A look from above

"Have you checked out Earth? It's a beautiful planet! Lots of variety."

"Isn't that the one with the humans?"

"Right. What do you think about them?"

"They're interesting. Conflicted, for sure. Seems like they struggle to find a direction. And they keep getting drawn into factionalism. But they've made impressive advancements in science and technology in the recent past. Spiritually, most of them are quite immature. Their economic system has promoted technological developments, but it seems to short-circuit spiritual progress. There are some places, most of them remote, where much has happened within, with little changing on the outside. But these are cut off from the rest of the species. Many think that it is a binary choice: either they live drawn-back spiritually oriented lives or they immerse themselves in the hustle and bustle of chaotic big cities, where everything happens on the outside. They have not yet understood that this is a false dichotomy. Though, admittedly, at their stage, mixing the two blindly could create problems."

"I think they won't make it much longer than a couple decades. A hundred, two hundred years at most."

"That seems overly pessimistic to me. They've proven quite capable of creativity, don't you think?"

"Definitely. But much of their creativity seems to be lacking direction. And those with more of a sense of creative direction are not in positions of power. The way they've structured their political and economic hierarchies is deeply flawed. Most of it leads to adverse filtering. So they're all jumping off cliffs or pushing each other off."

"Yeah, I can see that. But you're forgetting that they've inbuilt several correction mechanisms. They seem to be working fairly well."

"They're degrading."

"You're a tough nut. But yes, you are probably right. Well, I still believe in their ingenuity. They create a million problems but they find a million and one solutions. They're immature, but not static. They have cultures, though their economic system has increasingly been eroding those. Humans still care, many try to protect culture. And you know how essential culture is. It is the very collective expression of the will to be and become. Without it, humans would fall into a very dark place indeed.

Technology holds immense potential, we both know that. They have a lot of power to change their physical and mental world. I would say they've been wielding this power, well... semi-wisely at best. But there is potential. There are voices advocating for more considerate use of technology. They're just, again, not the voices of those in power. Yes, I am conflicted too. I agree with much of your analysis. I just choose to be optimistic. I still believe in humans. They've made it through a lot."

"That is true. But don't you see their parasitic nature? They're a virus, clearly. Ecosystems degrade, they heat up their planet and make it unliveable for themselves and other species - which are dying at an unprecedented rate."

"It is all a result of kids having created toys that gave them more power than they were ready for. The real question is if they'll just keep making more powerful toys or grow up."

"At the moment, the former seems more likely. Or, to put it bluntly: it is what they're doing now."

"Yes and no. It depends where you look. I said there was a lot of variety. They're quite complex, you know? And not only conflicted on a macro-level but many of them within themselves."

"Well we know how dangerous that is."

"We also know it means a little can go a long way. I can't tell exactly where they're headed. It's hard to parse. I can see many potential futures. But in most of those, humans have grown up."

"Then that is the difference between me and you."