I still think the key is raising the collective intelligence. Not that smart people are always productive, but they are capable of being so.
So long as the average human is just barely sapient, we aren't going to be collectively achieving much. It's always exceptional individuals who have great achievements.
Average people don't really do much. Nothing personal against being average, of course, it's just not sufficient for great achievement.
I think intelligence augmentation, such as neural lace and Neuralink, is a step in the right direction.
As a species and as individuals we're capable of such astounding accomplishments like this; yet also capable of outstandingly in(s)ane idiocy.
How can society be arranged/evolved to encourage the former, and limit the latter? Is such a thing possible? Desirable?
The lack of societal optimization, or even moving towards the optimal, frustrates me!