AI’s potential to accelerate civilization’s slow-changing layers

Long Now published deepfates’ essay “Attention is All You Need,” which argues AI makes attention cheap and on tap, potentially accelerating slow-changing areas like governance and culture. It recounts a 2025 funeral for Claude 3 Sonnet when the power failed and the crowd hummed together, then imagines directing abundant attention toward neglected maintenance. One reader says AI’s attention will only reach upkeep if someone deliberately sends it there.