Countdown to AGI
Counting down to 2028
Three Pillars
The framework for material independence in the age of AI. Each pillar reinforces the others.
Learn the Tools
Teach yourself to use modern AI. The real leverage is not a subscription. It is understanding these tools well enough to build new ways of getting your needs met.
ExploreOpen-Source Robotics
Automate food production with FarmBot and workshop tasks with open-source robots. Secure your own calories and labor.
ExploreThe Physical Exit
Rural land, a shouse workshop, and a digital cash engine. Crush overhead and buy back decades of your life.
ExploreThe Reality Check
The numbers that explain why the old path doesn't work, and why a new one is possible.
A standard 30-year mortgage compounds total payments well above the sticker price; exact figures depend on rate, taxes, insurance, and PMI. Dollar purchasing power has eroded materially since 2020 by most reasonable measures. None of these statements should be relied on without checking current data.
At the same time, some inputs for a different kind of life have gotten dramatically cheaper or more accessible:
- Utility-scale solar
- Consumer GPUs that run local AI
- Open-source automation projects
- Free creator platforms
Before acting on any of this, talk to qualified professionals where you live.
The information here is a starting point for your own research, not a professional recommendation. Read our terms & disclaimers.
The Plan
Four steps the author has been thinking about. Not a prescription. Material for your own evaluation with qualified professionals.
Do your own research. Not legal or financial advice. Read our disclaimers and terms.
Adaptability matters more, the faster things change.
An author's working hypothesis: that the ability to build, learn, and teach may matter more under accelerating change. Hypothesis, not advice.
Start making content (responsibly)
One possible economic channel: film what you learn, build, and figure out. The One-Hour Rule — if it took you more than an hour to learn, it could be a video.
Be responsible: don't share location, family, financial, or safety-sensitive details publicly.
Read more →Find land or space
Land prices vary enormously by region and parcel. Owner-builder, reclaimed, refurbished, and adaptive-reuse pathways exist in many places.
Each carries very different legal and code regimes. Work with licensed local professionals before any purchase or build.
Read more →Build a Shop
Not a house. A shouse — shop first, shelter second. Steel kit prices swing with commodity markets.
Habitability conversions face local codes and inspections that vary by county. Consult a licensed contractor and your permitting authority first.
Read more →Build, Film, Automate, Teach
Use the space. Document what you build. Open-source projects worth knowing: FarmBot (CNC food-growing), Llama and other open-weight models.
Not an endorsement — evaluate fit, safety, and legality for your situation.
Read more →The Window
One author's hypothesis about how this unfolds. Educated guesses, not forecasts. The window to act is before these become mainstream, not after.
Learn the Tools
Modern AI becomes learnable by anyone. Consumer hardware and open models put real capability within reach of self-taught builders.
Open-Source Robotics
Homestead automation becomes accessible. FarmBot, open bimanual arms, and low-cost actuators reach the maker community.
Shouse Economy
Housing affordability crisis accelerates the owner-builder and shouse path for families priced out of suburban real estate.
Decentralized Production
Networked independent producers coordinate without dependence on fragile global supply chains.
Alternatives to Consider
Some systems worth thinking about differently. Each item is a starting point for your own research, not a recommendation.
The Full Blueprint
Eight chapters of conjecture and supposition based on one author's research. Not a roadmap. A way of thinking about what might be possible.
Do your own research. Not legal or financial advice. Read our disclaimers and terms.
The Economic Trap
The Death of the Old Dream & the Generational Wealth Gap
The Shouse
Steel Construction, the $8,000 Living Space, and Regulatory Navigation
The Content Engine
YouTube, the One-Hour Rule, Faceless Channels, and Workshop Gear
Digital Sovereignty
Local LLMs, VRAM Optimization, Llama 4, and the Sovereign Software Stack
The Physical Exit
Land acquisition, local zoning, owner-builder pathways, and the importance of local professional guidance
Robotics & Automation
FarmBot, Mobile Aloha, Agricultural Autonomy, and Workshop Manipulators
The Cash Engine
Small-product business notes and content automation references
Execute
Closing thoughts and suggested starting points
Closing thought
Real security may come from tangible things you understand,
not from status, debt, or systems you don't.
Material from this site is for thinking with, not acting on. Anything you might attempt (land purchases, construction, career changes, financial moves) should be evaluated with the relevant licensed professionals in your jurisdiction.