Assuming we have not reached the end of history, what follows "The Information Age"?
If an age is defined by the inputs that catalyze its most explosive growth, I'd guess the next phase is an "Age of Intelligence," where returns accrue to systems that can process information and augment themselves most effectively.
Increasingly intelligent systems could take the form of machines, individual humans augmented through biological or technological means, or groups with greater collective feedback, decision-making, and resource allocation capabilities. Any of this would be jet fuel to growth.
But intelligence itself is value-neutral. One can only hope than an age of enhanced intelligence would also be an age of wisdom, that knows what to value and what to optimize for. Otherwise AGI or not, we're all building paperclip maximizers.
