Essays

On AI, Civilization, and the Strange Future

Drawn from the book, expanded for the web. Short, sharp pieces on where intelligence is going and what it means for the rest of us. New essay every three days — or sooner, depending on how alarmed I am by the news.

By Ashok Mehan Companion to History's Future New essay every 3 days
001
June 2026  ·  12 min read
The Free Fall: How AI Got Cheaper Than Your Morning Coffee

AI inference costs have collapsed 99.9% in under four years. Not a footnote in the tech news — quite possibly the most consequential economic event of our lifetimes, and almost nobody is watching it.

Ch. 3 Cost Curves Economics
002
June 2026  ·  11 min read
Three Tools Before You Think: Occam, First Principles, and the Zeroth Law

Occam's Razor cuts. First Principles builds. The Zeroth Principle questions whether what you're building on is even real. Three tools that explain how Brahmagupta, Einstein, and modern AI all changed history the same way.

Ch. 1 Epistemology Thinking Tools
Special Study
The Global AI Power Index

A standing data appendix to the book: the electricity, compute, and capital that thirteen economies are pouring into the intelligence era — and what the numbers actually say about who leads.