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“The fish that dried the seas got onto land before the seas dried up, rushing from one dark forest to another.” A metaphor from Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem. As data grows exponentially, valuable information becomes relatively scarce — like an ocean drying up. The trend seems irreversible, but we can survive by improving signal-to-noise ratio, evolving from ocean creatures to land creatures — learning new ways to breathe and absorb nutrients.

The fish that dried the seas got onto land before the seas dried up, rushing from one dark forest to another. — The Three-Body Problem 3: Death’s End

In Liu Cixin’s Death’s End, this metaphor captures the state of our data world perfectly.

The data we produce grows exponentially, but valuable information remains relatively scarce. Like an ocean drying up, the internet becomes increasingly cluttered and noisy. This trend is essentially irreversible — entropy only increases.

What we can do — what technology can partially address — is find ways to improve signal-to-noise ratio and survive in this drying ocean. Like the evolution from marine to terrestrial life, we need to learn new ways to breathe.

The Seas are Drying Up

We live in an ocean of information. But as signal-to-noise ratio drops exponentially, the nutritional density of this ocean is plummeting. Every day produces more new data than all of human history combined. And yet:

  • Most data has no value.
  • AI-generated content accelerates this trend. Machines already contribute more internet traffic than humans. In content creation, this will only accelerate.
  • Lack of human oversight and value judgment. As technology advances, we rely more on algorithms than human judgment. Errors and biases in data go uncorrected, further degrading signal-to-noise ratio.

All of this points to an unavoidable conclusion: the ocean we live in will soon dry up — or become uninhabitable.

How to Survive When the Seas Dry Up

Borrowing from the Three-Body metaphor again, two paths to survival:

1. Create Mini Universes

Build small ponds and live in them. Craft tools to extract water from the soil, pour it into fish tanks.

This is why I built Chuhaiqu — the incubator project. A curated pond in the noise.

2. Evolve Into the Next Dimension

Become terrestrial life. Adapt to the new environment. Think Elon Musk’s Neuralink, or every sci-fi premise you’ve seen — The Matrix, Ghost in the Shell, Pantheon — humanity ascending to digital godhood.

That’s not a game for mere mortals like us. Let’s see how things go.

Cover Photo Prompt (Midjourney): A lone sea turtle swims towards a small island in the distance, with the vast, empty ocean of data surrounding it.