When Symbols Become Cheap and Reality Does Not
in professional on ai, organisational-design, systems-thinking
AI is driving the marginal cost of digital reality generation toward zero, but physical reality does not follow the same curve. We are entering a structural divergence between symbolic abundance and embodied constraint.
AI is driving the marginal cost of near real time digital generation toward zero.
Words. Images. Videos. Plans. Forecasts. Strategies. Entire operating narratives.
But reality does not follow the same curve.
- Land is finite.
- Energy requires infrastructure.
- Machines wear out.
- People get tired.
- Time does not compress.
We are entering a structural divergence:
Symbolic abundance. Embodied constraint.
The Real Divide
The future is not online vs offline.
It is symbolic systems vs embodied systems.
Symbolic:
- Models
- Dashboards
- Policies
- AI-generated reasoning
Embodied:
- Energy
- Materials
- Skilled labour
- Physical risk
- Maintenance
Symbols now scale at near-zero cost.
Embodiment does not.
Decision-Making in Simulation
AI can generate plausible worlds.
Market scenarios. Organisational designs. Technical architectures. Policy arguments.
Decisions will increasingly be made inside models before touching reality.
This will feel efficient. It will also increase fragility.
When plans are cheap, overconfidence is cheap.
A coherent model is not proof.
A persuasive argument is not resilience.
If it can be generated, it is not evidence.
Evidence requires contact with the physical world.
Scarcity Shifts
As symbols become abundant, scarcity moves to:
- Attention
- Trust
- Grounded measurement
Reality becomes a premium signal.
Organisations will split into two loops:
- Fast symbolic loop – generate, simulate, propose.
- Slow embodied loop – execute, measure, correct.
The advantage goes to those who close the loop tightly:
claim -> test -> measure -> adapt.
The Prescient View
AI will make simulation abundant. Reality will remain constrained by matter and energy.
The widening gap between them is where systems fail - or where durable advantage is built.
The task is not to resist hyperreality.
It is to operate within it without forgetting the territory.
