Is it all falling apart?

Several times over the last month, I’ve sat down to write some kind of retrospective of 2025. I wanted to discuss the pivotal changes brought on by coding agents like Claude Code — for me personally and in a much broader sense. I believe these are not small changes; they’re monumental. Colossal. Cataclysmic. Disruptive in ways that even technical experts (perhaps especially technical experts) don’t yet fathom. I cannot understate this.

For me, this year has brought the most change in my professional activities and interests since I first moved to the “data world” from scientific research years ago. I’ve wanted to write on and elaborate about all of this - and I will - but I haven’t.

I’ve just been too… angry? Concerned? Upset? I don’t have the right words, but I’m deeply bothered by the trajectory things are on. Not just with AI, but with the world as a whole. Events of the recent years weigh only heavier on my mind as time goes on. From wars and geopolitics to climate change, demographic collapse, social media and discourse and even space clutter.

It feels like we are experiencing obscene levels of dishonesty and greed rivaling that of cartoon villainy. As I sit on the couch and look over at my kids, I’m overwhelmed by existential dread.

What does the future look like for them?

I want to be positive about this. I want to be optimistic. I really do. But I have to be honest… Right now, the future feels very, very bleak. To be frank, when I consider events of the last year, I oftentimes find it’s quite hard to give a shit about Power BI at all.

It feels like things are unravelling. Eroding. Falling apart. Many of these grandiose transgenerational issues used to feel like setbacks. Challenges we can work toward incrementally. Reversible mistakes we might fix with progress, diplomacy, and, I don’t know… more recycling? But somehow, the changes we’ve been experiencing in recent years feel more permanent. Somehow, I feel like there’s something slipping through our fingers; falling grains of what we are, which we try to keep cupped in our hand.

I feel like every day the mess gets bigger. Every day I want to do something about it… do more than I do now. Help more people. Better prepare for a crisis. Or maybe just focus more on what really matters.

”Is it really so bad?”

Many dismiss these concerns as negativity or pessimism. Sure, we consume news feeds and algorithms that might bias us toward negative stories and extreme perspectives. That can skew our perspective of the world. A more balanced perspective is that from Our World in Data in their article The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better.

Then again, that article was published before the US government started making clear threats of annexation toward sovereign, allied nation states.

So, honestly? Yeah. I do think it’s bad. And I don’t think that it’s helpful to ignore and “mute” it, anymore.

”Why are you writing this?”

It feels surreal to me to just keep going about my day-to-day while ignoring the insanity unfolding on the geopolitical stage. I’m writing this for catharsis, but also in the hopes that someone can get solidarity - if you’re struggling to focus on your work, hobbies, or just everyday life because you’re frustrated or concerned about the way the world is going… I feel you.

How to feel better

If this is something keeping you up at night, then you might want to consider taking some actions to feel better. For me personally, the following have been useful:

1. Focus on what you can control: In the grand scheme of things, there’s not a lot that we as individuals can do to influence matters of geopolitics, global climate, or sociology. That doesn’t mean that we have to accept the status quo, though. We can still strive for meaningful change.
   • Consider your responses and reactions; don’t let these issues drag you down and take it out on your friends and family.
   • Focus on improving your health; set realistic goals, and manage your diet, activity, sleep, and exercise.
   • Get involved in your local community; improve your neighborhood and help the people physically around you.
   • Be patient and open to change; engage with material that challenges your worldview and perspective with new ones.
   • Slow down and get away from screens; take time to nurture patience, attention, imagination and creativity.
2. Live true to your values: Define the values that we hold and stick to them. Even if that means putting ourselves in more vulnerable positions, or saying no to opportunities to do things or work with people and organizations that run against those values.
3. Speak up if you get the chance: Stand up for the values you believe in and denounce and resist the hostile worldviews being pushed down from others. Find ways to resist if you can; seek safe and legal ways to demonstrate for meaningful change and action.

I think the most frustrating thing about this is how unnecessary it all feels - “Old men who are afraid of death and insignificance; afraid to let go.” is a good quote to describe it. However, we can’t just wait for old men to die. If we want change, we need to work toward it, ourselves.