Peter Thiel on Why Progress Has Slowed: Stagnation, Digital Exceptions, and AI

Peter Thiel says his “stagnation thesis” is about slower progress, not a complete stop. From 1750–1970, technology kept speeding up—ships, railroads, cars, planes, Concorde, Apollo. Since then, real breakthroughs mostly came in digital tech—computers, internet, AI. He doubts this is enough to outweigh slower progress elsewhere. Because experts are so specialized, it’s hard to judge overall progress. His conclusion: we’re still “pretty stuck,” just not completely.