“I kill people”*
That’s probably the most outrageous answer one can give when asked “So, what do YOU do?” I did that recently and considering my “summer look”, it took a few seconds of baffled thought for my addressee to realise what I just said.
It’s simply a matter of perspective. As a soldier or peacekeeper, you can either say “I kill people” or “I protect people”. Similarly, a surgeon can say “I save people’s lives” or “I sometimes kill unborn babies”.
Truth is a very nuanced thing and in our post-truth era perspective is literally the only thing that helps the individual lean one way or the other.
It works in politics (see Romania’s recent struggle with corruption) and it most certainly works when it comes to R&D, particularly in peacekeeping and space exploration research.
Some say we don’t need to invest more in military research or space exploration, as there’s a lot more we can do with that money: help the poor, fix government, improve international politics and fund medical research.
Then there’s the other side which says that we need to protect ourselves, explore as much as we can so we can have the resources to expand in the eons to come; and that we should focus on the long term benefits of investing in fringe technologies.
And depending on your personal perspective, both sides are right.
But what most don’t realise is that
there is no side.
The vast majority of the planet lives in ignorance. Ignorance regarding global science, technology, evolution, empathy, personal security.
And THIS IGNORANCE resulted in the biggest issue our planet has faced in its entire 4.5 billion year history:
The inhabitants of the planet no longer want to contribute to their own prosperity.
Simply put, nobody wants to work anymore. And that’s a bigger problem than you might possibly comprehend.
Automation and AI are trying to solve this issue by replacing repetitive work and perhaps offset some of the load, so many people can now focus on more creative and complex work. Yet that doesn’t really happen—we now have more unemployable people than we can manage.
You might think that we’ll get more artists, singers, painters, genius managers and forward thinking entrepreneurs—but no, that’s not really happening. What you read about is a tiny bit of the available human resource.
In a nutshell, humans have seem to have lost faith in humanity. If what caused this is no longer a mystery, what can SOLVE this issue is really up for debate.
So what I’m proposing on a hot August day is what I’d like to call a tribe: the Technology Family, or #TECHFAM.
A group/organisation/tribe that believes in (and embraces) science and technology and puts all its resources in the benefit of the greater good.
Right now, #techfam is looking for people obsessed with robotics, biology, material sciences, longevity and of course, AI. Feel free to hit me up at any time—we’re currently pursuing a $10m project that involves pretty much the smartest people on the planet.
*Killing people is a shocking, terrible thing and NOTHING can justify it unless when it comes to protecting other people and the greater good. Unfortunately that happens more often than one cares to admit. I urge you: Do not take this lightly.
