The Great Progression: Peter Leyden on AI, Trump and the Next 25 Years

Peter Leyden, co‑author of the seminal 1997 Wired cover story "The Long Boom," is preparing his next major work, "The Great Progression: 2025‑2050," slated for a 2027 HarperCollins release. Drawing on three decades of journalism, startup leadership, and geopolitical reporting, Leyden positions the book as a roadmap for the emerging AI economy. He argues that the current "smartification" of devices mirrors the analog‑to‑digital transition of the 1990s, but with intelligence now cheap and ubiquitous, the scale and speed of change are unprecedented.

The core insight Leyden shares is that artificial intelligence has moved from speculative research to a fully built, globally distributed infrastructure. Unlike the early internet, which required a 25‑year rollout of broadband and hardware, today’s AI runs on data centers and cloud platforms already in place, allowing rapid deployment across sectors—from manufacturing to finance. This cheap, abundant intelligence acts like "magic dust," attaching cognitive capabilities to everyday objects and processes, fundamentally reshaping productivity, labor markets, and competitive dynamics. Business leaders must therefore rethink value chains, invest in AI‑augmented talent, and anticipate new regulatory landscapes.

Despite widespread doom‑laden headlines, Leyden maintains a decidedly optimistic outlook. He stresses that the real skill for navigating this era is the ability to connect disparate trends—technology, geopolitics, climate, and culture—into a coherent narrative. For executives, this means cultivating interdisciplinary foresight, embracing AI as a collaborative partner rather than a threat, and leveraging the technology’s speed to innovate faster than competitors. Leyden’s blend of intellectual rigor and entrepreneurial experience offers a rare, actionable perspective for anyone seeking to thrive in the AI‑driven future.