Building meaningful futures - Issue #9
“Change” fixes the past. “Transformation” creates the future.
“In change mode, the desire to improve the past directs what we do. The past sets boundaries and constrains possibilities. Change makes the system better. In transformation mode, the future directs your actions and only the limits of imagination and courage constrain possibilities. Transformation causes new systems to emerge.” - Chris McGoff.
We all know it. Technology has created an overload of information in our daily lives. There are tons of excellent articles shared every day for us to read, interesting and informative video’s to watch, bits and pieces of misinformation circulating, next to the general news already out there, everywhere. Only a couple of years ago we had to sit down to read the newspaper or watch the news, now the news is following us everywhere, on our phones or devices, all the time, whatever app we open, we see news… But how do we keep track of the essentials and make sure we don’t miss out on the important stuff we might have missed during our week of being busy with running for work and fulfilling family tasks, having hardly any time left for ourselves?
Let me ask you one question: is the life your living really the life you want to live?
Book tip: The Burnout Society by Byung-Chul Han.
In my newsletter, I curate the articles I found most interesting from a reflective point of view concerning the impact of technology on humanity, cultures and society, trying to create a perspective based on shared universal values to improve the quality of our current societies and humanity.
“Civilised societies should not want a class of neo-servants. Not merely for moral reasons — though there are moral reasons aplenty. But also, and perhaps and more subtly, for economic ones. A productive economy relies on breakthroughs, which increase standards of living, and so create justifiably worthy inequality, higher wages, and middle classes that prosper instead of decline. Beyond productivity lies real social progress. But we cannot create real breakthroughs if we are too busy being servants. So the challenge for us, as leaders, investors, inventors, dreamers, and doers, is this: not merely to settle for apps, which make our lives a little easier. But to create the earth-shaking breakthroughs which make lives truly better — and give others the chance to do so as well.” - Umair Haque.
Let’s make sure when we code, our code is ethically correct; when we setup business, we build products and services that are good for people and our planet; when we make lots of profit, we can redistribute it into something meaningful, not just for the sake of making money or to prove ourselves in society.
I know, and you know, that the old way of doing business is not working any longer, so we need to start doing things differently.
Personally, I’m working on developing two projects I have at heart right now.
The first project is about how we can use technological tools to improve society, the public discourse and interaction between citizens, based on values, trust and truthful information. As well as to engage with citizens from all areas of society, to reinvent the definition of working in the future, as jobs get replaced by automation.
I made a call to action in my previous newsletter and I must thank the many people who answered, interested in starting a conversation on how we can start doing this. I’m starting a think tank group for people to exchange ideas and projects. If you’re interested, ping me here so I can add you to the group.
This is also something we will discuss in the Philosophical Salon on Technology and the Public Sphere in The House of Beautiful Business on Tuesday, February 28 in Barcelona. Sign up on the webpage to be part of this, seats are limited.
The second project I’m working on is about communicating universal values to children through learning, music, culture and play. If you’re active or interested in one of these areas, please get in touch as I’m working on setting up some alpha-testing pilots this spring and summer to test the idea and document the process along the way.
Let’s do this!
How about you? Which narrative are you developing to contribute in (re) building a healthy society? Feel free to send your projects so I can share them in this newsletter.
Somehow related is this Wired article with the somewhat misleading title The AI threat isn’t Skynet. It’s the end of the middle class. I agree with Yann LeCun’s comment on his page. Yann is Director of AI Research at Facebook.
“AI will transform society, labour, and the economy. But it is not AI that threatens the middle class, it is technological progress in general (AI and otherwise) combined with policies that favour capital, at the expense of labour. The process by which technological progress continuously increases productivity (GNP per capita), yet increases wealth inequality while leaving median income stagnant has been going on since the 1980s in the US. Fiscal policies that have lowered taxes for upper income brackets and kept high taxes on income from labour and low taxes on capital gains have made the problem worse in the US. The real threat to the middle class is regressive fiscal policies in a time of accelerated technological progress.”
Furthermore on this topic - for individuals and for business people - this week, I highly recommend you read the Unlocking human potential - Proactive practices for individual elasticity report from Deloitte University Press.
“It’s all about checking in, with yourself and with others; leaning in and climbing out; jumping into the flow of ideas, people, and information to learn new strokes; and eddying out to regain equilibrium. It’s about learning to move with purpose and using flows, and “flow”, to successfully and sustainably live and work. We are very much interested in the path we’re all on. It’s about each of us finding ways to create a better path for ourselves, making sure the path is taking us where we want to go, and understanding the many options we have for traversing it.”
Remember, a butterfly is a transformation, not a better caterpillar. Let’s all be butterflies again. Yeay!
Have a great week; take good care of yourself and your beloved ones!
Mobile World Congress Events
With a little less than 2 weeks to go to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, things are heating up again. Check below the events I’m involved in. I’ve got some discounted & free tickets for grabs.
Mobile Sunday 2017 with Tech.eu, 26 Feb 2017
We’re still hard at work building the final program for the evening, check out the confirmed speakers who will be joining us on stage at Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm. I’ve got 5 FREE tickets for my readers. Use promo code SUNDAYVIP to benefit from this unique offer. 10 more tickets are available at a 50% discount, please use code RUDY_50 to benefit from this offer.
IoT Stars – THE Internet of Things Startup Pitching & Networking Event during #MWC17
We’re in for a night of pure startup pitching live on stage with direct jury feedback. Jury members include the founder of the IoT Council, the CTO of the City of Barcelona, IoT Smart Cities Director at Telefónica, the Global IoT Evangelist at SAP and the MDs of Techstars and Startupbootcamp IoT. IoT Startups can still apply to pitch on the website till 15/2. I’ve got 5 FREE tickets for my readers for this event as well. Use promo code IOTVIP to benefit from this unique offer. 10 more tickets are available at a 50% discount, please use code RUDY_50 to benefit from this offer. Cu in Barcelona!
House of Beautiful Business
The House of Beautiful Business is a special pop-up community during Mobile World Congress (MWC), designed to offer an intimate space for meaningful conversations about technology and humanity. All events are now added on the website, access is free but you need to register as all events are on a first come first serve basis. I’ll be active on Tuesday evening for The Great Debate and the Philosophical Salon.
Illustration by Oscar Bolton Green - MIT Technology Review
Must read
MIT Technology Review's 2016 Best Illustrations
MIT Technology Review art department’s favourite illustrations from 2016 from a world-class group of illustrators who help the magazine bear the conceptual load. Must see!
Loneliness actually hurts us on a cellular level
There is a huge hidden epidemic of loneliness and disenfranchisement from the human race. A scientist explains how the pain of loneliness makes us sick.
When Debate Is Futile: Bertrand Russell’s Remarkable Response to a Fascist’s Provocation
“The emotional universes we inhabit are so distinct, and in deepest ways opposed, that nothing fruitful or sincere could ever emerge from association between us
Did Plato's Republic Predict the Rise of Donald Trump?
We stand, perhaps, at the threshold of the singularity, that great event when machine intelligence overtakes our own. The writhing of late capitalism may in fact be the death throes of Western modernity and, for both good and ill, much of its Enlightenment legacy. Institutions like the press and the polling industry have stumbled badly. No amount of denialism will stop the climate crisis. Something entirely new seems poised for its emergence into the world, though what it might be no one seems fully equipped to say. Why, then, should we look back to Plato to explain our epoch, a philosopher who had no familiarity with modern weaponry, artificial intelligence, or information systems?
The Five Letter Word That Spells the End of Societies
What really went wrong for America? Before the demagogues, before the crisis, before decline — there was a general, systemic, and unprecedented loss of trust. In everything and everyone. A loss of trust in institutions, from the government to corporation to the media. A loss of trust in people, from neighbors to intellectuals to fellow citizens. A loss of trust that was like an ice shelf collapsing.
‘Schools train us to become machines’
The political spectrum has fallen into what I would describe as threat-based narratives. The message to the people is we are under attack. It is all playing to that fear. What we are missing is an opportunity-based narrative that highlights what we could do if we became together, rather than polarising and splitting. By John Hagel, Deloitte innovation chief.
The future is mixed-race and that’s a good thing for humanity
And so is the past. Migration and mingling are essential to human success in the past, the present and into the future.
How to make capitalism more ethical
As in many other parts of business, there is a competitive advantage to being among the first to put values into practice, whether it’s reducing carbon footprints or eliminating pay inequalities. Meaningful values-infused programs – as opposed to meaningless window-dressing – have enabled many companies to develop new and valuable core competencies.
Millennials across the rich world are failing to vote
Democracies are at risk if young people continue to shun the ballot box. Why not make voting compulsory, as it is in Australia, Belgium, Brazil and many other countries? Barack Obama has said such a move would be “transformative” for America, boosting the voices of the young and the poor.
The Collapse of Traditional Structures: An Ecosystem Evolution
The road to future ecosystems is paved by stakeholder action in the coming decades. These ecosystems support life experiences and have no regard for industry boundaries. It is value design that I believe challenges traditional thinking, both in how we view relationships and how we create and share value. By Frank Diana
After the Big Now
Imagine another version of the Internet respectful of people’s attention and time by Fabien Girardin.
The largest internet company in 2030?
I’ve been predicting that by 2030 the largest company on the internet is going to be an education-based company that we haven’t heard of yet, says Thomas Frey, senior futurist at the DaVinci Institute think tank.
Flow
If You’re Too Busy For These 5 Things: Your Life Is More Off-Course Than You Think
It’s really easy to get off-course in life. Like airplanes, we constantly need to make course-corrections. But we can ensure we get where we want in life by organising ourselves, planning for our future, tracking our progress, heightening our mindset, and hustling. Do this long enough and you’ll be shocked. Go!
Forever free from work-life balance
For me, my life’s work is my life — to be the purest, most essential version of myself, until I become as clear, light and transparent as the air itself, and you can see right through me into my deepest part of me to where my light shines, unobscured by my fears and my darkness — because when you see mine, I am certain you will start to see your own, like looking into a magical mirror.
Flow, the secret to happiness
Do you remember how does it feel to be in flow? Revisit this excellent TED-talk by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi about the power of flow and what makes a life worth living?
Friendships, romance, humanity: mind-reading tech will kill it all
The latest horror-movie proposal to emerge from the industry is a program that tells you whether people like you or not. I wish it nothing but ill - by Catherine Shoard in The Guardian.
Artificial Intelligence
Europe has a chance to dominate deep tech
The European tech sector does indeed appear to be heading in a new direction and may yet surprise us all. There is no doubt that it is changing faster than ever before. But the critical question remains whether it is changing fast enough given developments elsewhere.
Is Artificial Intelligence a Threat to Christianity?
Are you there, God? It’s I, robot.
6 areas of AI and machine learning to watch closely
Six areas of AI that are particularly noteworthy in their ability to impact the future of digital products and services. Here are answers to the what, how, why and who.
The Real Threat Is Machine Incompetence, Not Intelligence
The risk remains the same as it was in the 1980s, where the public and policy-makers see machines being amazing within these narrow domains, while never seeing how badly they fail when tasks become general and start to approach the edges of human cognition.
Surviving Advanced AI
Watch this excellent talk of Nick Bostrom, the Swedish philosopher at the University of Oxford, known for his work on existential risk, the anthropic principle, human enhancement ethics, superintelligence risks, the reversal test, and consequentialism on Surviving Advanced AI.
Dangers of Artificial Intelligence Discussed at UN
For the hardcore AI+Ethics fans. Experts in artificial intelligence voice their expectations and concerns at the United Nations. Speakers include Nick Bostrom and Max Tegmark.
Future of Wall Street
As Goldman Embraces Automation, Even the Masters of the Universe Are Threatened
Software that works on Wall Street is changing how business is done and who profits from it.
AR / VR
Europe’s VR ecosystem
There are nearly 300 startups in Europe’s growing virtual reality (VR) ecosystem, according to a new report in Tech.eu released earlier this week.
How to build a successful VR business model
The VR and AR phenomenon extends across borders and Asia is expected to take the lead in the technology’s development by 2020. Entrepreneurs explore ways to develop sustainable business models for VR and AR.
Hard Science
South Korean Dog Cloning Facility Can Give You Your Dead Dog Back
Sooam Biotech Research Foundation has cloned over 800 dogs since 2006, offering the service to bring your dead dog back for $100,000. Apart from their popular dog cloning service, they also clone cattle and pigs for medical research and breed preservation. Would you clone your dead dog?
Design Thinking
Shh! Don’t Tell Them There’s No Magic In Design Thinking
As design professionals, we shouldn’t let ourselves think there’s any magic in Design Thinking. Our teams, stakeholders, and executives can believe in it, but we shouldn’t. To do so would be to depend on Design Thinking having magic and such magic doesn’t really exist.
Future of Branding
The Artificially Intelligent, Body-Hacking Branding Of 2022
Branding experts share 10 trends that could shape the next five years.
Art
The most important black woman sculptor of the 20th century deserves more recognition
Few of her sculptures remain but Augusta Savage remains arguably the most influential black woman sculptor of the 20th century. Her efforts no doubt helped to pave the way for many black women sculptors to follow.
Met Museum Open Access Makes 375,000 Pieces Available for Free
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Open Access plan makes 375,000 of its works in the public domain, available for commercial and noncommercial use.
Closing Quote
“Boldness has genius, power and magic in it! Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe