# Superintelligence Is the Secular Trend Beneath Political Cycles by Alexander Wissner-Gross > "There are secular trends and cyclical trends, and politics may swing cyclically. Certainly that's been the case historically, but I think that's an overlay on top of a secular trend, which is superintelligence. Our civilization is becoming superintelligent right now through data centers and frontier models and the innermost loop, and I don't expect that secular trend to reverse." > **— Alexander Wissner-Gross**, *Moonshots #309, recorded November 6, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Source dossier:** [[research/Midterms, Politics, AI, and Infrastructure Research - Moonshots|Midterms, Politics, AI, and Infrastructure Research — Moonshots]]. - **Direct publication or recording:** [recording, 01:43:23–01:43:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF-ADiC7Khs&t=6203s). - **Editorial form:** The Reminder preserves the prepared contiguous quotation; punctuation and spoken disfluency treatment are recorded in the candidate map when applicable. - **Context and treatment:** Alexander Wissner-Gross contrasts short political cycles with the longer technological trajectory, identifies data centers, frontier models, and the innermost research loop as the mechanism, and forecasts that the secular trend will continue; [recording, 01:43:23–01:43:54](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF-ADiC7Khs&t=6203s). Direct contiguous quotation; spoken filler and immediate repetition trimmed, with the forecast's `I don't expect` uncertainty retained. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/The Politics of AI Infrastructure|The Politics of AI Infrastructure]] - **Collection:** [[collections/American Infrastructure|American Infrastructure]] - **Collection:** [[collections/American|American Culture Collection]] - **Article:** [[articles/Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower from AI Factory to Citizen|Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower from AI Factory to Citizen]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Gigawatt Is the New Measure of War|The Gigawatt Is the New Measure of War]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Political Party That Inherits Super Intelligence in 2028|The Political Party That Inherits Super Intelligence in 2028]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Alexander Wissner-Gross|Alexander Wissner-Gross]] - [[wiki/AI Infrastructure|AI Infrastructure]] - [[wiki/Moonshots 309|Moonshots 309]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "There are secular trends and cyclical trends, and politics may swing cyclically. Certainly that's been the case historically, but I think that's an overlay on top of a secular trend, which is superintelligence. Our civilization is becoming superintelligent right now through data centers and frontier models and the innermost loop, and I don't expect that secular trend to reverse." — Alexander Wissner-Gross, Moonshots #309, recorded November 6, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-alexander-wissner-gross-superintelligence-is-the-secular-trend-beneath-political-cycles ```