We’re In a New Everything-Is- Connected Epoch. But What to Call It?

In this article, Thomas L. Friedman introduces the concept of the “Polycene”, a new epoch characterized by the convergence of multiple accelerating forces, including artificial intelligence, climate change, geopolitical realignment, and social transformation. Friedman argues that humanity has moved beyond the binary frameworks that structured the Cold War and post–Cold War eras into a profoundly interconnected world in which “poly” systems now prevail: polymathic AI, polycrisis, polycentric geopolitics, and poly-economic networks. Drawing on insights from experts such as Craig Mundie, Johan Rockström, Thomas Homer-Dixon, and Eric Beinhocker, he contends that this systemic shift from binary to networked complexity demands new approaches to governance, innovation, and collective adaptation capable of navigating the interdependencies of the Polycene age.