About Roel Smelt

Roel Smelt writes about the human measure of disruptive technology: AI, abundance, consciousness, sovereignty, and agency.

Photo by Clarisa Ravasotti / Unsplash

I write about what disruptive technology does to the human being.

Not whether AI is impressive. It is.

Not whether abundance is coming. It is.

The real question is what happens to agency, consciousness, sovereignty, and meaning when intelligence and execution become cheap.

My work explores the human measure of technology: how we build systems that make people stronger, not weaker; more awake, not more automated; more capable of conscious action, not less.

Thinking meets doing

Most thinkers stay with reflection. Most doers do not have time to think. I refuse to choose.

As a partner at AI4 Accountancy, I bring AI into an industry still wrestling with transformation. As the initiator of De Vibecoders, I experiment with cutting-edge tools to build software without traditional programming. Not to prove it can be done, but to experience what it means.

That experience feeds my thinking. That thinking guides my action.

My path

I grew up in my parents' photo shop and became fascinated by technology early. I programmed on a ZX Spectrum, founded a computer club, and bought an Apple Classic during my studies to experiment with internet protocols before almost anyone around me knew what email was.

Since then, I have experienced digital innovation from the inside: building websites, leading a SaaS startup, working on digital projects at KLM, Booking.com, and MisterGreen, and following the Tesla revolution up close.

Every wave taught me the same lesson: technology only creates value if it expands human agency.

What I write about

AI as a new literacy
disruptive technology and abundance
discernment, taste, and perception in an age of cheap output
the risk of obedient AI
consciousness, sovereignty, and human agency
operating systems for a more awake technological civilization

The recurring question is simple:

Does this technology help humans become more conscious, capable, and free?

Start here

If you are new to my work, begin with Start Here: The Human Measure of Technology.

Contact

Get in touch: hello@roelsmelt.com · @roelsmelt on X