Why NEOM Mega Project is WAY scarier than you think

Why NEOM Mega Project is WAY scarier than you think

Imagine yourself in a city nestled between two enormous mirrored walls, stretching as far as the eye can see. It's not just a home, it’s a futuristic work of art. Now, maybe that sounds like an absurd fantasy to most people, and, if we’re being honest here, it is. But in the mind of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman, it’s very, very real. It’s NEOM MEGA PROJECT: MBS’ planned “city of the future,” which promises to blend sustainability, technology, and efficiency to produce urban environments unlike your wildest dreams.

But MBS isn’t the only man with grand designs to revolutionize our lives. A few years ago, tech billionaire Peter Thiel was hawking the concept of “sea-steading,” building paradise cities on the ocean, free from intrusive and abusive government. Now, it might seem weird to compare these two—the crown prince and this titan of Silicon Valley. But the comparison is intriguing, and alarming, and reveals some vital lessons about the dangers of certain kinds of ambition. So, just what is it that these guys want? And why is it dangerous?

But what is NEOM MEGA PROJECT, besides a gas-guzzling exhibition of testosterone? Well, it’s the microstate of the future carved from Saudi Arabia’s northwest corner. And it’s got a few regions (so far). In the mountains, you’ve got [Trojena]. That’s the ski and party town of the future, like a Saudi Arabian Aspen or Davos (they know their audience), designed to be a mecca for music festivals and multi-millionaires.

Here is the summary of the projects which are under Neom mega project:

NEOM projects

These are several samples of the projects entitled Neom mega project:

• NEOM City: A smart and sustainable city under construction that uses innovative technologies to create a highly efficient living and working environment.
• NEOM Rail Line: A high-speed rail line that will connect NEOM to other cities in Saudi Arabia.
• NEOM International Airport: A new airport designed to serve passengers and cargo traveling to NEOM.
• NEOM Green Hydrogen Project: This project is designed to produce green hydrogen on a massive scale using solar and wind power.
• NEOM Oxagon Industrial Park: This industrial park focuses on renewable energy, manufacturing, and logistics industries.
• NEOM Digital Park: This technology hub focuses on artificial intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things.
• NEOM AI Research Institute: This research institute focuses on artificial intelligence and its applications in areas such as healthcare, transportation, and education.
• NEOM Robotics Lab: This lab focuses on developing new and innovative robots for use in a wide range of industries.
• NEOM IoT Hub: This center focuses on developing and deploying IoT solutions for smart cities.
• NEOM Sustainability Research Institute: This research institute focuses on sustainability and ways to develop NEOM as a sustainable community.
• NEOM Environmental Research Center: This research center focuses on the environment of NEOM and ways to protect it.
• NEOM Social Science Research Center: This research center focuses on the social aspects of NEOM's development.
• NEOM Museum: This museum is dedicated to the history, culture, and art of Saudi Arabia.
• NEOM Art Gallery: This art gallery showcases works by local, regional, and international artists.
• NEOM Theater: This theater hosts performances of theater, music, and dance.
• NEOM University: This new university focuses on education and research in areas relevant to NEOM's development.
• NEOM K-12 Schools: These schools offer a new education system that focuses on critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity skills.
• NEOM Vocational Training Center: This center provides vocational training in a wide range of skills.
• NEOM Medical Center: This medical center provides comprehensive healthcare services to NEOM residents.
• NEOM Mental Health Hospital: This hospital provides mental health services to NEOM residents.
• NEOM Rehabilitation Center: This center provides rehabilitation services to people who have become disabled due to injury or illness.
• NEOM Residential Pods: These are prefabricated housing pods designed to provide affordable and sustainable housing.
• NEOM Luxury Villas: These luxury villas are designed to offer maximum comfort and stunning views.
• NEOM Affordable Housing Communities: These communities provide affordable housing for low-income families.
• NEOM Mall: This mall offers a wide range of stores, restaurants, and entertainment options.
• NEOM Souk: This traditional market offers a wide range of local products and services.
• NEOM High Street: This shopping street offers a wide range of designer stores and boutiques.
• NEOM Beach Park: This beach park is a great place for swimming, sunbathing, and water sports.
• NEOM Mountain Park: This mountain park is a great place for hiking, biking, and camping.
• NEOM Entertainment Park: This amusement park offers a wide range of rides, shows, and attractions.

Oxagon

This is one of the Neom mega projects. On the coast, you’ve got Oxagon. Oxagon — the port of the future featuring a revolutionary AI-powered harbor on the coastline, while floating out on the water — yes that’s right — will be a technology and research hub, where the world’s next big ideas will emerge…apparently. Somehow. You can check the details about the neom mega project, Oxagon from Here.

THE LINE

And then, you’ve got the star of the show in neom mega project, THE LINE.

A city, but in a straight line. 170km long, traversable end-to-end via underground rail in only 20 minutes, with anything you could need available within a 5-minute walk, thanks to the EPCOT-style network of subterranean tunnels full of robotic delivery vehicles. But that was crazy. For starters, no high-speed rail that fast even exists. So they went back to the drawing board and came up with…THE LINE (2.0).

You can watch below video regarding the line, one of the Neom mega projects:

The same promises, including future trains, except now the robots fly, and there are 1500-foot-tall mirror-finish walls along the entire length. For some reason. It’s an improvement. That’s the answer to “What is NEOM MEGA PROJECT?” But why is NEOM MEGA PROJECT? There are a few explanations based either on the marketing materials or on basic assumptions about what goes on in the mind of a 37-year-old man who’s never worked a day in his life and is personally wealthier than God.

Either MBS is worried about the environment, his petrostate’s economic future, or it’s all vanity. The first explanation is the most generous, and the one the PR team pushes. THE LINE will be carbon neutral. OXAGON will be a hub for marine biology research. But come on, this is Saudi Arabia we’re talking about here! If there’s one thing that always trumps the environment in Riyadh, it’s the bottom line. And MBS should be concerned about the future of its oil-based economy.

Wierd Part

But it seems somewhat ludicrous that building a floating city, a very long, very tall city, and an AI-powered ski resort is the smartest way to diversify and adapt. That leaves, you guessed it, vanity — and the shoe fits. The name NEOM MEGA PROJECT comes from neo meaning new and M for Mohammed. Sorry, Mohammed bin Salman. According to leaked documents from consultants MBS hired, the location was picked from a glance at Google Earth, and the original plan for NEOM MEGA PROJECT involved an island of robot dinosaurs.

This is pure hubris, merely filtered through expensive consultants and PR experts. Well, yes and no. Yes, because basically, the whole point of liberal democracy is to offer ambitious chances at political power and riches while placing a strict cap on just how ambitious they can be.

Think Mark Cuban, a guy who’s made his billions, bought a sports team and is content playing within the rules.

"Will you run for President one day?" "Yes." B

But no system is perfect. And one American found his way to an idea not at all unlike MBS’ Oxagon. That’s Peter Thiel, who co-founded PayPal with Elon Musk, invested early in Facebook, and started a bunch of companies named after stuff from Lord of the Rings. In the late 2000s, he was a big fan of sea-steading.

THIEL: "The question of whether seasteading is...desirable or possible...in my mind, is not even relevant. It is necessary."

Why seasteading, you ask? Well, back then Thiel was a libertarian and a skeptic of democracy who thought welfare spending and women voting were roadblocks to freedom. If you could find a city outside the greedy modern state, humanity could achieve new heights of liberty and innovation. Unfortunately for Thiel, however, his Bioshock-esque libertarian utopia failed to materialize.

Thiel's point of view

But what to do with that power? You would think Thiel might use it as a libertarian: downsizing government and deregulating the economy. But Thiel’s outlook changed.

Motivated by the same core idea that fueled his skepticism of democracy before—that the masses couldn’t be trusted—he’s aligned himself with National Conservatism: a movement not unlike Viktor Orbán’s agenda, covered in the last video: using policy to promote traditional family values, curb LGBT rights, punish overly-woke corporations, and slash immigration.

As with Viktor Orbán’s implementation in Hungary, National Conservatism involves curtailing democracy, given its limited popularity and paternalistic attitude that leaders must save the people from themselves. Thiel has funded the movement lavishly. In Ohio and Arizona, he bankrolled Senate candidates—and former employees—J.D.

Vance and Blake Masters with $25 million, as they declared their belief that the 2020 election was stolen. In essence, Thiel wants to be some kind of great founding figure, and he now sees his best shot in attaching himself to the movement that sought to overturn the last election and wouldn’t mind overturning American democracy more broadly. Ambition is typically thought of as a lust for power.

The Similarity

But both these men want more than power—after all, between the crown prince and billionaire, they already have plenty. They want to be remembered. To live forever. It’s no coincidence that NEOM MEGA PROJECT is named after MBS, nor is it a coincidence that Thiel has spent millions funding anti-aging research and signed himself up to be frozen when he dies, in hopes that in the future he might be reanimated.

For NEOM MEGA PROJECT’s part, it’s unlikely MBS will find what he craves. Like seasteading, building such grandiose structures in the desert is a battle of man versus nature, in which there’s little chance of prevailing. But Thiel’s new ambitions—his anti-democratic attempts to position himself as the patron of a future Caesar—may well succeed, as Viktor Orbán has because Thiel’s is a battle of man versus man.

Liberal democracy places a limit on ambition, and that’s a thing we should be thankful for. But it’s only as strong as the people who support it, and if men as powerful as Thiel commit themselves fully to breaking that limit, it’s unclear how well—or how long—it will hold.