI models has dropped 280x in just two years. Sam Altman recently testified that AI will eventually cost about as much as the electricity to run it (which means essentially nothing). Already, 78% of organizations are using AI in some form, up from 55% just a year ago. When intelligence becomes essentially free, what happens to every industry built on the scarcity of human expertise?

Second, energy is undergoing its own revolution. Solar power costs have plummeted 90% in the last decade, and the trend isn’t slowing. We’re approaching a world where energy is so abundant and cheap that we’ll need to rethink everything. Microsoft just made a bet on this future by signing the world’s first fusion energy deal. They’re buying fusion power that doesn’t even exist yet, betting it will by 2028. When energy becomes virtually free, what new possibilities open up?

Third, and perhaps most profound, we’re beginning to treat aging itself as a solvable problem. Most importantly: this isn’t about living sick for longer, but about extending healthy, productive years. Twenty-four AI-discovered anti-aging molecules are already in human trials. Tech billionaires are pouring billions into longevity research. The “silver economy” of people over 50 will reach $27 trillion by 2030. When human lifespans extend significantly, how does that change everything from careers to relationships to economic models?

The Companies Already Living in 2035

Some companies aren’t waiting for the future – they’re building it. Their strategies reveal what’s coming for all of us.

Take Microsoft. On the surface, they’re a software company. But look closer: they’ve invested over $10 billion in OpenAI, integrated AI across every product, and are now buying fusion power that doesn’t exist yet. They’re betting that the combination of abundant intelligence and abundant energy will create an insurmountable competitive advantage. They’re not thinking about next quarter; they’re thinking about the next century.

Or consider Alphabet. While Google search remains their cash cow, they’re simultaneously pushing the boundaries in all three areas. They’ve been running on 100% renewable energy (on an annual basis) since 2017 and are now working toward 24/7 clean energy. They merged their AI research teams to accelerate breakthroughs. And through Calico, they’re quietly working on understanding and potentially reversing aging. They’re building an ecosystem for a world that doesn’t exist yet.

Tesla forced an entire industry to compress its innovation timeline. Traditional automakers had leisurely plans to maybe introduce electric vehicles by 2040. Tesla made that timeline obsolete. Now every major automaker is scrambling to electrify. But Tesla was never just about electric cars – it was about the convergence of sustainable energy, artificial intelligence, and transforming how we live and move.

What This Actually Means for Your Life

Let’s get practical. What does this convergence mean for you, your career, and your future?

Intelligence is becoming abundant. That AI assistant that helps you write emails today? In five years, you might have dozens of AI agents handling everything from scheduling to research to creative work. The bottleneck won’t be access to intelligence – it will be knowing what questions to ask and what to do with the answers. McKinsey estimates generative AI alone could add up to $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy. That’s not replacing human work – that’s amplifying it.

Energy abundance changes the equation for everything. When power is essentially free, suddenly energy-intensive processes become viable. Vertical farms in cities. Desalination plants making fresh water abundant. Recycling that actually makes economic sense. Carbon capture at scale. The constraint of “that would use too much energy” disappears. We’re talking about economic growth that’s completely decoupled from environmental destruction.

And longevity? This is where it gets really interesting. If you’re in your 30s or 40s today, you might realistically need to plan for a 100+ year lifespan. That changes everything. Your career isn’t a 40-year sprint anymore. It might be an 60 or 70-year marathon with multiple acts. The idea of retiring at 65 starts to seem quaint when you might have another 40 healthy years ahead. Education becomes continuous. Relationships evolve. The whole social contract gets rewritten.

The Brutal Cost of Standing Still

Here’s what keeps me up at night: the cost of inaction has never been higher.

We’re already seeing it happen. Companies that dominated for decades are disappearing seemingly overnight. Kodak invented the digital camera but couldn’t pivot fast enough. Blockbuster laughed at Netflix. Nokia owned mobile phones until they didn’t. But those were single technology disruptions. Now imagine three hitting at once.

Half of today’s S&P 500 companies might not exist by 2035 if current turnover rates continue. That’s not creative destruction – that’s creative obliteration. The companies that survive won’t be the biggest or the richest today. They’ll be the ones that understand convergence and act on it.

The talent exodus has already begun. The best and brightest want to work on the future, not maintain the past. If your company isn’t using AI, transitioning to clean energy, or thinking about demographic shifts, good luck recruiting anyone under 40. They’re not interested in companies still debating whether AI is a fad while their competitors are deploying it at scale.

Your Convergence Playbook

So what do you actually do? How do you position yourself for this decade of compression?

First, embrace exponential thinking. Your intuition is calibrated for linear change – train yourself to think exponentially. That technology that seems “interesting but not quite ready”? It might dominate your industry in three years. That demographic shift that seems far off? It’s probably closer than you think.

Second, position yourself at intersections. The biggest opportunities aren’t in AI alone, or clean energy alone, or longevity alone. They’re where these forces multiply each other. AI-powered drug discovery. Renewable energy systems managed by artificial intelligence. Digital health platforms for aging populations. Think Venn diagrams, not silos.

Third, invest in continuous learning like your life depends on it – because it might. The skills that matter in 2035 probably don’t have names yet. But the meta-skill of learning quickly and adapting constantly? That’s timeless. Make learning your superpower.

Fourth, take the long view but act with urgency. Yes, plan for a potentially 100-year life. But also recognize that the window for positioning yourself is measured in months, not years. The exponential curves are steep. By the time something is “obvious,” it’s too late.

The Choice That Defines Our Future

We stand at an inflection point. The convergence of abundant intelligence, abundant energy, and abundant time isn’t just changing business models or disrupting industries. It’s rewriting the fundamental assumptions of human civilization.

The old world was built on scarcity – scarce expertise, scarce energy, scarce healthy years. The new world will be built on abundance. That transition won’t be smooth. It will be chaotic, exhilarating, and occasionally terrifying.

But here’s the thing: you get to choose which side of this transition you’re on. You can be part of the past, holding onto assumptions and limitations that no longer apply. Or you can be part of the future, helping to build a world of abundance that our grandparents could barely imagine.

The inflection decade isn’t coming. It’s here. The only question is: what are you going to do about it?

Take the long view, but start today. Position yourself at the intersections. Embrace the convergence. And whatever you do, don’t bet against human ingenuity when the constraints come off.

Dejan Dan Keri