Thought Leadership: In his article, “AI Could Usher In a New Renaissance,” Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, writes that AI may soon reach a point at which it could train itself “on self-generated data through a process known as recursive self-learning.” This is true, but if AI can generate its own data and produce new findings based on this data, this suggests that some scientists, biologists, and material scientists may soon be replaced. More troubling, it opens the very possibility that AI might also produce findings beyond human comprehension. We must all think about where this AI renaissance is taking humanity. (If enough workers are displaced and can’t quickly find new jobs, one place it could be taking society is towards political revolution. Granted, the odds of this happening are small but we must always take such possibilities seriously.)
Think Like a Futurist: Earlier this week, I sent an open letter to my fellow futurists across the globe. I invite you to read, meditate and reflect upon it as well. We are living in extraordinarily challenging–and promising–times. The question we all must ask ourselves at this moment in history is this: What direction do we wish to see our communities, countries, and world go in and what is our role in helping it in our preferred direction?
Think in Questions: Data centers consume anywhere between 1-2 percent of the world’s electricity. Continued advances in artificial intelligence suggest this number could double by 2030. Data centers also use up land and water. This leads to an intriguing question: Is It Time to Put Data Centers in Space? If you read the entire article, you will see that not only is the idea not crazy, a handful of companies are already working on the concept.
Think Optimistically and Think Different: There is no shortage of depressing news these days. There are also a great many news items which the mainstream media overlooks. Two articles, in particular, caught my attention this week: Abandoned Coal Mines are Becoming the Batteries of the Future and In Green Hydrogen, Experts See an Exit Ramp for Fossil Fuels.
Think Better: Want to think better? Consider making your phone dumber. In a world where most of us are inundated with information, and companies and people (myself included) are asking for your attention, one of the wisest things we can do is to rely less on your digital devices. The extra free time you save will provide you with extra time and mental space to focus on the one thing at which humans still excel: Thinking creatively.
Think Deeper: Bill George, the former CEO of Medtronic, has a thoughtful article entitled “Shaping the Future of Leadership.” What is interesting to me is that all three principles are human-centric.
Thought From Beyond: In the article, “AI Could Usher In a New Renaissance,” Eric Schmidt, writes, “Neither is AGI (artificial general intelligence) a singular source of truth–our knowledge of the world is probabilistic and complex at the sub-atomic and intergalactic scales, but also in everyday life.”
The statement is fine as far as it goes, but I‘d like to help you better understand what Mr. Schmidt may be overlooking. The truth is this: At the deepest sub-atomic level even the world’s most brilliant quantum physicists still do not understand what exactly is happening. The same is true at the intergalactic scale. To wit, world-class astronomers cannot yet precisely explain how the universe came to exist. These deep “unknowns” leave open the possibility that some creative force beyond our understanding is at work. Many people, myself included, have faith that this “creative force” or “transforming energy” is God. My point is this: If individuals such as Mr. Schmidt continue to use–and hide behind–such faux-scientific language as “probabilistic and complex,” they either intentionally or unintentionally close the door to searching for forms of “formless energy” in unconventional places. In short, they close the door to Spirit. The downside of this lack of humility is that they may be the ones who ultimately miss out on finding and/or discovering the “true” transforming agent–God. (P.S. I suspect this “formless energy” cannot just be found at the outer edges of the intergalactic universe and deep below the sub-atomic level, it can even be found in the one place a great many people refuse to search–their own hearts.)
