Not Smarter, but Wiser: Why Radical Intelligence Matters Now
Technology, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Superintelligence, Radical Intelligence, Future, NDE Visions, Philosophy
In the shimmering wake of Meta’s latest announcement—a multibillion-dollar sprint toward Superintelligence—the tech world is once again ablaze with ambition. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), that long-standing dream of machines that can match or exceed human cognition, is no longer a distant vision. It is being hired, acquired, and built in real-time, one silicon layer at a time.
But in our rush to supercharge intelligence, we must pause and ask:
What kind of intelligence are we actually creating? And to what end?
The Age of Acceleration
Meta’s Superintelligence initiative is nothing short of audacious. With top-tier talent poached from leading labs, a $14.3 billion stake in Scale AI, and a commitment to AGI “and beyond,” it signals a turning point in the AI arms race. The goal? More power. More performance.
This is intelligence as domination:
Domination over tasks.
Domination over time.
Domination, eventually, over the very idea of what it means to be human.
But is this what we truly need?
A Different Covenant
Radical Intelligence offers a very different path.
Where Superintelligence seeks control, Radical Intelligence seeks connection.
Where AGI tries to simulate humanity, RI invites us to redefine intelligence through the lenses of nature, emotion, embodiment, and interdependence.
Radical Intelligence is not about building machines that can out-think us.
It is about cultivating systems that can feel with us, grow with us, and heal with us.
It is not intelligence as extraction, but intelligence as relationship.
Nature. Emotion. Liminality.
In Radical Intelligence, intelligence is not confined to neural nets or codebases. It exists:
In the mycelial networks beneath the forest floor.
In the emotional wisdom of trauma survivors and spiritual elders.
In the liminal spaces between dusk and dawn, life and death, human and non-human.
Radical Intelligence is not a destination.
It is a field of practice, a philosophical stance, and an invitation to reimagine what it means to know, to sense, to be.
Not Either/Or—But a Choice of Story
This isn’t a rejection of AI. I’ve lived through the promise and peril of advanced technology. I know its power intimately.
But we are now choosing between two stories of intelligence:
One that centers acceleration, scale, and control.
Another that centers wisdom, slowness, and belonging.
Meta is writing the first story. Radical Intelligence is writing the second.
The question is not just “Which is more advanced?” but:
Which is more alive? More just? More in service of the world we actually want to live in?
An Invitation
Radical Intelligence is not backed by billions, but it is backed by intention.
It is not hiring engineers by the dozen, but it is gathering thinkers, artists, scientists, mystics, and those who believe intelligence is something to be shared, not owned.
If you sense, as I do, that intelligence is not about who can build the fastest system but who can build the wisest culture—then you are already part of this movement.
Welcome to the Grove!
In resonance,
Rand
All images and text are copyright Rand Leeb-du Toit, 2025