Think: Gutenberg’s Lessons in AI. This is an outstanding article and I highly recommend it. My big take-a-way was this: After the invention of the printing press it took a great deal of time–sometimes decades or even hundreds of years–before certain products, services and concepts were even conceived. In this same way, it is vital that we, as a society, understand that we are still “early” in the AI game. It may be years or even decades before new products, services and concepts are conceived. (This is why imagination is still so important … we must imagine a new and better future into existence.)

Think Again: Humankind has been automating work for hundreds of years. Is AI really that different from the tractor, the calculator, the computer or the internet? Perhaps it is, but there is no fixed amount of work to be done in this world. Is it not possible that AI will simply allow us to focus our attention on other areas? For a fresh perspective on this issue, I invite you to read this article, AI and the Automation of Work.

Think More “Clearly:” Glass is all around us yet we don’t spend much time thinking about it. Maybe we should because it is possible that we will soon have glass that is significantly more sustainable as well as 10X stronger. 

Think the Unthinkable: Yesterday was the hottest day ever recorded in human history. The record will likely be broken again today, tomorrow, the next day and, sadly, for many days into the foreseeable future. In large and small ways all of us are contributing to the problem and it is essential that we think and act anew. If you are serious about becoming part of the solution, I recommend this book, The Carbon Almanac.

Think Faster:  If you are a farmer, I recommend this article and the accompanying video. The gist of the article is this: A new robotic tractor, using laser technology, can now zap and kill up to 200,000 weeds per hour. This is important because not only do weeds take vital nutrients from crops, they also require a great deal of expensive and environmentally-unfriendly herbicides.

Afterthought: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms–to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.“–Viktor Frankl