[Music]
a couple of years ago my ten-year-old
son Sebastian walked into my office with
a glass of water and he said mom imagine
a future where you have robots that can
do everything for you including getting
your glass water you don't have to lift
a thing
ai makes all the decisions and machines
can read your mind and beam your
thoughts to someone on the other side of
the world you are entertained all day by
a robot alone no contact and then he
drops the bomb
you ready he goes then what's the point
of us now the split second later he
popped out of my office but I have to
tell you I was left with this I was left
with who are you is Yoda in that little
body because to me the point of us is a
profound question coming from a
ten-year-old it's a profound question no
matter what age you are but it's also
the defining question of our times what
will be the point of us when machines
can outperform outmaneuver and out-think
us what will be become of us now as a
futurist and a humanist I spend a lot of
time wrestling with this question you
see as a futurist I study the impact of
intelligent machines on business and
society and as a futurist I am devoted
to working with leaders to creating the
future of human flourishing it's clear
to me that AI robots and other
intelligent machines will have great
benefit to our humanity from solving
world hunger to environmental collapse
to debilitating diseases but they also
represent a great peril to our species
from weaponized AI to mass unemployment
to social manipulation I have come to
understand that the defining
factor between promise and peril between
a life of meaning and one over relevance
lies not in how much we invest in
technology but in how much we invest in
humanity according to the International
Data Corporation worldwide spending on
cognitive and artificial intelligence
systems is doubling every year and is
projected to reach 77 point six billion
by 2022 how much are we investing in
humanity how much are we investing in
developing the skills that we need to
lead live work and thrive in our AI
driven future my sense is we're not
investing nearly enough and we urgently
have to and there are three main reasons
for this the first is that our humanity
is under erosion the situation is dire
under our eyes a global pandemic is
growing just when we need exceptional
global cooperation to define who we want
to become as a species we are the most
socially isolated lonely economically
divided and politically polarized than
ever recorded just when we need to
reimagine our economy our legal systems
and our democratic process in light of
these powerful technologies we are in
the midst of what experts are calling a
global creativity crisis just when we
need optimism and resilience to adapt to
the changes that are about to come over
300 million of us are depressed anxious
and overwhelmed with a sense of
meaninglessness and pain just when we
need compassion to have the insight that
we need to develop technologies that are
for the benefit of humanity and the
planet we are 48 percent less
sympathetic than the humans that came
before us 40 years ago
and just when we need to tune into our
values our ethics and our highest wisdom
the room for inner voice is shrinking we
are no longer able to pay attention to
anything let alone be alone with our
thoughts one study concluded that we
have become so tech addicted so
overstimulated that we would rather
receive a shock than be left alone with
our thoughts let all of that sink in for
a moment the essential skills that we
need to usher in a bright future for
humankind wisdom compassion
collaboration creativity optimism and
resilience by the way the skills that
make us human are precisely the skills
that we're losing how are we meant to
solve the grand challenges that we're
facing
if solving these challenges require the
mental and social capacities that were
losing are we barreling into a future
mindlessly where our humanity will be
further and further eroded and where
perhaps we might very well end up
becoming entertained all day by robot
alone no contact or are we going to
subvert these trends address these
issues and re enrich our humaneness we
are not paying enough attention to this
the destiny of humankind and AI are
interconnected only if we evolve our
humanity can we develop robots AI and
other intelligent machines that are fair
just and for the benefit of all now some
believe that we can develop technologies
to address these issues and rescale the
skills that we're losing and we may very
well be able to but why would we create
synthetic solutions for deeply human
needs could machines truly help us learn
empathy for example when they don't feel
it imagine you got a new puppy and you
don't have time to train in in the
future we may have a robot puppy trainer
like that right okay
now could that robot ever teach your
puppy to bond with you to see you as
part of their pack to be loyal to you
there is a chemical exchange that
happens when we empathize with each
other that robots will never be able to
replicate in sanskrit the word for
compassion is a new camper which means a
tremble along with no machine will
tremble along with you in the illunga
tribe of the philippines the word for
love is I heard for you no machine will
ever heard for you what gives our lives
richness and meaning is something that
we do not want automated authentic human
connection we need to put down our
technologies and find a way back to each
other back to ourselves we need to
become more human our future really does
depend on it
the second reason we need to reinvest in
humanity is that the domains upon which
we have traditionally hinged our
self-worth sense of accomplishment and
purpose the labors of our body and the
labors of our mind will soon be
dominated by another species legions of
jobs both white collar and blue collar
will soon vanish so I'm not here to
paint a picture of a robot apocalypse or
make us feel irrelevant but rather to
highlight how the world that we've known
is rapidly changing and we're being
called to change with it
so when machines can when AI can you
know make all the decisions and robot
can do everything for you what will be
the point of us now there are a lot of
the stokin views out there
and every precaution is absolutely
necessary but I also hold a different
vision and it's one of human possibility
now come along with me for a minute
imagine a future where robots and AI
we're able to take over the labor of our
jobs imagine a future where exponential
technologies eradicated many of the
causes of human suffering what kind of
future could we create what if the most
important question right now is not what
will become of us but what could we
become what if these technologies were
not the demise of our humanity but a
release what if humans were not
displaced but awakened I believe this
moment is a great moment for human my
imagination I believe this moment is
asking us to evolve and to become the
most genuine and enlightened expression
of who we are truly as human beings now
who we are is too much truly human
beings is something that is different
for all of us but I think if we look
inwards we will find a commonality we
need to reclaim the aspects of humanity
that stand outside the forseeable reach
machines the domains of the heart the
worth dignity and humans lies in our
hearts in our wisdom moral and ethical
reasoning social emotional capacity
social emotional creative intelligence
and creativity and dare I say it love my
youngest son Matias says we need to walk
back into our love you can see my kids
are budding philosophers right but he's
right we need to celebrate humans as
anti machines we need to start the inner
evolution
of what it means to be human now imagine
that future with me imagine a future
where we met this great technological
evolution with an equal and higher
evolution over humanity that to me is a
future worth living for and worth
fighting for
the third reason we need to reinvest in
humanity is that our current leadership
and economic models are woefully
outdated for this new age we are
birthing the most powerful technology
ever seen in the history of humanity we
cannot we must not do so from the same
seed of greed competition one-upmanship
and profit at all costs motives that
have defined our last century we risk
the very survival of our species so
leadership today can no longer be about
leading for profit we've outgrown the
capitalistic ideals of profit at all
costs we need new ideas of value for
example triple bottom-line objectives
people planet and profit nor can it be
about leading for performance as we
focused on so much we've over optimized
we've turned humans into machines and we
already burnt out we need to put a
physical mental and emotional well-being
back into the equation and it cannot be
about leading for purpose as we have
understood it for many this was a
marketing ploy we have seen the impact
of empty promises and purpose washing
and we need to lead with purpose for
real nor can it be about relentlessly
leading for innovation as we have been
in the last couple decades we've seen
the impact of the move fast and break
things mentality mm-hmm we need a new
model of innovation we need humanity
centered innovation we need innovation
with conscience this moment is calling
for different kind of leadership
we need leaders to understand that if
you are in any way developing deploying
or using AI you are in every sense of
the word leading for the future of
humankind that is a whole lot more
responsibility and then businesses and
leaders are used to so we need to start
asking how are we preparing leaders to
lead for Humanity to develop the
business and tech solutions that support
genuine human thriving to create new
humanity centric metrics policies
legislations products and economic
models are we merely relying on leaders
conscience and goodwill or are we going
to develop the leadership skills that
will launch a species to our next level
of potential we need leaders who will do
the moral work of this generation who
will learn the skills of courage and
compassion to resist incredibly
attractive siren call of AI
profitability and to balance it with the
impact on human life in society we need
leaders who will wrestle with the
profound questions that are facing us
for example do we really want machines
that can read our mind and beam our
thoughts to someone on the other side of
the world you might be surprised to know
that efforts in this field are already
underway the implications are profound
and we must wrestle with them we need
leaders who will put people over profit
and planet over power we need leaders
with the courage to lead for Humanity
that is the point of us that is the
point of leadership today my children
your children our children's children
deserve to live in a world where humans
are truly flourishing where we realize
our fullest potential a world that is
far more just wise and compassionate a
world where we get to be more human
together this should be our ultimate
vision for a future with super
technologies frankly we should all deem
anything less than that a failure when I
finally spoke to Sebastian I answered
his question in the most sincere and
thoughtful way that I could the answer I
gave him has since completely changed
how I live my life work and even parent
I said Sebastian I believe the point of
us especially now especially in the
future and perhaps always is to do the
invisible but revolutionary work of
becoming more human this is our chance
to reimagine humanity there is no planet
that we can escape to where these issues
are not going to follow us my invitation
for everyone here is to walk out with
the courage to say that humanity matters
and to join me in the exquisite journey
of becoming more human together thank
you
[Applause]