Nicholas Carr: Superbloom

Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart, by Nicholas Carr

Superbloom is a nuanced and analytical—yet totally approachable—portrayal of human information networks and a grounded explanation of why social media made humans into a shit show. It’s perhaps the best book I’ve read that gets to the heart of why we should be cautious of ideas that sound good in theory but turn pathological in practice.

For example, if information is good, then abundant information must be better, right? Well, not if we’re incapable of attending to what matters. And if human connection is good, then abundant human connection must be better, right? Well, not if it erodes depth of understanding—if it makes relationships more performative, more brittle, and more reactive instead of thoughtful. We are optimized for social connection, but not for infinite social connection, just as we’re wired for information, but not for all the information.

Carr introduces the useful concept of digital crowding—the idea that social media pushes us into constant virtual proximity with others, like living in a crowded city that never sleeps and never stops sharing. Just as physical crowding can cause stress and hostility, this virtual overload of human information makes us tense, suspicious, and reactive, eroding the very connections it promises to strengthen. Rather than creating intimacy, digital crowding floods us with endless disclosure, nudging us toward antipathy rather than empathy. The antidote isn't more information or more connection—it's giving each other room to breathe.

And now we’re told that intelligence will be abundant, “too cheap to meter.” That sounds like something you wouldn’t want to vote against, right? But wait—what happens when intelligence is just another limitless resource, flooding the system alongside infinite information and infinite connection?

This is why Superbloom matters. Because if information overwhelmed attention, and connection diluted meaning, then abundant intelligence threatens to dissolve it entirely. Intelligence isn’t the endgame—meaning is. Superbloom is perfectly timed for the AI transition, offering multiple first-principles critiques of our information sphere—and a warning that abundance alone doesn’t solve problems as much as it reshapes them.

Carr’s Superbloom reminds us that abundance itself is not inherently good—it’s transformative, and transformations can be dangerous. When intelligence is infinitely abundant, there's a risk it will amplify our worst tendencies rather than our best, saturating society with superficial insights that crowd out wisdom. The lesson is clear: more isn’t always better, especially when more intelligence without depth means more cleverness without understanding.

And if you’re curious how this overload links to something deeper—the slow extinction of direct human experience—stay tuned for our upcoming conversation with Christine Rosen.