The Zero Marginal Cost Society – Why Awareness is More Important Than AI

Technology is playing tricks on our brains, and most of us don’t even realize it’s happening.

What we’re witnessing across every sector around the world is a phenomenon that follows a predictable pattern – what my colleague Peter Diamandis at Singularity University calls “The Six Ds.”

Understanding this technological life cycle is crucial because it reveals why we’re consistently blindsided by disruption.

The Six Ds: Technology’s Invisible Journey

Here’s how it works: All sectors become digitized. Once digitized, they become dematerialized – meaning they move into thin air.

When they enter that ethereal space, they slip into what we call the deceptive phase. And the deceptive phase? That’s the thing that catches us every single time.

In the deceptive phase, technology is getting cheaper, better, and faster in labs all around the world. We can’t see it happening because it’s tucked away in research facilities and innovation centers.

Then, seemingly overnight, it pops up on the other side and completely democratizes, demonetizes, and disrupts entire industries. And we all go, “Whoa! Where did that come from?”

Meanwhile, it’s been bubbling away for 20 years.

The Kodak Story: A Masterclass in Missing the Future

Let me give you an example you’ve probably heard ten times, but now through this framework. In 1976, the digital camera arrived in the Kodak boardroom.

What had happened to photographs? They’d become dematerialized – gone into thin air.

But the Kodak board’s response? “You know what? That’s never going to work. Take that thing out of our office.”

So what happened to the digital camera? It went into the deceptive phase, bubbling away in labs around the world.

As it got cheaper, better, and faster, it suddenly popped up in 1999 and completely democratized, demonetized, and obliterated the entire photography industry.

And all of us went, “Whoa! How did that suddenly arrive?”

This process is now happening to sector after sector, and it has a name: The Zero Marginal Cost Society.

This means that anything created digitally will eventually be created for free and shared for free. And it’s happening everywhere.

What’s Already Free (And We’ve Forgotten It Was Ever Expensive)

Think about how many photos you have on your phone right now. If you’re like most people, it’s probably thousands – maybe tens of thousands.

So with all these billions of photos we’re collectively taking, what did they cost you? Almost nothing. How much did it cost to share them with family and friends? Nothing.

How much did it cost to put filters on them and post them to Instagram so you look like a supermodel? Nothing.

All of those things cost a significant amount of money just a few years ago. But today? Absolutely nothing. Yet as human beings, we forget. We think it’s always been like this.

Remember the first time you caught an Uber? I thought angels and harps were going to descend with the taxi to pick me up. I couldn’t believe this miracle was actually happening.

By the fourth time you catch an Uber and it’s not connecting properly, you’re like, “This piece of junk! I can’t believe it’s not working!” A week ago, it was a miracle; now suddenly it’s useless and you hate Uber.

The Four Things We’ve Forgotten Were Once Expensive

Let’s look at what’s already become free – things we’ve completely forgotten used to cost money:

1. 1. Music Remember our CD collections? How proud we were of those collections? We’d color-code them, organize them by rock, pop, and R&B. They went everywhere with us. They lived right next to your hi-fi set. Today, there are no CD shops. We work exclusively with Spotify or YouTube Music. And forbid we actually have to choose music – so 1990s! We now get music suggested to us, curated, matched, and facilitated. Music’s essentially gone free. Nobody here is a struggling musician because you wouldn’t be able to afford this hotel if you were.

2. 2. Photography Remember when you used to print 24 photos but could only use three because you had red eyes or didn’t look good in the other 21? You’d come out of the photo shop, pay for all 24, but only use three for your photo album.

3. 3. Entertainment Remember when you used to pay for entertainment? Today, you have so much entertainment thrown at you that you’d need 65 lifetimes just to watch all of YouTube. And that’s forgetting everything else being continuously thrown at you.

4. 4. Communication Remember when communication used to cost significant money? Today, we can talk 24 hours a day across 18 different platforms without even thinking about payment.

Here’s the critical question: Did anyone expect these four things to become free before they actually became free?

The answer is no. And here’s why we didn’t see it coming: because you cannot solve a problem from the same level of awareness that created it. Our awareness keeps us stuck in old ways of thinking.

Ten years ago, if I’d told you that one of these would become free, you’d have said, “John, what are you smoking?”

This isn’t about how clever you are, how hard you work, how much money you have, or what network you possess. Your level of awareness literally gives you the ability to see something new.

That’s why awareness is by far the most important thing we could focus on. Not AI, not technology, not your coworker, not another PhD. Awareness.

The Next Four – Prepare for Your Skepticism

Now I’m going to tell you about four more things that are going to become free. But I need to prepare you for something – I know exactly what happens when I share these predictions.

Even when I explicitly tell people that these things are going to become free, there’s still that moment of cognitive resistance.

You might find yourself thinking, “I was with John until this point, but now he’s talking nonsense.”

That resistance? It’s completely normal. It’s our awareness level protecting us from concepts that challenge our current understanding of how the world works.

1. Transportation

The reaction to this prediction is usually mixed, and it often depends on who’s hearing it.

I’ve noticed that people, usually guys, who spend significant money on their vehicles tend to have the strongest resistance: “I’m spending so much on my car – are you crazy? Transportation will never be free!”

But consider the economics: Autonomous vehicles eliminate the need for drivers. Renewable energy eliminates the need for petrol, oil, and traditional engines.

What you’re left with is essentially a renewable energy battery with sophisticated software.

When something costs $10, it becomes $1. Suddenly, 90% of that cost structure vanishes. And that’s only based on our current level of awareness.

2. Power Generation

We’re going to see electricity generation move toward zero cost. We’re witnessing the convergence of solar, wind, fusion, hydrogen – name it, it’s all happening simultaneously.

And if you think this sounds far-fetched, remember: deceptive phase. All of this is currently in the deceptive phase, bubbling away in labs and innovation centers worldwide.

3. Computing Power

Computing power is racing toward zero. This is the one that’s going to catch all of us completely off guard. Most of the Western world is about to discover that many services are also heading toward zero cost.

4. Creative Services

Here’s a personal example: I used to make money writing books. Recently, my friend Maria from Puerto Rico messaged me on Instagram: “John, please, will you read one of my books?”

I was surprised. “Maria, I didn’t know you’d started writing!”

“Yeah,” she replied, “I wrote five this weekend.”

AI. One weekend. Five books.

I’m not sharing this to scare you. Remember, when the tractor arrived, there was massive panic among agricultural workers. AI is our new tractor, and we need to evolve ourselves through this transformation.

We’re All Creators Now – But We’re Not Done Creating

This is our new reality. All of us can now be authors, musicians, creative directors – everything we want to be. And that’s wonderful to celebrate.

But here’s the crucial point: we absolutely cannot think, for even one moment, that we’ve peaked our human creativity.

That’s where the panic sets in: “Oh my, if AI can create music, what will we do? If machines can write, what’s left for us?”

Here’s what we’ll do: We will evolve. That’s what we do. That’s what humans have always done.

The Great Divide

The people who will thrive in this zero marginal cost society are those who remain optimistic, fascinated, and curious about uncertainty. They’re the ones who will evolve and adapt.

The rest? They’ll stay exactly where they are, complaining about how the world is changing instead of changing with it.

Your Level of Awareness Determines Your Future

We’re not just witnessing technological change – we’re living through the most significant economic transformation in human history.

The zero marginal cost society isn’t a distant possibility; it’s unfolding right now, following the predictable pattern of the Six Ds.

The question isn’t whether this transformation will happen. It’s whether you’ll develop the awareness to see it coming, the curiosity to understand it, and the adaptability to evolve with it.

Because in a world where everything is racing toward freedom, the most valuable asset you can possess isn’t money, connections, or even intelligence.

It’s an elevated level of awareness that allows you to see what’s coming before everyone else realizes it’s already here.

Note: This blog post is an adaptation of the transcript from the video below, which forms part of my video series on AI.