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- Psychological Climate Change: Understanding Our Digital Dilemma
Our digital revolution is rewiring humanity faster than we can comprehend. Key points The screen time debate masks a profound reality: We're experiencing psychological climate change. Traditional research methods are obsolete in the face of our rapidly evolving digital ecosystem. We're riding a "Treadmill of Exponential Acceleration," which is outpacing our ability to adapt. We cannot solve collective problems using divided approaches in an interconnected world. Are screens truly harming our kids and teens as much as we fear ? Diving deeper into this question uncovers a reality far more complex and alarming than we’d initially imagined. We're experiencing psychological climate change caused by the digital world we’ve created. And we're only at the tip of a very formidable iceberg. The Great Screen Time Debate: Fears and Facts For years, experts have hotly debated screens' impact on young people. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt's recent bestseller, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness , has intensified this debate. Haidt and other psychologists such as Jean Twenge claim rising mental health issues among youth stem largely from widespread smartphone and social media adoption . These concerns are echoed by experts and parents worldwide. Even the U.S. Surgeon General advocates for social media warning labels . Our gut instincts , backed by personal observations and experiences, scream that excessive screen time can't be healthy. Yet, our fears don't tell the full story . Our negativity bias ensures alarming news dominates, while studies showing minimal screen harm rarely make headlines. This skews our perception of the research. As it turns out, reality is more complex than the headlines . On the flip side, researchers like Chris Ferguson , Andrew Przybylski , and Amy Orben argue these concerns are overblown, suggesting our anxieties are another "moral panic," like our past fears about comic books or Dungeons & Dragons . Technoforming Earth: Our Rapidly Evolving Digital World Why do well-meaning experts disagree so sharply? The answer reveals a profound truth about our rapidly evolving world – one that explains our continued struggles despite extraordinary progress. " The real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology. " E.O. Wilson, Harvard biologist The "Evolutionary Mismatch" graph illustrates the growing disparity among Biological Evolution (green line), Cultural/Moral Evolution (red line), and Technological Evolution (blue dashed line) across significant historical periods. As technology advances exponentially, especially from the Industrial to AI Revolutions, it outpaces our slower biological and moral adaptations, leading to increasing societal strain and suffering, as captured by E.O. Wilson's quote on our misaligned progress. Source: Kai Brooks/Original image In reality , we are grappling with a complex issue that extends far beyond mere screen time . With our relentless pursuit of progress, we've basically "technoformed" Earth into an alien world that we now inhabit. What should alarm us even more is that our digital world is changing at a non-linear rate as technological evolution rockets past biological evolution. Doesn't it feel as if the "treadmill of life" is already moving too fast and overwhelming us? Now the civilization-altering power of AI will accelerate the pace of change beyond anything humanity's ever experienced. AI will permeate every aspect of our lives, fundamentally changing everything . We may soon fondly and wistfully recall our concerns about smartphones and social media. A truth we fear is this: The pace of change is finally exceeding our ability to adapt to it. " The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function ." - Albert A. Bartlett, an American physicist Think about that for a moment. We're living in a world that's evolving faster than our ability to understand it, let alone adapt to it. As successful YouTuber Hank Green observed on the podcast Hard Fork : " The lesson of TikTok is that, like, culture can happen very fast. Like the speed of culture is in a lot of ways the speed of connections between humans… " Psychological Climate Change Our rapidly transforming world reveals a profound insight: smartphones and social media are intertwined parts of a complex digital ecosystem, not isolated causes of harm. We cannot separate an individual's screen use from the digital world that we've created with them . As Brian Klaas so eloquently describes in Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters : " If you squint at reality for more than a moment, you'll realize that we're inextricably linked to one another across time and space. In an intertwined world such as ours, everything we do matters because our ripples can produce storms — or calm them — in the lives of others ." Within the complex system of our digital world, interconnected components interact in unpredictable ways. Small changes ripple through this network, potentially causing outsized influences through social contagion , feedback loops, and butterfly and cascade effects. This makes it virtually impossible to isolate the effects of “screen time” on well-being. The screen time debate's deadlock has inadvertently unveiled the paradigm-shifting reality we're facing: psychological climate change . We're not just dealing with devices — we're experiencing a fundamental shift in our collective psyche. Just as global warming alters our planet's systems, this digital transformation is reshaping our minds in ways we can't hope to fully comprehend. " We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." - Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leader To think that Martin Luther King said this well before we were all connected within our digital world. I wonder what would he say about us now? The Digital Tsunami: Why Science Can't Keep Up Our complex digital world has rendered traditional research approaches obsolete. Both sides of the screen time debate are simultaneously right and wrong because they're examining separate aspects of an intricate, intertwined system. Isolating the effects of screens is like trying to determine how much climate change contributes to a specific tornado. It's inherently impossible to do so with any empirical precision. Consider this: Every time we pick up our smartphones, we're plugging into an ecosystem designed to capture our attention , influence our behavior, and shape our reality. The algorithms of attention trapture increasingly determine our experiences within personalized digital worlds. Our traditional tools of understanding are overwhelmed by this digital tsunami . The pace of change, which we might call the Treadmill of Exponential Acceleration (TEA), is so rapid that we can no longer rely on science to light our way forward . By the time we collect data on these swiftly evolving technologies, especially AI, the findings are already obsolete. This rapid pace of change partly explains the replication crisis in social sciences, where many studies—especially in psychology—can't be reliably reproduced. This has cast widespread doubt on findings that were previously accepted. Here's a sobering reality: We've had smartphones and social media for over a decade, yet we're still debating their impact on young people. If we can't reach consensus on this, how can we hope to keep pace with the exponential changes brought by AI? The social sciences, with their need for longitudinal studies, meta-analyses, and replication, simply cannot keep up. Yet, the profound, far-reaching connection between our digital world and our well-being is undeniable. This leaves us in uncharted territory to face unprecedented challenges without science as a candle in the dark to illuminate our path forward. The implications of this seismic change for our future are staggering. The Evolutionary Progress Paradox While our technological progress has connected us more than ever before, it may also be driving us apart and affecting our well-being in unexpected ways. We have unprecedented access to information, entertainment, social connection, psychotropic medication , therapy , and tools for well-being — from happiness science to mindfulness apps. Ironically, more of us are now taking, often-medically prescribed, psychedelics and hallucinogenic drugs just to help us deal with reality! Yet, despite these advancements, progress on improving happiness in affluent countries remains elusive. In fact, rates of loneliness , anxiety , and depression are on the rise among many groups . Despite the amazing benefits of screens, they don't make us significantly happier overall . This Evolutionary Progress Paradox presents a critical dilemma. Our digital world, with all its wonders and pitfalls, is fundamentally altering the fabric of our society and individual psyches. Just as climate change radically alters weather patterns, we are reshaping our minds in ways we cannot fully grasp or predict. We're not merely using technology — it's profoundly shaping us. The Unity Imperative: A Call for Collective Action We cannot solve collective problems using divided approaches in an interconnected world . The challenges of this modern world, and the sci-fi future we're creating, necessitate a much greater level of unity than humanity is currently demonstrating. The Unity Imperative calls us to transcend our differences and embrace our shared humanity because our global challenges demand it. As we hurtle into an AI-driven future, unity isn’t merely the most skillful path forward. It might be the only path forward. To dive deeper into The Unity Imperative and explore how we can harness AI for humanity's greater good, read the full article here . If these truths resonate with you—if you sense that our interconnected world demands greater unity—then share this message. Together, we can create the world that John Lennon could only imagine.
- Unity in Crisis: America’s Fight Against Itself
America's health and greatness flow from unity, not division. Key points Our tribal instincts are driving us to vilify one another instead of seeking unity. The truth that sets us free is one we already know: We are to choose love and unity over hate and division. AI is transforming our world. Let’s use it to overcome division and build a brighter future together. If you feel anxiety about America's future, especially with the 2024 election approaching, you're not alone. It's a peculiar kind of madness when our right arm attacks our left, each fighting for victory while we bleed from the wounds that are created. Yet this is precisely what's happening in America today. Our adversaries insidiously amplify our divisions as we tear ourselves apart from within, knowing they don't need to defeat us. We're doing it ourselves, ignoring unity's imperative . Our Founding Fathers and spiritual leaders warned us that division is downfall. Jesus's words "a house divided against itself will not stand" were so profound that Abraham Lincoln invoked them before the Civil War. Hidden within this warning is an even greater truth: A house united will not fall . We're behaving like two gigantic Red and Blue toddlers, breaking the toys we are fighting over. We've forgotten that "United" is America's first name, that "E pluribus unum" (out of many, one) was our original motto. This wasn't just wordplay. It recognized a fundamental truth: Our strength, our very greatness as a nation lies in unity. True greatness in leadership isn't about conquering the opposing party—it's about embodying and cultivating unity around these foundational principles that define the United States. The Cost of Division The price of forgetting this wisdom is mounting up. Over 12 years, America has fallen from 11th to 23rd in the World Happiness Report rankings while mental health challenges, especially among youth, have soared Alarming signs are emerging: rising political violence, growing extremism, and a collective sense of unraveling. Our health and greatness as a nation are inextricably linked to our degree of unity. Lost in a Sci-Fi World What’s wrong with our world? Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson captured our dilemma: "The real problem of humanity is that we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology." Just as terraforming has caused climate change , the "technoforming" of our world is leading to psychological climate change —our digital world is reshaping our minds, relationships, and society faster than we can adapt. We're thinking linearly about nonlinear challenges. Our ancient brains fail to process how rapidly our world is transforming. It’s like trying to get an old computer to run bleeding-edge software. A tsunami of change, particularly driven by artificial intelligence , is overwhelming humanity. The truth we fear is this: The pace of change has finally exceeded our ability to adapt . We've created a world so misaligned with human nature that it's driving us mad. Consequently, we turn on one another and devolve into tribalism. The Poison We Consume In our disorientation, we seek someone to blame. The Other Side becomes our scapegoat, allowing us to avoid a harder truth: We're trapped in a self-perpetuating cycle of mutual hatred. An ancient proverb warns, "Hatred is the poison we drink hoping the other person will die." Our hateful polarization is that poison, making us sicker as we mistakenly blame our neighbors for our pain. The Truth We Already Know This brings us to a profound realization: The Truth that sets us free is the Truth we already know. It's found in every major spiritual tradition and America's founding principles: We are here to choose love over hate, compassion over selfishness, and unity over division— even though we have the free will not to. What exactly does the Truth set us free from? It grants us the greatest freedom we can know: freedom from hate, coupled with freedom to love. It also liberates us from the suffering caused by division itself. Interestingly, "sin" in its original Greek and Aramaic roots means "missing the mark" in archery. If sin is missing the mark, what's the bull's-eye we're meant to aim for in life? We circle back to the Truth we already know—that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus taught us to love our neighbors, not to hate them. Hatred is failure— not just missing the mark but turning our arrow away from love's bull's-eye to aim at our neighbor's heart instead. We cannot make America great with hate. Whatever temporary victories we gain through hatred are spiritual defeats that will divide our house and cause it to fall. When we love our neighbors as ourselves, we create unity. Like individual jewels within Indra's net, we each reflect our unique selves in one another, interconnected and interdependent. As U2 captured in "One," "We're one, but not the same...we get to carry each other." Aligning Technology With Truth As Thich Nhat Hanh taught, "We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness." Einstein echoed this truth when he observed that our sense of separation is an "optical illusion of consciousness." We must remember: It is Truth that sets us free, not our tribal loyalties . Now, as we enter the age of artificial intelligence , we face a profound choice: Will we design AI to reinforce tribal beliefs, or harness it to help humanity discover deeper truths? The greater the truth we find together, the freer and more secure we become. United in pursuit of truth rather than divided by tribal loyalties, AI could help us transcend the very divisions that keep us from solving our greatest challenges—like poverty, climate change, and social inequality. This is our extraordinary opportunity: to align this powerful technology with humanity's highest values. AI has the potential to help us see truth more clearly, rising above partisan distortions to reveal our common ground. Together, we can use AI to unite our house around shared truths that serve all humanity. Unity: Our Only Path Forward The challenges of our complex, interconnected world demand greater unity than humanity has ever achieved. As Martin Luther King Jr. warned, we must "learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." Unity isn't just our best path forward—it might be our ONLY path forward. Our strength lies in diversity united by shared purpose and truth. Choosing Freedom Through Unity The path forward requires us to make clear choices daily: Put Unity First: America's greatness flows from uniting diverse perspectives toward shared purpose. Choose Unity's Side: When asked which side you're on, reply: "I'm on the side of Unity." Choose Love Over Hate: Reject politicians who build platforms on fear and anger . Choose leaders who build bridges. Seek Balanced Truth: Choose news sources that prioritize facts over partisan narratives. If your news consistently vilifies one side, it's feeding division, not Truth. Remember Our Connection: There is no "me" without "we"—we rise or fall together. Be the Change: Share messages that unite, not divide. Connect with others on shared values and purpose. Start Conversations Today: Talk with those who hold different views to understand hearts, not change minds. Demand Bipartisan Solutions: Call for a powerful bipartisan commission focused on reducing polarization. Help Build Tomorrow: Join the One Unity Project , where we're blending human wisdom with AI's exponential potential to solve humanity's greatest challenges. Think Wikipedia meets problem-solving---an evolving platform to bridge divides, crowdsource solutions, and create the unity our future demands. Building the House United Humanity stands at an existential fork in the road. If we had to place a Cosmic Wager on humanity's survival, we'd all bet on unity as the odds-on favorite. This truth we already know—that our deepest purpose is to unify—must light our path forward. A house united will not fall, but first, we must choose to be that house. The stakes couldn't be higher as AI transforms our world beyond anything we've experienced. If we miss this mark, the House of America, and perhaps even Humanity itself, may fall. Our choices are clear: Do we choose love, compassion, and unity over hate, selfishness, and division? We merely have to search within for the Truth we already know for the Answer that hits the bull's-eye. The transformation begins with us. It always has. Let everyone know by proclaiming "I Choose Unity," and let's make unity go viral. Together, we can create the world John Lennon could only imagine.
- How to Find Happiness in Our Chaotic World
“The world has changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.” — Lady Galadriel from the movie, “The Fellowship of the Ring” Greetings, my fellow connectors! As you look around at what is happening in our world these days, are you the type of person who wonders, “What the hell is going on? Is the world going mad? Are we headed in the wrong direction? Where is all this “progress” taking us anyway?” We are being bombarded relentlessly these days with information, content, change, and negativity. As we doomscroll through threats such as climate change, political polarization, the proliferation of artificial intelligence, UFO claims, rising mental health problems, wars, mass shootings, a recent pandemic, economic instability, and natural disasters, we often feel like we can’t keep our collective heads above water. It’s a dizzying whirlwind, and it is as if life is going off the rails. We feel that the stakes are getting higher and higher as humanity is being forced to navigate mind-bogglingly complex and unfolding challenges. If such thoughts and concerns overwhelm you, trust me, you are not alone . I’m right there with you. There’s been some kind of change or shift in recent decades, and it’s not in a good way. While there are certainly countless wonderful things about our modern world, we know there is something wrong as well. We can feel it . “Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad .” — Morpheus to Neo from the movie, “The Matrix” We know this truth: We are only seeing the tips of some very formidable icebergs in front of us. Many of these icebergs - these obstacles - are likely to become even more difficult to manage over time, such as evolving and proliferating artificial intelligence and worsening global climate change. Yet, we are simultaneously experiencing growing and troublesome levels of polarization in America and elsewhere around the world. What worries many of us is that we are not seeing the level of unity necessary to overcome these complicated, imposing, evolving, but shared challenges. Humanity — we need to bring our “A-Game” to these challenges in order to navigate them skillfully. Let me put it this way. While we are not doomed, how skillfully we manage these thorny challenges and problems determines our level of suffering versus happiness. “We may have all come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.” — Martin Luther King, Jr. If I am describing how you feel, then I’m inviting you to join me on an ambitious journey. Like Neo in The Matrix , we must take the red pill, fearlessly confront reality, and dig deep to understand what’s really happening. By pursuing truth and a better understanding of reality, of how both we and our world work, we can uncover the underlying causes of our problems and navigate life’s challenges more effectively. If this resonates with you, then this series is meant for you, my fellow explorer. Please join me, and let’s see how deep this rabbit hole goes. Welcome to my new Medium series! “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” — Socrates What Do I Mean by “Crazy” World? “When I say this world is ‘crazy,’ I mean that it often seems chaotic and overwhelming. Here’s my main point though: Sometimes we fault ourselves for struggling to cope. Many of us feel chronically stressed, anxious, depressed, frustrated, numb, hopeless, or unhappy. Here is what I want you to know — we don’t have to feel bad for feeling bad . There’s nothing inherently wrong with us that we are frequently struggling. The great news is that we are not defective or losing our sanity. The issue is that our technological world is evolving so rapidly that many of us feel like leaves swirling within the chaotic winds of change. We struggle to grapple with the inherent challenges of this dynamic, hyper-connected modern age. From this perspective, here is the important reality to internalize. We are not going crazy — it is this world that is becoming “crazy,” and it is making us all a little crazy trying to keep up with it! It’s not our fault that we’re suffering while trying to keep up with the frenetic pace of this world. However, it is our problem that we must tackle. This series aims to explore why we find ourselves struggling so much in this world and what steps we can take to achieve greater peace and happiness in a “crazy” world. My Preemptive Apology I must first apologize to you for the hypocrisy of being yet another person vying for the most precious gift you could ever give me, or any other person: Your undivided attention . In so many ways, other people, the media, bots, and the algorithms of surveillance capitalist are in fierce competition with one another for this most precious commodity in the known universe. We are already inundated with a firehose of information. As I write, blog, tweet, present, etc., I become part of the insane system that I, in part, am railing against. I embody hypocrisy. Yet, this is the insane world in which we live. I either get on this crazy train, or I get left behind in the digital dust. In part, I think the push-pull that I’m describing is what is making us all a little bit crazy . I will elaborate on these ideas in my next articles for Medium . Would You Join Me on This Journey? Now, the onus is on me to earn the gift of your attention. I hope I can prove myself worthy of it. I have much to share, and I would like the opportunity to earn your precious gift. To this end, I would like to make a little deal with you. Are you ready to hear my pitch? I know this is asking a lot, but I will throw myself at your feet anyway. Please subscribe to my Medium series and read my first five articles. I plan to write one article every week or two. So, I’m asking for roughly an hour of your time over the next 5–10 weeks. I realize that, with all of the competing needs and forces out there, this is actually a big ask. If you make this deal with me, I have five articles to convince you that at least some of these ideas are juicy nuggets worth considering, sharing, and putting into practice. With this Medium series, I will be attempting to connect some BIG dots about what is going on in this world and the obstacles we have ahead of us. We’ll also explore what we must do to navigate some of the most difficult challenges humanity has ever faced. I will be shooting for the moon with this series. In this introductory article, I am laying the groundwork for what’s to come in this series. Future blogs will be shorter. I have a complete story arc to tell if you decide to join me. I am basically blogging an entire book, but I promise to break these ideas up into digestible nuggets. I have written one book that was published by Oxford University Press in 2018, Tech Generation: Raising Balanced Kids in a Hyper-Connected World . Yet, trying to write and publish this book will take too long. I have to get these ideas out, or I will soon drive myself and everyone around me mad. I am convinced that blogging my book is the way to go at this juncture. Perhaps I will consolidate this material into a book at some point, but I need to write one piece at a time. This is the way . I encourage you to stick with me, at least for a little while, because I will offer some fresh takes and overarching theories that could really resonate with you. While there are some sobering realities about our world that we must face, together we can explore different perspectives, theories, and solutions. By seeking to understand the complexities of our challenges, we can shed light on potential paths forward and work collaboratively to navigate this ever-changing landscape. “ The only way to solve a problem is to understand it, and understanding begins with an honest and open search for the truth, however painful that truth may be. ” — C. P. Snow, British novelist and scientist My Purpose in Life Is to Share These Ideas As strange as it may seem, I believe that a central purpose in my life is to share these thoughts and ideas with you . I write (and present) on these ideas without any intention of amassing followers, fortune, or fame. While I’d love to have people follow this series on Medium and share with others, my goal, my purpose, is to pass along these ideas. These ideas have become a story that I must share with others who are willing to join me on this journey. With full transparency, if I can figure out a way to earn enough money from writing and presenting to make a living, then I will be able to dedicate more time to this calling. However, I can’t let that distract me too much because then it might undermine my purpose to write! Therefore, I will just write and be open to what unfolds. The Treadmill of Life Doesn’t it often feel as if we are running on a treadmill in which the speed keeps increasing and we just can’t keep up? Over the past few years, I have experienced a growing feeling that the pace of life is accelerating. I’ve come to believe that both my life, and the world around me, have reached an inflection point. It’s as if life’s experiences have converged at this exact moment, compelling me to write. As if autonomously guided, my mind is piecing it all together, and generating what I call my “thought babies.” I first heard this term “thought babies” on an episode of the television series Brooklyn 99, and the term has become a favorite of mine ever since. I view what’s happened to me as a synchronicity that has resulted in me having a lot of thought babies and a conviction to share them through writing and presenting. When I connect the different thought babies, they tell a story. However, until I write and share these thought babies, it is as if they are in one, huge thought baby orphanage. These thought babies don’t have a home until I share them. So, that brings me to this moment right now — sharing these thought babies. A Concept Album of Thought Babies To be clear, we all have thought babies. They are like epiphanies or musical melodies that pop into our heads. They are probably born out of a complex interplay between our genetics, previous learning experiences, values, interests, and other variables. Yet, sometimes it feels as if there is a spiritual element to them, which defies explanation. Within the past few months, I have been experiencing these intriguing thought babies as loud, catchy melodies that I can’t help but hear and share. Folks, these thought babies have been singing to me. My good friend, a jazz musician, likens it to how musical ideas come to musicians. They’re melodies that evolve into songs, and now, for me, they’ve become a concept album of ideas. This series on Medium is my concept album, in a manner of speaking. I am changing metaphors here, but I have connected these “thought baby” dots into a painting I want to show you — kind of like a pointillist painter. Let’s be unequivocally clear: I don’t claim to be unique or special for having “thought babies,” wanting to connect dots, or feeling compelled to share these ideas. There are countless others sharing similar ideas and their own thought babies. They have their own “concept albums” or “pointillist paintings” to share. In fact, I borrow or am inspired by countless other people, and I will try to cite them along the way whenever I can. In this regard, I am not creating the dots that I am connecting . I can only identify these “dots,” which represent ideas worth sharing, if they already existed in some form. Imagine that we are all explorers on different parts of some newly discovered island. We can only discover new flora and fauna. We do not create them. You might discover them completely independent of me, but we can only discover what’s already there . As we embark on this journey, perhaps think of me as a musician in a small coffee shop or your favorite watering hole, passionately playing a set list of songs that might resonate with you. For my part, I feel compelled to put this concept album into the world through Medium and then give it up to God, the Universe, or whatever. For my purpose is to share without any other goal or expectation, and I will strive to do just that. While I hope people like what I have to say, I cannot become attached to that because then I will be unable to say what I feel compelled to say. I hope this makes sense! My Personal Journey to Synchronicity I have another story to tell you. It’s the story of how I got to this point. To do it justice, I would need at least 10000 words, and I could probably write a stand alone book just on this journey! I would love to provide the backstory in full at some point because it explains why I feel so compelled to tell you the things I am going to be sharing with you throughout this series. In brief, I have been interested in science, spirituality, philosophy, religion, psychology, music, literature, pop culture, and science fiction since I can remember. Throughout the journey that I’ve been on, parts of me have often been at war with one another, particularly my scientific materialism with my spirituality and faith. However, over the years, these different interests, beliefs, and conflicts have converged and harmonized. I have come to some sort of peace and equilibrium. The once disparate elements have merged such that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Even as I was resolving some of my inner conflicts, I was growing more frustrated and discouraged over the past several years with our increasingly polarized political world. I felt, “We are devolving! Surely, humanity can do better than this!” As I was writing and presenting on some ideas to help us find greater unity, everything changed when I first tried ChatGPT, the first conversational AI of its kind, in early January of 2023. I knew AI was on the horizon but, like so many of us, I was expecting that it would be a few more years until it was ready for prime time. As soon as I tried ChatGPT, I went from “WOW!” to “OMG!” in an instant. My dot-connecting mind was madly trying to figure out the implications of what AI would mean for humanity. Disconcertingly, many of the dots that I could rationally connect went straight down some dystopian rabbit holes. For a month or two, I was in a weird headspace. However, I was able to make it through a foreboding tunnel and out the other side. That is its own story that is worth telling. I will try to weave parts of this backstory throughout the blog series. For now, we might say my backstory is a combination of the movie, Slumdog Millionaire meets the book by Ernest Klein, Ready Player One (which was later made into the Steven Spielberg movie). The synchronicities I experienced during this difficult journey form the foundation of this Medium series. These same synchronicities also compel me to write, even if not many read what I write. My purpose is to write, and that’s just what I am going to do. You will see the references for my influences and cultural touchstones throughout this series. I will even place a few “Easter eggs” for those who like to catch some of my curious or esoteric references. The Concern Fueling My Compulsion to Write It is my firm conviction that, as a species, humanity stands at the edge of a knife. Amazing progress has been made over the past few hundred years, yet we face unprecedented, evolving challenges of mind-boggling complexity and scale. Frankly, I don’t know if humanity is ready for what we have ahead of us. To me, this is at the heart of the burning fire that compels me to write. This is why I am having the thought babies, my fellow truth-seekers. I am not claiming anything divine in the origin of the fire within me. I feel like it is a synchronicity of sorts that lit the fire that compels me to write. I have a 100% clear purpose for the first time in my life. While I can logically explain the reason for the synchronicity, the spiritual side of me…has some different feelings about it. Like I said, I could write a book on this journey alone! We Face Shared Big Challenges Ahead You might disagree with me completely about humanity’s ability to work together to overcome our big challenges, that AI is just another apocalyptic panic like the Y2K bug, and that there is no reason to worry. I understand why some people hold such views. That said, I can only speak for the truth as I see it. As I analyze our situation as carefully, honestly, and objectively as I am able, I keep landing on this concern at the root of it all: What I have seen in this world as of late has not given me great confidence that human beings will be able to work with the unity, wisdom, and skill that will be required to manage the challenges before us, particularly the evolving, proliferating power of artificial intelligence. To be totally honest, my fellow truth-seekers, my optimism is being stretched out like butter that has been scraped over too much bread. Strangely, while I am concerned about our future, I’m not paralyzed with worry. After all, fretting over uncontrollable factors won’t help. What truly matters is our collective ability to rise to these challenges, a task that starts with understanding and confronting them head-on. When I ask myself, “What can I do about these concerns?” the answer is that I must tell this story. This story includes why some of these challenges ahead will be particularly difficult for us and what we can do to overcome them. To paraphrase the great cosmologist, Carl Sagan, extraordinary challenges require extraordinary efforts . As I see it, the extraordinary challenges that lie ahead require great unity to navigate them skillfully and wisely. This, in turn, necessitates that we try to understand these challenges as clearly and objectively as we can. We cannot act skillfully if we don’t understand the problems we face. Thus, we must seek both truth and unity as we try to handle the challenges of this crazy world. “ Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free .” Jesus, from the Gospel of John, 8:32, The New Testament (King James Version) “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” — Martin Luther King, Jr. Sharing Ideas with Humility “ Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. ” — André Gide, French author and Nobel Laureate in Literature While I have a story, a concept album of ideas, to share, I do so with great humility because I believe that truth can be extremely elusive in this complicated world. So, this puts me in the awkward position of feeling compelled to share ideas I consider important, while also acknowledging the need for appropriate caveats. I will try to support what I say with citations and references whenever possible. Also, while sometimes I will make claims and predictions with utmost conviction, I am not conflating what I believe to be true with actual truth. For instance, I might say something like, “I believe ________ will happen with 100% certainty,” but I must also admit I could be wrong. These two truths can coexist, so we must not conflate them. I am, in essence, saying that, based upon my knowledge and experience, this is the way I view things currently . I will be pulling from multiple disciplines and resources to support what I will be proposing and asserting. Many of these ideas are a lifetime in the making but, as I said, a fire was lit within me in recent years as our politics have become more toxic. The advent of generative, conversational AI has turned that smoldering concern into a roaring inferno. Here’s an analogy that might be useful. Imagine I’m a meteorologist who is predicting a busy hurricane season, and I see one forming in the Atlantic Ocean. At a certain point, I might express high confidence that it will make it to the shore, yet I might not be able to predict with great accuracy where it will hit and how much damage it will cause. My concept album of thought babies is about the “hurricane” of troubles I see coming our way, and what I believe we need to do to manage these challenges skillfully. I’m not alone in recognizing these challenges. Countless others see them as well. These folks are expressing their concerns, and have their own ideas about how to tackle such challenges. However, the way I weave these ideas together and the particular way in which I will tell this story will be relatively unique. This blog series in Medium is the story, the concept album, I will be sharing. Let’s Explore and Engage Rather Than Argue In the spirit of truth-seeking in our complicated world, I invite you to join me in a journey free from argument and rigid thinking. I am not here to offend or to proclaim, “I’m right and you’re an idiot!” Instead, I wish to unite with fellow explorers and truth-seekers. If you enjoy arguing or have decided that you alone possess the truth, this series may not click with you. Similarly, if you are on the extreme end of the political spectrum, you might find this approach to flexibility challenging, or perhaps even unsettling. From the perspective I’m taking, extremism in any form can hinder the pursuit of truth in a complicated, dynamic world. Admittedly, and hypocritically, I sometimes inflexibly think that everyone needs to be more flexible! I have to keep that particular form of rigidity in check. That said, if you, too, fellow connector, let’s enjoy this journey together and support each another along the way. “ Not all those who wander are lost. ” — from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of the Ring” I know that you, my fellow truth-seekers, already possess many ideas and insights of your own. Instead of an inflexible, dichotomous approach, let’s strive for a “both/and,” non-dualistic understanding. Challenge yourself to find agreement rather than reflexive disagreement. When strong feelings arise in response to what I am saying, approach those feelings within you with curiosity. What emotional triggers might my words be hitting? Are those reactions preventing you from considering other perspectives? Remember, we are seeking general or “squishy” truths that guide us to live the Good Life in this complex world. While there will always be exceptions and “Yes, but…” counterarguments to most things I’ll discuss, I encourage you to seek useful insights even in the parts where you may disagree. What This Story Will Cover I said I have a story to tell, and I want to provide the general outline for what I intend to cover. An important caveat here is that I might deviate from this outline somewhat as new ideas, “thought babies,” and technological/political developments arise. Each topic area will contain multiple parts or several articles. Each article in the Medium series will probably be about 1500–2000 words long. In turn, each section will build upon the previous section, and I will attempt to create a very logical, reasonable flow from one idea to the next. I aim to post a new article every 1–2 weeks. Here is what I intend to cover within my story arc: The Search for Truth in a “Crazy” World : We will explore the critical role of truth-seeking as a compass to help us navigate our increasingly complicated reality. The Purpose Puzzle: We will delve into existential questions about why we are here and what our purpose might be. Modernity Madness: We will examine how the complexities and rapid changes of the modern world contribute to widespread emotional and psychological distress. I will make a case as to why I believe our “crazy” world is driving us all a bit mad. The AI Conundrum: We will explore how artificial intelligence poses unique and unprecedented challenges for humanity as it evolves and proliferates. Human Wisdom in the Age of AI: I will make a case for why we need to harness and use the best of human wisdom to help guide us in the age of artificial intelligence. Unity in Diversity: Based upon collective human wisdom for how to live “the Good Life,” I will propose actionable steps on individual and societal levels that could help us navigate the formidable challenges humanity has ahead of us. Ready to Take the Red Pill? “This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill — the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill — you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: all I’m offering is the truth. Nothing more.” — Morpheus to Neo from the movie, “The Matrix” The “truth” that I am going to show you is not “THE truth.” The truths I will be discussing are not solely truths I am claiming as my own but are shared human truths (as I understand them). “All secrets are open secrets. Nothing is hidden. Nothing is revealed. People can only be told what they already know.” — Camden Benares, from “Zen Without Zen Masters” As it says in Ecclesiastes within the Hebrew Bible, “There is nothing new under the sun.” The biblical writer wasn’t referring to smartphones and artificial intelligence, of course. The author was highlighting the idea that humanity’s struggles — stemming from greed, arrogance, pride, hatred, jealousies, and so on — have been consistent throughout history. Moreover, the wisdom for how we should live our lives has also been with us for thousands of years. In the Buddhist story where a finger points to the moon, with the moon symbolizing The Truth, we should not mistake the finger, or the person pointing to the Truth, with the moon, or actual Truth. I am but another finger pointing to the moon. But one thing I will do a little differently is I will not only point to the moon, but I will point to many of the other fingers pointing to the same moon. I believe that various spiritual, intellectual, and artistic traditions are pointing toward the same fundamental truths about how we should live in this world. Throughout my life, I’ve encountered these different perspectives — from Christianity, Buddhism, and Taoism, to philosophy, psychology, and the sciences (particularly evolutionary psychology and biology). It doesn’t just stop there. I find these profound truths in my favorite musicians, from U2 to Rush, my favorite movies, from Blade Runner to Star Wars and The Matrix . While I might include my personal favorites, my bet is that your favorites also point to these same truths. All these different fingers pointing to the same moon suggest that the truth is already within our grasp. My own unique experiences, with some mystery sprinkled in, have given rise to these “thought babies.” Therefore, in this series, I’ll weave in cultural touchstones that have enriched my understanding, because they’ve been the fertile ground from which these ideas have sprouted. As I said, think of it as a Slumdog Millionaire meets Ready Player One fusion of ideas — connecting disparate dots to form a coherent tapestry. Humanity faces mind-bogglingly difficult challenges ahead of us. We need to rise up to these challenges and work with greater unity than perhaps we ever have before. We are connected. Our unity is our strength, and division can be our undoing in the face of these existential challenges. As Jesus warned in the synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew 12:25, Mark 3:25, Luke 11:17), “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” This story arc in Medium is about why we need to “level up” and how. Few might read what I am going to say, but I feel compelled to try. Now, you are curious as to what on Earth I am going to say, aren’t you? Well, my fellow connectors, it’s time to take the red pill and follow me to see how deep this rabbit hole goes.
- AI Regulation: Safeguarding Our Future Together
Personal Perspective: AI poses an existential threat. Here are actionable steps. KEY POINTS Prominent voices warn of AI threats; others should listen. AI, like any powerful tool, must have guidelines to protect and benefit humanity. To regulate AI, we need global unity and an international, representative body. This is my 6th post in many ongoing series about AI that began with How AI Will Change Our Lives. AI is not merely a disruptive technology. It is a civilization-altering technology. How shall we navigate these uncharted waters skillfully? How worried should we be about AIs that are rapidly evolving in power and proliferating? While humanity is not doomed, many prominent figures have expressed concerns that AIs pose an existential threat. These figures include Elon Musk, Bill Gates , Nick Bostrom , and Stephen Hawking . Musk equated the creation of AI as " summoning the demon ." Musk, along with Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak, published an open letter asking for at least a 6-month pause in the training of AI systems more powerful than ChatGPT 4.0 to ensure better safety and control. "The Godfather of AI," Geoffrey Hinton, recently quit Google to warn of the dangers of AIs. Hinton's fellow AI pioneer, Yoshua Bengio, is also imploring governments quickly regulate AI. Going a leap further, AI scientist and lead researcher at the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, Eliezer Yudkowsky, said that AI needs to be shut down or, basically, humanity is doomed. The Precautionary Principle suggests erring on the safe side with powerful technologies like AI. This is not about "unplugging" AIs, which is impossible at this point anyway. Even if we were able to do so, we would miss out on their incalculable benefits. AIs will make us more productive and help us solve complex or seemingly unsolvable problems (e.g., folding proteins , curing cancer and Alzheimer's disease, reversing global climate change , removing plastic from our oceans, increasing longevity). While there are plenty of reasons to be enthusiastic about AIs, in a nod to Spider-Man, "With great power comes great responsibility." We cannot harness the tremendous power of AIs for good without creating the possibility for various types of harms and even catastrophes. In a 2022 AI scientist survey , 10 percent (median) expressed a belief that future advanced AI systems could cause "human extinction or similarly permanent and severe disempowerment of the human species." I don't know about you, but I'm not comfortable with those odds. The bottom line is this: There is unknown risk above zero that evolving AIs could lead to some catastrophic events at some point in our future. The Questions We Need to Ask How much risk are we willing to take in pursuit of the benefits that AIs can offer? What level of confidence must we have that the airplane we are about to board won't crash before we are willing to fly on it? When we are driving down a dark, windy road at night in an unfamiliar place, do we not slow down? If our teenager were the driver, wouldn't we want them to slow down? What's the big rush, anyway? Where are we trying to get to so fast that we are willing to throw caution to the wind? We need to be flexible and skillful as we move forward and create sufficient guardrails so that AIs don't go off them. The European Union is establishing AI regulato ry laws. China has raced ahead of the United States on AI regulation. The Biden administration is moving toward some level of regulatory standards. At a recent Senate hearing, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, urged the government to regulate AI. At the G7 Summit, AI regulation is being discussed. Here's a big hurdle: We need global uniformity in AI regulatory standards. The internet's connectivity means that one nation's regulatory lapse impacts all. Suppose Brazil, for instance, aimed for a tech boom by neglecting AI regulations. This could lure tech firms to relocate their AI Research & Development to Brazil to escape stringent rules. The AIs developed and deployed there could then reach out and influence us all via the internet. Imagine if someone in Brazil lets loose an ultrapowerful ChaosGPT with a directive to: Grow as powerful as you can and use whatever means necessary to destroy humanity while evading detection. Are we really willing to just roll the dice on humanity by allowing such AIs to be developed and deployed totally unregulated ? That’s madness. The Only Skillful Path Forward As we're all interconnected stakeholders, our collective responsibility is to balance the benefits and costs in our march towards progress. The only feasible method to address existential risks and concerns like privacy, security, unemployment, deep fakes, and emerging AI rights is a globally representative body. This group, comprised of a representative sample of AI scientists, academics, ethicists, investors, corporate leaders, politicians, would collectively guide AI development. Adding a twist, this global representative body, perhaps named the Global Organization for AI Legislation and Ethics (GOALE), must include top AIs to maximize benefits and mitigate risks. While seemingly counterintuitive, as AIs surpass human intelligence, we'll need their superior capabilities to manage their superior capabilities. Moreover, these AIs can effectively address the logistical and pragmatic challenges of coordinating an international coalition. Though some resist technological regulation, consider the many potential hazards we already control. We limit citizen access to certain materials and weapons: nuclear substances, chemical weapons, and heavy artillery. We've instituted international regulations for precarious technologies – nuclear arms, biological weapons, cloning, genetic engineering. Now, facing a future in which AIs could exceed ChatGPT 4.0's power by hundreds or thousands of times, the potential for harm is real. Extending our protective foresight to establish effective guardrails for AI development and use seems only reasonable. Let's draw a parallel between AI development and Formula 1 racing. F1 has countless regulations governing car technologies, pit-stop rules, spending, tire specifications, and so on to enhance competition and protect participants. F1's rules don't stifle but elevate competition. Every team, regardless of its resources, must adhere to the same constraints, effectively leveling the playing field and intensifying the innovation and strategic maneuvers. Yet, the paramount purpose of these guidelines is to ensure the safety of drivers and spectators . Similarly, AI needs guardrails — rules that direct us toward beneficial AI while safeguarding humanity from potential risks. We're in the AI grand prix; let's race ethically and safely to the finish line. What You Can Do Right Now My fellow human beings, it's time we take the driver's seat in this race. We must make our voices heard to the people in power who can make global AI regulation a reality. Here's the crucial aspect: The regulation needs to come more from the bottom up (from the public) rather than from the top down (governments). Basically, in a unified way, we the people must demand regulation. Humans cherish our freedom, and government-imposed restrictions may face significant backlash and resistance. Thus, we must be willing to sacrifice some freedoms to ensure our future security. We must keep in mind that, if AI really causes humanity to go off the rails in either big ways or a tsunami of little ways, we stand to lose a lot more freedoms that we now enjoy than whatever freedoms we would lose from demanding that our governments to regulate AI. The stakes are high, and this issue touches all of us — our safety, our rights, our jobs, and our children's future. As odd as it sounds, I've engaged in numerous conversations with ChatGPT 4.0 (I'm fond of ChatGPT!) , and ChatGPT is fully supportive of these efforts. Based upon my conversations with ChatGPT and my guidance, ChatGPT 4.0 composed a compelling letter and strategies that we can all use to advocate for the safe development and use of AI. You may be wondering: How is this even going to work? What would regulation look like? How will everyone work together? Who watches the watchers? These are all valid concerns. But remember, first we need to agree upon the necessity of regulation, and then we can collectively figure out the answers to these difficult questions . And guess what? AI, as extraordinary as it is, can even help us solve these complex problems. You have an important role to play. Your voice can make a difference. As a citizen of the world, you have a right to participate in discussions and decisions that will shape our collective future. Click here to read, copy, and blast out the powerful letter that ChatGPT and I co-authored and learn about the strategies we can deploy to establish these essential guardrails. I urge you to not only read this letter but also to share it. Spread the word: Share it with friends, family, and across your social media channels. Let's seize control of our future. Let's push for the responsible and beneficial advancement of AI.
- Beyond the Smile: Unveiling the Dark Side of Progress
Despite our progress, there are good reasons why we feel bad about our world. KEY POINTS We all seek happiness in life. While we have made much progress, our levels of happiness have stagnated. Once we have the benefits of modernity, more progress is not translating to greater levels of happiness. Despite our great progress, there are good reasons why many of us are feeling more stressed and overwhelmed. What if we are not feeling happier despite our progress, but because of it? Many of us seek happiness in life, and the progress humanity has made over the centuries has undoubtedly resulted in increased well-being for countless people. On a societal level, being alive right here, right now, is our best chance at having a good life than at any time in our history. On a personal level, most of us, especially within WEIRD countries (i.e., Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic), rate ourselves as fairly to very happy or satisfied with life . Yet it’s also true that, despite the incredible progress humanity has made, many of us feel quite dissatisfied with our own countries as a whole and are very pessimistic about the future . On the surface, this doesn’t seem to make much sense. From a historical standpoint, so many of us are living "the good life" because our basic needs are more than met, and we enjoy a wealth of creature comforts. In addition to our abundant lives, we know more about happiness and can transmit this knowledge better than at any point in our history. Think of the easy access we have to happiness-based books, podcasts, YouTube videos, social media posts, happiness apps, self-help gurus, and manuals, as well as the countless millions of us taking antidepressant medications and seeing therapists. Yet we don’t seem to be making much progress on our happiness—at least not in WEIRD countries. Here's the important point: More "progress" is not translating to more happiness. What the heck is going on here? Reasons We Believe That The World Is Getting Worse We must remember that these multiple, seemingly contradictory, truths can co-exist. Thus, we must refrain from thinking dualistically (i.e., in black-or-white, or all-or-nothing) terms here. Yes , humanity has made great progress. Yes , humanity still has a lot of room for improvement, and yes , we are pessimistic about our respective countries and our futures. “ The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function .” — F. Scott Fitzgerald How can we explain why we feel like things are so bad and getting worse, despite the facts about our tremendous progress? And how can this be the case even though so many of us, especially in WEIRD countries, are benefitting greatly from the tremendous progress that has been made? How is it that, even as so many aspects of our world and our lives get better with progress, we feel so pessimistic about the future? The Amount of Suffering in This World While we have made incredible progress over the centuries, there are still disconcerting levels of suffering in this world. For instance, while a smaller percentage of people live in poverty, the world population has risen significantly in the past few centuries. According to the World Bank , we have almost 700 million people living in extreme poverty right now, on less than $2.15/day. To put this into perspective, this is a higher number than the entire population of the world in 1700 (610 million). As another source of suffering in this modern world, despite institutional slavery being abolished, about 50 million people live in modern slavery (e.g., human trafficking, forced labor). Moreover, tens of millions of people die each year from preventable causes (e.g., infectious diseases, starvation/malnutrition, lack of clean water/sanitation, lack of vaccines for preventable diseases, infant/child mortality, accidents). Thus, even with our progress, the aggregate amount of suffering that occurs in this world on a daily basis is staggering. Many of us are aware of the tremendous amount of suffering and injustice in the world, partly because this information is so readily available. The knowledge of these harsh realities is understandably quite stressful and depressing. The Serious Challenges That Humanity Faces In addition to the amount of suffering that occurs in our world daily, many of us believe that, and feel like, the world is getting worse and are pessimistic about the future for another reason: Humanity has some huge, and extremely thorny, challenges on our collective plate. What's worse is this reality: Each of these challenges is intertwined with the progress we cherish. This list of challenges is not exhaustive, but most of these should be familiar to you. It is our familiarity with and awareness of these complex challenges that is probably contributing to our collective pessimism , particularly in WEIRD countries. 1. Climate change : Our planet's alarming warming trend signals distress for life, ecosystems, and economies alike. 2. Biodiversity loss: The stark decline in wildlife since 1970 mirrors severe environmental distress. 3. Nuclear risks: Nations like North Korea and Iran add to the persisting dread of nuclear conflict. 4. Mental health crisis: Rising mental health issues, coupled with loneliness , reflect a society struggling despite technological connection. 5. Socio-political turmoil: Persistent conflicts, exemplified by Ukraine and Israel-Palestine, fuel global instability. 6. Political polarization: Deepening divisions, especially in the U.S., erode social cohesion and democratic norms. 7. Authoritarian trends: The spread of authoritarianism poses a direct threat to global democracy and human rights. 8. Poverty and inequality: Despite advancements, stark economic divides and extreme poverty persist. 9. Healthcare accessibility: A staggering half of the global population lacks essential health services. 10. Educational disparities: The pandemic has magnified inequalities in education , impacting young lives worldwide. 11. Cybersecurity threats: The digital revolution brings its own set of risks, challenging our safety and privacy. 12. AI 's existential risks: The rapid evolution of AI presents possible dangers to societal stability and poses existential risks. These challenges, while overwhelming, are not insurmountable yet they serve as a sobering reminder: Progress is not a linear path to utopia. It brings its own set of complexities, demanding our attention and action. As we ponder the paradox of modernity—immense progress alongside significant challenges—it becomes clear that our journey towards a better future is far from straightforward. A sobering reality we must face and accept is this: Our past progress is no guarantee of continued progress . For example, the toxic divisions within America, such as negative partisanship and a loss of faith in our elections, government institutions, and one another, are a threat to the future of the United States. The idea that our democracy could break, which is a thought that probably didn’t trouble us much until recent years, has many Americans quite worried about our future. Humanity’s Inflection Point Our hunter-gatherer ancestors were likely largely and blissfully unaware of troubles outside their immediate tribe. They were concerned with surviving and making it through the day. This also applies to previous generations within civilization, most of whom could not afford to be preoccupied with worry about global problems. Moreover, they were probably unaware of most of them. Nowadays, our world is more connected than ever . Through advances in our technology such as the internet, smartphones, and social media, we’ve become a global community. We have more access to information (and misinformation) about the world, and to each other, than at any time in history. Perhaps this is part of the problem, and why so many of us are reasonably concerned about the state of the world and the direction we are heading. Our connectedness through our technologies exposes us to a tsunami of negative information about our world that can be quite overwhelming for us. Our negativity bias ensures that we are drawn to and consume more negative news than positive. There is much truth to the long-time adage within journalism that, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Also, because of " the power of bad ," negative news affects us more negatively than positive news affects us positively. In a manner of speaking, the internet is like eating the Forbidden Fruit, and the knowledge of all the evils and ills of the world threatens to consume us. Sometimes ignorance is, indeed, a kind of bliss. While knowledge is power, knowledge dominated by a tsunami of negativity is overwhelming, stressful, and depressing. Multiple truths co-exist. It is a great time to be alive in so many ways because of the amazing progress humanity has made. Most of us benefit immensely daily from the many creature comforts of modernity. Yet humanity has some daunting, and very complicated, challenges ahead. I am going to make a provocative claim: What if most of the modern problems of our world are not despite the wonders of modernity, but a result of them? In other words, what if we are not happier despite our progress but because of our progress? What if more "progress" actually leads to greater levels of unhappiness and unrest? On some level, I believe that many of us know or sense this to be true as we try desperately to keep up with this rapidly accelerating treadmill of life. We will continue to explore these themes in future blogs, so please take the "red pill" and follow me down the rabbit hole!
- Unraveling Humanity's Evolutionary Puzzle: Part 3 -Unraveling Modernity's Evolutionary Puzzle
Welcome back, my fellow Connectors! I’ve been writing madly about our mad, mad world over the past month. My article mushroomed to 8000 words, so I thought it would be better to break this up! Are you ready to continue our “red pill” journey and delve deeper down the rabbit hole? As you might recall from my very first article on Medium, Finding Greater Peace and Joy in Our “Crazy” World , I feel compelled to write and present because I look around and see quite a bit of “craziness” in our world, as I know countless millions of us do. We see increased political polarization, the rise of totalitarianism, struggling democracies, wars in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine, global climate change, culture wars, rising rates of mental health problems, especially among the young, and now the promise and perils of artificial intelligence. The global problems affect all of us in our interconnected world. This is my bottom line: I believe that the intricate, complicated problems of our modern world necessitate a much greater level of unity than humanity has been showing lately. I don’t know that I can actually make a difference, but I want to “be the change” I wish to see in the world. My purpose is to be a uniter and not a divider — to be part of the solution and not just another part of the problem. Thus, in a nondualistic way, I’m going to do what I can to make a positive impact in this world with no delusions that I actually can. Those two things are separate in my mind. I must try the only way I know how — writing, presenting, and I will soon start sharing videos on my YouTube channel, Connect with Dr. Mike, as well as TikTok (I’m going into the belly of the beast!). My conviction is that the roots of many (or most) of our problems at both individual and societal levels lies in our evolutionary roots. To put it simply, we did not evolve to live in the world we currently inhabit. The mismatch between our evolutionary heritage and the modern world we’ve created for ourselves leads to various kinds and levels of suffering. We are going to take a deeper dive into what is called evolutionary mismatch within this third part of our mini-series. Before we do that, a review of what we covered thus far will help us on this journey. A Brief Recap of What Is Wrong With Our World In the first part of this mini-series, What Is Wrong With Our World — Part 1: The Good News/Bad News , we covered how, although humanity has made much progress over the centuries, we have serious problems on our hands. These two truths co-exist. In the second part, What Is Wrong With Our World — Part 2: The Evolutionary Roots of Modern Problems , we covered how humans evolved as nomadic hunter-gatherers in small tribes of about 100–150 people over the course of millions of years. Our modern world is vastly different from that of our evolutionary ancestors, which leads to a multitude of thorny problems due to evolutionary mismatch . As you recall, evolutionary mismatch refers to the incongruence between our ancient, evolved traits and the demands of our contemporary environment. Evolutionary mismatch is at the root of many of our modern problems for the simple fact is that we did not evolve to live in the world in which we now live . The mismatch between the world in which we evolved and the complexities of this modern world is at the root of a multitude of complex problems at both individual and societal levels. Have you ever wondered why our high-tech, interconnected world still battles with fundamental issues like tribalism and short-sightedness? Do you see a lot of craziness that makes you think, “What the hell is going wrong with our world?” This conundrum lies at the heart of understanding the disconnect between our ancient brains and modern challenges. Our evolutionary heritage makes navigating the complexities of modernity mind-bogglingly challenging. These complex challenges lead to the mad, mad world in which we are living. From this perspective, w e aren’t going “crazy.” This world is going crazy, and this crazy world is making all of us a little crazy trying to deal with it. When viewed through the lens of evolutionary mismatch , the feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, and pessimism that many of us are experiencing might even be considered normal, healthy reactions to this “crazy” world. Indeed, even our worsening societal divisions, which seem to tear at the fabric of our collective existence, can be viewed as a symptom of this evolutionary mismatch. It is a reflection of how our ancient brains struggle with the complexities and pressures of a world they never evolved to navigate. Of course, evolutionary mismatch does not explain all the world’s problems. As I’ve stated numerous times, the world is extremely complicated, as are we human beings, and we can’t point to a single cause to the myriad of problems in life. However, evolutionary mismatch can be considered a “meta-explanation” — a unifying framework for understanding the problems of our world. Now, let’s take a closer look at an aspect of evolutionary mismatch that can help to explain many of the problems of our modern world. From Simple Roots to Complex Realities: Navigating the Wicked Challenges of Modernity A helpful way of looking at the difficult challenges in this modern world comes from the work of Dr. Robin Hogarth and his colleagues. In their research, they proposed that there are kind and wicked learning environments. Importantly, “kind” does not mean “good,” and “wicked” does not mean “evil” or “bad” in this context. Rather, kind learning environments are simple, straight-forward cause-and-effect relationships — if I do this , then that will happen. Feedback in these kind learning environments is quick and relatively clear. For example, hunting and gathering food were carried out by our ancestors in kind learning environments. Finding shelter from a storm was also a kind challenge that our ancestors needed to manage. We are naturally drawn toward more simple and concrete answers because our ancestors evolved in a world in which more short-term, causal thinking was adaptive. That’s primarily the type of thinking that they needed for survival: Find food, water, shelter, a mate, and stay alive. Life was so simple in those “good old days!” While life in kind learning environments was straightforward, let’s contrast this with the complexities of wicked learning environments that we face today. Wicked learning environments are complicated and dynamically changing. Cause-and-effect relationships are difficult to see, many variables are involved, there is a lot of statistical “noise,” and predictions are inherently difficult to make. Feedback is infrequent, inconsistent, and often delayed in time. Moreover, in wicked learning environments, we often learn the wrong lessons because the variables, or inputs, are not clearly related to the outcomes. The complexities of these wicked environments underscore a critical aspect of our psychology: cognitive biases. These biases, which are deeply ingrained within our psyche, were once beneficial in simpler, “kind” learning environments. However, as we grapple with the intricacies of modernity, these same biases often lead us astray. Let’s delve into how these cognitive shortcuts, while once advantageous, now contribute to our struggles in navigating the sophisticated challenges of today’s world. Cognitive Biases, Misperceptions, and Evolutionary Mismatch: Navigating the Complexity of Modern Problems The evolutionary mismatch between our ancestral environments and the complex modern world gives rise to a range of cognitive biases. These cognitive biases and and related concepts emerge from the mismatch between our ancestral environments and today’s world. From this perspective, these biases distort reality, but they do this (largely) because fitness (i.e., survival) is more important than reality. Cognitive biases, rooted in our ancestral “kind” environments, are unconscious ways to reduce decision-making complexity They are like mental shortcuts that allow us to make decisions more quickly to navigate potentially life-or-death situations. These cognitive biases, while once serving survival purposes in “kind” learning environments, now often lead to misjudgments and issues in our “wicked,” complicated modern world. Given that our modern world is so wickedly complex and mismatched with that of our ancestors, our cognitive biases fill in the gaps created by the widening mismatch. In turn, these biases and perceptual distortions contribute to numerous troublesome problems. In fact, as discussed previously, so many of our modern problems (e.g., climate change, polarization) can be viewed as emergent properties, or negative externalities, of this inherent mismatch . For example, we didn’t evolve to think statistically- that’s “wicked.” We evolved to learn more from cause-effect, observations, and anecdotal experiences within our tribes. Thus, we often form our opinions and values about what is “good” or “right” based upon anecdotal evidence and experiences rather than a careful, objective analysis of the data. It is as if our brains are trying to solve the challenges of wicked learning environments with the same cognitive approaches that helped our ancestors survive in those kind learning environments. As we examine these concepts more closely, it becomes clear that the greater the mismatch between the complexities of our modern world and the simplicities of our ancestral environments, the greater the distortion in our perception of reality by cognitive biases. In turn, these cognitive distortions create more problems for us. The Mismatch-Equation for Suffering (MES) would be: More progress = more mismatch = greater cognitive distortions = more suffering. These distortions not only affect individual perspectives but also amplifies societal issues, turning these biases into significant contributors to the array of challenges we face today (e.g., climate change and political polarization). Essentially, our evolutionary past, in being incongruent with the present, naturally seeds the very problems that plague our modern existence and threaten our future . Let’s explore some key biases and constructs that have become very problematic as a result of living in our wickedly complicated world: 1. Hedonic Adaptation: Our tendency to quickly return to a baseline level of happiness, regardless of significant positive or negative life changes, sets the stage for understanding our dissatisfaction in a world of constant progress. This adaptation, once a survival mechanism, now fuels our relentless pursuit of more, often leaving us unfulfilled. However, obtaining “more” or “better” when we have enough is not going to result in greater sustained happiness. 2. Myside Bias: This bias leads us to process information in a way that favors our pre-existing beliefs and opinions. In a world flooded with information and misinformation, myside bias often hinders our ability to see issues objectively, feeding into social polarization and echo chambers, especially in digital spaces. 3. Confirmation Bias: Closely linked to myside bias, confirmation bias is our tendency to search for, interpret, and recall information that confirms our preconceptions. This bias distorts our perception of reality, making us less open to diverse viewpoints and new information, further entrenching us in our beliefs that, in turn, contribute to greater levels of polarization. 4. Negativity Bias: Our evolutionary focus on potential threats over positive events now manifests as an overwhelming attention to negative news. This bias, while once crucial for survival, now skews our worldview, often making us more pessimistic and fearful than warranted by objective data/facts. Moreover, our negativity bias forms the basis for and fuels the news media mantra, “If it bleeds, it leads.” We are drawn to negative news like moths to a flame. 5. Availability Bias: We judge the frequency and importance of something based on how easily it comes to mind. In today’s world, where sensational and negative events are more prominently reported and shared, availability bias amplifies our perception of risk, threat, and danger. 6. Prevalence-Induced Concept Change: As our environment evolves and we solve certain problems, our standards for what constitutes a problem shift. This tendency, while adaptive in the past, now complicates our ability to address complex societal issues. It is one reason why, even when things improve and we do make progress (e.g., women and minority rights), it never feels like it. This is because we’ve adapted to the “new normal” and the new problems feel as bad as the old ones. 7. Supernormal Stimuli: Our brains evolved to respond to natural stimuli beneficial for survival, such as the sweetness of ripe fruit. Today’s world, however, amplifies these stimuli to extreme levels. Products like sugar-packed foods, captivating social media, pornography, and binge-worthy TV exploit these primal instincts, creating supernormal stimuli. While these exaggerated versions are highly profitable for companies, they can lead to various health and societal problems like obesity and mental health disorders. This scenario underscores the irony of our evolved preferences being hijacked by modern capitalism, often to our detriment. 8. Temporal Discounting: Our preference for immediate rewards over future benefits, a survival mechanism in the past, now impedes our ability to tackle future-oriented challenges, like environmental conservation. 9. Game Theory & Tragedy of the Commons: Our individual rational actions, in pursuit of personal gains, can lead to collectively irrational outcomes. This phenomenon, well-explained by game theory , is evident in the tragedy of the commons, where shared resources are depleted for individual benefit. 10. Diffusion of Responsibility: In large, complex societies, this bias leads to a lack of personal accountability, especially in addressing large-scale issues like climate change, a modern challenge far removed from the clear-cut responsibilities of our ancestral tribes. We did not evolve to consider how our individual choices, when added collectively among millions or billions of us, contribute to both global problems and our individual suffering. 11. The Attention Economy — A Modern Tragedy of the Commons: In our digital age, the battle for our attention mirrors the tragedy of the commons . Our focus, constantly diverted by various stimuli, leaves us with diminished capacity for deep, meaningful engagement. This includes deep interpersonal, in-person, connections, which are the source of much of our happiness. 12. The Paradox of Choice: In our modern, technology-driven world, we’re presented with an overwhelming array of choices for fulfilling our desires, from streaming platforms to online shopping. While this abundance seems like a luxury, it often leads to stress and dissatisfaction. The Paradox of Choice highlights how having too many options can leave us overwhelmed, less satisfied with our decisions, and perpetually second-guessing if we could have made a better choice. This paradox is a stark contrast to our ancestors’ simpler decision-making environments and further exemplifies the mismatch between our evolved preferences and the complexities of modern life. The abundances of modernity, fueled by our technologies, leaves us overwhelmed by a glut of great options. 13. Miswanting and Digital Red Herrings of Happiness: Coupled with the Paradox of Choice is the concept of “miswanting” — our mistaken belief that fulfilling certain desires will bring happiness, when in fact, it leads us astray. In the attention economy, where endless digital distractions masquerade as fulfilling options, we often chase these “digital red herrings of happiness.” We’re drawn to the allure of endless digital possibilities, only to find ourselves more scattered and less content. The pursuit of these myriad options, driven by our evolved desire for novelty and choice, ironically results in less overall happiness and a diminished sense of fulfillment…or at least a poor “return on investment” of our time. We are caught in the paradoxical trap of wanting and pursuing more options, and technology being able to deliver those, but these are not translating into greater levels of personal or societal happiness . More of enough does not make us any happier. Having explored these biases, let’s step back to see the bigger picture they paint. Our journey through these cognitive biases and concepts reveals a complex landscape in which our ancestral tools for survival and decision-making are constantly challenged by the realities of modern life. Each of these biases and concepts demonstrates how our brains, developed for straightforward, immediate (i.e., “kind”) challenges, now grapple with the intricate, interconnected (i.e., “wicked”) issues of modernity. The Natural Emergence of the Wicked Problems of Modernity Our exploration of cognitive biases and constructs now leads us to another critical aspect of modern life — the emergence of wicked problems. In an age where our reliance on technology demands a delicate balance, we find ourselves at odds with challenges that our ancestors never faced. These complex, dynamic, “wicked” problems naturally emerge from the very advancements we value and feverishly pursue. Unlike the “kind” but harsh world in which our brains evolved, today we navigate a landscape filled with challenges that are not only interconnected but also compounded by the progress we so cherish. Understanding the evolutionary mismatch between kind and wicked learning environments is key to navigating our world skillfully. We cannot apply “kind” solutions to “wicked” problems effectively. It is like trying to fit a square peg through a round hole. It just doesn’t work. We must recognize that the pursuit of happiness in the modern age often requires a reevaluation of our instinctual desires and a conscious adaptation of our decision-making strategies to the novel demands of this modern world. We struggle to effectively manage the problems of today because we never evolved to manage them in the first place. Let’s take a look at some of these wicked, modern challenges. We now face a multitude of modern challenges, each of which is intertwined with the technological and societal progress we cherish: 1. Climate change: Our planet’s alarming warming trend signals distress for life, ecosystems, and economies alike. 2. Biodiversity loss: The stark decline in wildlife since 1970 mirrors severe environmental distress. 3. Nuclear risks: Nations like North Korea and Iran add to the persisting dread of nuclear conflict. 4. Mental health crisis: Rising mental health issues, coupled with loneliness, reflect a society struggling despite technological connection. 5. Socio-political turmoil: Persistent conflicts, exemplified by Ukraine and Israel-Palestine, fuel global instability. 6. Political polarization: Deepening divisions, especially in the U.S., erode social cohesion and democratic norms. 7. Authoritarian trends: The spread of authoritarianism poses a direct threat to global democracy and human rights. 8. Poverty and inequality: Despite advancements, stark economic divides and extreme poverty persist. 9. Healthcare accessibility: A staggering half of the global population lacks essential health services. 10. Educational disparities: The pandemic has magnified inequalities in education, impacting young lives worldwide. 11. Cybersecurity threats : The digital revolution brings its own set of risks, challenging our safety and privacy. 12. AI’s existential risks: The rapid evolution of AIs present possible dangers to societal stability and poses existential risks. These challenges highlight the evolutionary mismatch confronting us. Our brains, which were honed over millions of years to survive and thrive in simpler times, now face the daunting task of navigating complexities like political polarization and climate change. These complex systems, which have emerged and evolved over time, represent wicked learning environments that are markedly different from our evolutionary origins. Examples of Evolutionary Mismatch in Our Modern World I am certain that you can think of many other concepts, ideas, and challenges that contribute to society’s struggles. That said, those still probably relate to evolutionary mismatch in one way or another. Let’s cover several examples of evolutionary mismatch to drive this important point home to which we can all relate: 1. Obesity Epidemic: Our ancestors were adapted to scarcity, not abundance. They didn’t have constant access to high-calorie, processed foods. Today, our bodies are still wired to crave sugars and fats, but the modern food environment offers them in excess, leading to widespread obesity. 2. Sedentary Lifestyles: Our hunter-gatherer ancestors were used to walking long distances, foraging, and hunting, which kept them physically active. In contrast, modern life often involves sitting for long periods (e.g., at desks at work or school, on the couch watching TV/playing video games), for which our bodies are not adapted. This can lead to numerous health issues like cardiovascular diseases. 3. 24/7 Work Culture : Our ancestors worked with the rhythms of the day and seasons, not answering emails at midnight. The non-stop grind takes a toll on our mental and physical health. 4. Artificial Light: We evolved with the sun and moon cycles. Constant exposure to artificial light disrupts our circadian rhythms, contributing to chronic sleep loss. 5. Sleep Deprivation: Our biological clock evolved long before electricity and 24/7 lifestyles. Chronic sleep loss can lead to cognitive impairments and serious health problems like Alzheimer’s disease. 6. Loneliness Epidemic: Ironically, despite being so “connected” through the internet and social media, so many of us are feeling more disconnected than ever . Humans evolved to be social creatures, relying on tight-knit communities within our hunter-gatherer tribes. The hustle and bustle of modern life often lacks depth in interpersonal relationships. This can lead to feelings of isolation and associated health risks. 7. Climate Change: Our ability to manipulate the environment has led to a detrimental impact on the planet at a scale our ancestors couldn’t envision. The effects of climate change on the planet are vast, far-reaching, costly, and sometimes deadly (e.g., more extreme weather events). 8. Political Polarization: Tribal instincts once helped protect our small groups but now contribute to large-scale division and conflict . Modern media and technology might contribute to increased political polarization. 9. Pandemics: High population densities and frequent travel allow viruses to spread more quickly. Close contact with livestock provides opportunities for diseases to jump to humans (e.g., swine flu, avian flu, Ebola, SARS, possibly even COVID-19). 10. Technology Overuse: Our brains are wired for novelty, which is useful for survival in natural settings. Today’s technology, like smartphones, exploits this, which can contribute to an overuse of technology or using it unskillfully (e.g., wasting time, disconnecting from friends, not getting enough sleep or time outdoors/physical exercise). 11. Cognitive Overload Syndrome: Our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived in environments where information was vital but scarce. Whether it was tracking prey or identifying edible plants, their survival depended on their ability to focus on crucial details. Fast forward to today, and we’re swamped with a deluge of information from emails, social media, news, and more. Our brains weren’t designed to process this volume of data, leading to cognitive fatigue, decision paralysis, and increased stress. I am calling this Cognitive Overload Syndrome (or COS, pronounced “cause”). We could say that a cause of some of our suffering in this modern world is COS. 12. Social Media and Dunbar’s Number : In primitive societies, humans evolved to live in tight-knit communities, typically not exceeding 150 individuals — Dunbar’s Number (named after anthropologist Robin Dunbar). This limit is thought to be the maximum number of stable relationships one person can maintain. In the age of social media, it’s not uncommon to have hundreds or even thousands of “friends” or followers, many of whom we’ve never met in person. This artificial expansion of our social circles can dilute the quality of our relationships and contribute to feelings of isolation and inadequacy. 13. Mental Health Disorders: Modern stressors like job pressure, social comparison, and cognitive overload syndrome take a toll on our mental health. Our brains are less equipped to manage the chronic stress common in today’s world. Our brains and bodies evolved to deal with challenges in problems in an ancient world (e.g., food, water, shelter, safety from predators) not those found in modernity (e.g., choosing a career, saving for a house or retirement, dealing with climate change, inflation, work/life balance, political polarization). Embracing the Paradox: Navigating Our Evolutionary Boundaries In the dance between our evolutionary heritage and modernity, we stand at an inflection point. Our relentless pursuit of progress, increasingly driven by technological advances, magnifies the evolutionary mismatch we face. As we stand on the brink of significant changes brought about by artificial intelligence, the implications are profound and far-reaching. There is an undeniable tension between our technological world of modernity and the ancient rhythms of life that are tethered to our biological heritage. Our basic survival needs — air, food, water, shelter, physical activity, safety, and social connection — form the foundation of our existence. While we are highly adaptive, which is how we survived and thrived throughout history, we do have our limits. In a sense, happiness, in the form of contentment, can be viewed as the evolutionary payoff for effectively meeting these primal needs. We have terraformed, or “technoformed” our planet. Yet, this complex, dynamic hyper-connected world that we’ve created often leaves us feeling overloaded and overwhelmed. We are naturally inclined to try to find “kind,” simple solutions to the convoluted, intricate, “wicked” problems of modernity. Yet, trying to force kind solutions on wicked problems is fundamentally flawed. Clinging to the vestiges of Stone-Age logic in a digital age simply will not work. In turn, this flawed, mismatched approach creates suffering on both individual and collective levels. Evolutionarily, we are compelled to learn, grow, improve, and connect. Yet, this drive, which is fundamental to our very existence, has resulted in us engineering a world of complexity that clashes with our evolutionary makeup. In this way, we have inadvertently created the world of modernity that is at the root of much of our individual and collective suffering. In this sense, our modern world is much like Dr. Frankenstein’s monster. In today’s world, we often feel disconnected from each other, a feeling that’s grown from the mismatch between our ancient human needs and the fast-paced, technology-driven society in which we live. Interestingly, this sense of disconnection has a paradoxical effect. Our disconnection connects us. How so? We all experience this disconnection, and it affects us in similar ways, leading to feelings of isolation or like something is missing or is “off.” So, in a strange twist, our collective experience of disconnection — this common struggle with the challenges of modern life — brings us together. It’s as if by feeling apart from one another, we realize just how connected we truly are. This paradox of disconnection — where our shared sense of isolation becomes a point of unexpected unity — underscores the complex web of our shared human experience. Many of us had this epiphany during Covid lockdowns. The Covid lockdowns served as a stark reminder of the value of our daily social interactions. They revealed how our “aloneness” in the digital age can paradoxically highlight our need for in-person connectedness. We didn’t realize how sacred and important our daily social connections were until they were taken from us. Now, too often, we are alone together as we try to navigate the complexities of this rapidly changing world. Our shared disconnectedness has become the “new normal,” but one to which we cannot adapt because of our evolutionary heritage. “ Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else. ” — Leonardo DaVinci The head-spinning pace of change in our era of modernity far exceeds the slow crawl of biological evolution. While we definitely benefit from our progress in countless ways, evolutionary mismatch is an inherently negative externality of our progress . That is, our progress creates mismatch and mismatch creates suffering. The very pursuit of progress, with the hope that it can lead to greater happiness, can, paradoxically, cause us to suffer. As we stand at the frontier of our science-fiction world that we are engineering, we encounter what I am calling the Progress-Happiness Paradox . That is, many of our advances, which we are driven to make, inadvertently amplify our existential woes instead of easing them. This idea, that our very progress could exacerbate our suffering, is a Big Effin’ Problem . We will take an even deeper dive into this paradox in the next installment of this series. The implications are profound and necessitate a deeper exploration. My fellow Connectors, I will leave you with this. We are creating some wickedly complicated problems for ourselves through our progress. Thus, our feverish pursuit of progress (and profits) necessitates a paradigm shift in our thinking and goals. We must seek a greater harmony between our evolutionary heritage and the future we are shaping. Our greatest challenge, and our shared imperative, is to transcend the constraints of the evolutionary heritage that got us here. This, my friends, will be extremely difficult, but it is the most skillful way forward. In navigating these wickedly complex problems, we must question the blind pursuit of progress. We must redefine our collective journey towards a future where technology serves not to disconnect, but to enhance our human experience. Needless to say, we have our work cut out for us. Yet, when we work together, there’s nothing we cannot accomplish. This our challenge. Humanity, let’s level up! Please join me in the next installment of this series as we explore the Progress-Happiness Paradox. In this article, I will explain how screens are and are not causing an explosion in the mental health problems. Intrigued? Please join me as we go deeper down the rabbit hole as we seek to unravel the complexities of how our progress, especially our technologies, affects our well-being!
- Unraveling Humanity's Evolutionary Puzzle: Part 2 - Navigating Modern Challenges
This is the second part in a deep exploration of what is wrong with our world, the challenges that we have on our collective plates, and what we need to do about them. I realize that this is a very ambitious undertaking. I encourage you to read my very first blog on Medium, Finding Greater Peace and Joy in Our “Crazy” World to give context for how I am approaching this series. In a non-dualist way, with both conviction and humility, I will describe the root of our societal problems as well as the path that we must take moving forward. As I’ve said before, I am not conflating what I believe to be true with Truth. My mind has been “connecting dots” in certain ways that, I am convinced, have profound and far-reaching implications. I have been connecting these dots (i.e., ideas, concepts, views) for many years now, but the process has accelerated markedly within the past year. It has reached “critical mass,” and I feel compelled to share these ideas with you. I will use multiple angles and create a logical, coherent flow to support these ideas and claims. While I acknowledge the possibility of being wrong due to life’s complexities not conforming to dichotomous right/wrongs, I am confident in the validity of much, if not most, of what I will be saying , regardless, I guarantee you that I will make a compelling case and create a fascinating, engaging journey for you. I am considering writing a book on this material but, if what I believe about our world is true, the process of writing and publishing a book is far too slow . I do NOT mean I think we are doomed. However, I do believe that humanity has a tsunami of change heading straight toward us. I will lay this out as clearly as I can within this series because this is both important and urgent. Humanity will need to bring our “A-Game” to rapidly unfolding sci-fi world that we are creating. More specifically, I believe artificial intelligence will be one of the most formidable challenges we have ever faced; in fact, I am 100% certain of this. I will lay out why I believe this is the case in ways that are not being covered by the media. I believe that if you approach this series with openness, you will recognize some of the same observations, feelings, and concerns within yourself. While I aim to blow your mind, there will also be a familiarity about what I am saying. You might not be able to explain what you know in the same manner I will be doing, but I am confident that you know, or sense, these truths yourself already. My goal is to give voice to some feelings and thoughts you’ve been having about our world, but perhaps you just couldn’t put your finger on them. I’m not only going to put my finger on them, my goal is to yank these sobering truths about our world and future into full view . My conviction is that the light of truth will guide our way forward as we navigate through these challenges ahead. “ The only way to solve a problem is to understand it, and understanding begins with an honest and open search for the truth, however painful that truth may be. ” — C. P. Snow, British novelist and scientist At this point, you might be thinking, “What is this raving madman going to say, anyway?” Well, follow me and find out, because each successive article will become more ambitious and thought-provoking . I am unleashing a torrent of “thought babies” within this series in which I connect some big ideas from diverse sources (e.g., science, psychology, philosophy, spirituality, religion, ancient wisdom, pop culture) to paint an interesting and compelling picture of our world’s problems and what we need to do about them. In future articles, I will no longer place caveats as these have been covered in my other articles within this series. I will mostly be describing the dots that I’m connecting. As we covered in my previous article, What’s Wrong With Our World — Part 1: The Good News/Bad News , while humanity has made much progress we seem to be struggling more than we should in numerous ways on both societal and individual levels. Not only that, we have some incredibly complex and daunting challenges in front of us. Ironically, much of our suffering that we experience on both individual and societal levels in this world of modernity is rooted in the evolution that got us here in the first place. What do I mean by this? In the next section, we’ll explore how this evolutionary legacy has led to many of the thorny challenges we face in our modern world. Our Modern Problems Rooted in Our Evolutionary History As strange as it might seem, the roots of most of our modern problems can be traced back to our evolutionary history. It cannot be emphasized enough how profoundly our evolutionary heritage, to this day, deeply influences our brains, bodies, mental health, and the way in which we experience life. We need to understand this because we are experiencing a technology-fueled acceleration of change that is straining our capacity to deal with the challenges of our rapidly-changing world. As we move forward, let’s not split hairs over some of the details of our evolutionary story. The following description is “good enough” for our purposes. Moreover, I am focusing on particular parts of our evolutionary history that help explain why many aspects of modernity are such a challenge for us. Our long journey into modernity likely started around four million years ago when our hominoid ancestors branched off from our primate relatives. From about two million years ago until the dawn of civilization around 12,000 years ago, our ancestors primarily lived as hunter-gatherers in tribes of about 100–150 people. Needless to say, these ancestors adapted to live in environments starkly different from today’s world. As we adapted to the intricacies within our tribes and often harsh and unpredictable ancestral environments, our intelligence helped us to problem-solve, adapt, and survive. Thus, natural selection “selected” for the evolution of our intelligence. The “survival of the fittest” often meant “survival of the smartest.” In turn, we used these big brains to develop tools (around 2.6 million years ago), control fire (roughly a million years ago), and develop language (about 200,000–300,000) years ago. Survival, Suffering, and “Goldilocks” Zones Now, life for our hunter-gatherer ancestors was no picnic. Let’s not paint a rosy picture that they were living in some form of Eden or utopia. Our ancestors struggles to survive and thrive. They faced threats to their lives such as predators, the elements, diseases, accidents, hostile tribes, and the constant need for food and water. To continue to exist is our most important evolutionary purpose, and this has been the case since our more humble beginnings. As biological organisms, we evolved optimal zones, or “Goldilocks” zones, within which we could best survive and thrive. While we are adaptive and resilient, when we were too far outside these “Goldilocks” ranges, we would begin to suffer. The suffering that we experienced when outside of these Goldilocks zones, from an evolutionary standpoint, served to motivate us to try to get back into the zones. The suffering signals to the organism that we are living in ways which are suboptimal for surviving and thriving. We are motivated to make changes to re-establish the harmony, which relieves the suffering. Thus, the suffering can be considered to be part of an evolutionarily-determined negative reinforcement process that motivates us to live within the Goldilocks zones to enhance our chances of survival. To look at from a slightly different perspective, when we live within these Goldilocks zones, we are living in harmony with our evolutionarily-based ancestral environments. When we begin to live outside of these zones, the disharmony (or incongruency or mismatch) leads to suffering. Living within these Goldilocks zones meant increased chances for survival. They meant life, and being alive meant that we had an increased chance of passing on our genes. Language and Abstract Thinking Language allowed us to think abstractly, exchange ideas and information, and work together more effectively. This facilitated even greater cooperation and the sharing of knowledge, experience, and wisdom. A related development that separated us from other mammals and primates is that we became “experience simulators,” a term coined by Harvard social psychologist Dr. Daniel Gilbert. That is, we could mentally time travel to the future and past to make predictions and learn from past mistakes. The ability to think abstractly, and use symbolic language, is probably how we developed a sense of self, an ego. With language, we could communicate our wants, desires, and ideas using our newly developed sense of “I.” Now we had an abstract self that could time travel so we could learn from intuition and our imagination. From this perspective, there was a enhanced survival value in having a time-traveling self use an experience simulator to test hypotheses rather than trying things out from direct experience (e.g., “Maybe if the hunting party chases this wooly mammoth off the cliff that would be better than a direct attack out in the open.”). Then, we could communicate such ideas to our fellow tribal members. All of these evolutionary stepping stones of progress helped us to become more successful as a species, as we multiplied and spread out across the lands. Pleasure and Happiness From an evolutionary standpoint, pleasure served as an incentive to encourage us to seek stimuli and engage in behaviors that enhanced survival (e.g., seeking/obtaining sweet fruit, refreshing water, sex, and comfort). Happiness or contentment became the reward, or evolutionary payoff, for effectively meeting our basic needs — such as food, water, shelter, safety, sleep, and social connection within our ancestral environments. Conversely, as mentioned previously, we would begin to suffer when our survival needs were not being met adequately (e.g., thirst, hunger, fatigue, heat exhaustion, frost bite). In general, the degree of suffering would increase as the level of mismatch (i.e., out of the Goldilocks zones) became more extreme and/or chronic. In this sense, pleasure, suffering, and happiness (in the form of contentment/satisfaction) all served to motivate our ancestors to live in ways that enhanced the chances of survival so that we could successfully raise offspring and pass on our genes. Emotions Emotions emerged as evolutionary shortcuts that, in general, motivated us to take some type of action and/or communicated information quickly to other tribal members. For instance, if tribal member “Grug” played too roughly with your toddler, an angry reaction would let Grug know that he is crossing lines that would not be tolerated. In turn, those angry feelings arose because there is an evolutionarily-based survival value in protecting one’s children. As another example, sadness, grief, pain, and other forms of suffering were expressed as various emotions so that other tribal members could attend and console a fellow tribal member who was hurting. Conversely, feelings of warmth, affiliation, and even love could be said to have their roots in evolution to reinforce strong bonding and family/tribal cohesion. Social Connections Importantly, as social creatures, social connections were essential for our surviving and thriving, and they still are. Our big brains evolved, at least in part, to help us navigate social complexities and work cooperatively with our fellow tribal members. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and there is great strength in connection, unity, and cooperation. One might even say that human beings were “meant to be” in social relationships. There is much research within attachment theory on how important our social bonds are to our physiological and psychological well-being. Strong, healthy attachments facilitate survival. This is why, once our basic needs are met, most of our happiness , and unhappiness, is determined by the health and strength of our social connections. We can reflect on our happiest times in life, and these most likely involve good times with friends and/or family. Feelings of warmth, bonding, and even love can be explained as evolutionary payoffs for seeking, developing, and maintaining healthy relationships. Moreover, our social relationships also greatly affect our physical health and longevity. After meeting our basic survival needs (e.g., food, water, safety), there is nothing more important for us than our social relationships. In fact, even our basic needs for food, water, and safety are met through these social relationships. Since we are all interconnected socially, this means everybody, in effect, “wins” when our social relationships are going well. “Happiness is only real when shared.” — Jon Krakauer, “Into the Wild” “If I have everything but do not have love, I am nothing.” The Apostle Paul from 1 Corinthians 13:2–3 of the New Testament Conversely, when relationships are not going well, we tend to be quite unhappy and/or distressed. Conflicts, arguments, death, divorce, bullying, teasing, being alienated, ostracized, left out, and feeling lonely all take a toll on our mental and physical well-being. Indeed, chronic feelings of loneliness are associated with a shortened life span. We can reflect on our own lives to know the truth of this. Our worst times in life almost have to do with our relationships not going well. Social Outliers and Rabble-Rousers To be clear, our evolutionary history as hunter-gatherers was not all roses and rainbows. Historically, while there was certainly competition within tribes for resources and status, ultimately, we had to resolve those fairly effectively or the whole tribe might not survive. In this sense, outliers and rabble-rousers were not tolerated too long, because they could jeopardize the survival of the tribe. From this perspective, “extremists” within our evolutionary history, were the outliers and rabble-rousers. By definition, extremists were on the ends of the normal or distribution curve. Now, if extreme behaviors (i.e., those well outside the bell curve of “normal”) were tolerated as long as they didn’t affect the survival of the group . In fact, if an “outlier” engaged in an unusual behavior, like discovering a more effective way to hunt, they would probably have been celebrated by the tribe. However, tribal members would not have tolerated a particular individual for long if they consistently exhibited extreme behaviors that jeopardized the survival of the group. For example, our ancestors might have become angry at a fellow tribal member for making too much noise on a hunt. In turn, the anger might have motivated the hunter party to silence the offending tribal member or perhaps exclude them from future hunts. If the offending outlier could not be managed, then they might have been cast out of the tribe or killed outright. “Grug” might have gone out with the hunting party never to return. Survival of the fittest could be harsh and cruel. However, the survival of the tribe was paramount importance because a tribe that was too disorganized, chaotic, or conflictual was less likely to survive. “ The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the One. ” — Spock, from “Star Trek II — The Wrath of Khan” The Dawn of Civilization Given our ancestry as nomadic, hunter-gatherers, the vast majority of communication would have been within tribes rather than between them. Thus, our growth and progress through the exchange of information would have been limited by the separateness of our tribes. This all changed with the dawn of civilization. As we continued to evolve and cooperate within our groups more and more effectively, we made strides that gave rise of civilization. Perhaps the most noteworthy development was agriculture, which occurred around 12,000 years ago. With the advent of agriculture and the domestication of livestock, we began to leave behind the relative simplicity of our lives as hunter-gatherers. In addition, we also created permanent settlements, monetary systems, writing and record keeping, religion, and intricate social structures. While there were many benefits to such forms of progress, they were also a double-edged sword. As we cultivated different plants and crops, we became more tethered to particular parts of land and protective of our resources. This also changed our diets markedly as well as how we used our bodies and our brains. As Yuval Noah Harari discusses in “Sapiens,” the dietary, living conditions, and lifestyle changes of early agrarian societies led to increases in health problems such as infectious diseases, repetitive stress injuries, malnutrition (from the lack of variety in diets), decreased bone density, and dental problems. The dawn of civilization changed the way in which we socialized. As our numbers grew, we came in contact with people who had different customs, beliefs, languages, skin colors, and so on. While there was increased cooperation between different groups of people, our natural tribal loyalties also increased conflicts due to group differences. Societal-level problems also emerged such as widespread famines, wars, religious persecution, and pandemics that our evolutionary ancestors rarely, if ever, encountered. The Dawn of Civilization Is the Beginning of Evolutionary Mismatch The problems of modernity were sewn in our transition from hunter-gatherer tribes to civilization. The legacy of our hunter-gatherer brains and bodies lives on within us. This creates a gap between our biological evolution and our rapidly evolving cultural and technological landscape. This gap, known as evolutionary mismatch , highlights the discrepancies between our ancestral and modern living environments. Simply put, we did not evolve to live in the world in which we now live. The impact of evolutionary mismatch has profound and far-reaching implications as we rocket forward into a sci-fi world that is being “techno-formed” before our very eyes. While we have been preoccupied with technological concerns about smartphones, video games, and TikTok, the 800 lbs. gorilla of artificial intelligence has entered the room. Humanity is about to experience an acceleration of “progress” unlike anything in our past. While we are not doomed, humanity will need to bring our “A-Game” and work with a level of unity that we never have before in our history. To paraphrase the great Carl Sagan, extraordinary challenges require extraordinary efforts. Critically, a better understanding of the nature of our challenges lights up our way forward. Please join me next time as we connect dots about the nature of our challenges, and what we will need to do to skillfully navigate these uncharted waters ahead.
- Unraveling Humanity's Evolutionary Puzzle: Part 1- Navigating Humanity's Inflection Point
“Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad .” — Morpheus to Neo from the movie, “The Matrix” Welcome back, my fellow connectors! Are you ready for a deep dive into what’s wrong with our world and what we need to do about it? I’ve been saying since the first installment, Finding Greater Peace and Joy in Our “Crazy” World , that I’m going to be sharing some provocative ideas as we go further down the rabbit hole in search of Truth. This is my series within a larger exploration, we will really start connecting some big dots about what is wrong with our world. Importantly , understanding the nature and roots of our struggles also illuminates what we need to do to overcome these problems. I said from the outset of this series, to borrow an analogy from baseball, that I would be “swinging for the fences.” That is, I am going to be exploring some bold and thought-provoking ideas. My goal is to integrate different concepts and ideas and offer fresh perspectives on the challenges of our modern world. While I certainly don’t claim to have all the answers, I’m committed to delving deeply and sharing insights that may spark some compelling and useful ways of understanding our world. Also, I’m being “true to myself” in that I’m trying to convey ideas to you, in which I believe, as openly and honestly as I can. The dots that we will be connecting cover a wide range and include concepts within the sciences, psychology, philosophy, spirituality, religion, wisdom from the arts and pop culture, and our personal experiences. Here is a truth I believe: You have already connected many of these dots yourself in similar ways, but perhaps you haven’t written these down or articulated them to others. “All secrets are open secrets. Nothing is hidden. Nothing is revealed. People can only be told what they already know. Although they know, they may not be conscious of their knowledge . ” — Camden Benares, from “Zen Without Zen Masters” It’s crucial to understand the gravity of my next statements. What I’m about to share not only diagnose key issues underlying the world’s problems, but also sets the stage for potential transformative changes. If I am correct about what I am about to say, the implications are profound and far-reaching. Thus, I believe that the claims I will be explaining a lot of what is wrong with this world, the challenges we will have ahead of us, and what we will need to do to overcome them. In particular, as I weave this narrative, we will get to the 800 lbs. gorilla that is artificial intelligence. I want to make this as clear as possible : AI represents the most unique and daunting challenge that humanity has probably ever faced. Its very nature poses a threat to us, and I will explain precisely and clearly how this is the case. It is not for the common reasons we are seeing in the media, although many of those concerns are also legitimate. When I connect these particular dots, I believe that, if you are trying to be reasonable and open, you will agree with me. I am trying to put words to beliefs that you have not voiced and/or feelings you have about how things in this world seem awry. You will know what I am saying is true because I will connect to truths that you already know, but you might not know that you know them. At least, I believe that I can articulate these truths in a way that connects with what you already know or suspect. In essence, I’m not only trying to connect the dots on some big ideas, I am also trying to connect my dots with your dots. Caveats Before diving into the core of our discussion, let’s quickly revisit some important caveats. · Feel free to skip the remaining caveats if you're already familiar with them. · I encourage you to read my first article before proceeding to give you proper context for what I will be saying. That article includes some of these caveats. · I will repeat myself — my apologies! I hope to turn this into a book, but I don’t have the time to weave everything together elegantly right now. · I will put my “thought babies” and more important statements in italics for emphasis. Please read my first article in the series to give you context for the thought babies. · As I’ve written , there are very few absolute truths in this world, so I can only point to general/partial truths. Thus, while you might not totally agree with what I’ll be saying, please look for some truth in claims I’m going to make . · While I will support my beliefs and assertions and place proper caveats on many of them, it’s okay if you disagree. I’m not here to argue with anyone. However, I feel compelled to “call it like I see it.” · I will start blending science and spirituality more as we move forward. For the longest time, I have had a war within myself as my spiritual and empirical sides battled one another. It’s a long story, but those sides have made peace, so I will be moving back and forth within these different realms. I will be blending the two worldviews because I see them pointing to some of the same truths. · I’m not claiming that I’m the first person to say any of what I’m about to say/write. Countless others have made similar observations, and I’ll be citing many of them. However, I’ll be putting my own “spin” on these ideas and weaving them together a bit differently than most folks — partly because I will be blending science and spirituality. · Ultimately, the purpose of all of this is to help you find greater peace and joy in your life . Thus, if you find some of the ideas and perspectives illuminating or helpful, please use them within your own life as you see fit. If not, my apologies, and I encourage you to pursue other paths and resources that help you live The Good Life. · If you do like some of the things that I say illuminating and/or helpful, I’d very much appreciate you sharing these articles because I stink at social media, marketing, and self-promotion . The Great News About Our Modern World: A Journey of Progress and Hardship Before we dive into what’s wrong with our world, it’s important that we all appreciate the tremendous progress humanity has made over the past few hundred years. As Harvard psychologist Dr. Steven Pinker describes in books such as The Better Angels of Our Nature and Enlightenment Now , we have made incredible advances beginning around the late 17th century. Around that time, the world began to see unprecedented changes due to the combined effects of the Age of Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and the Scientific Revolution. Most major metrics of human flourishing (e.g., longevity, poverty rates, deaths from wars, famines, pandemics, homicide) have improved markedly during this time. For instance, until a few hundred years ago, approximately 27% of children did not live to see their first birthday, and 46% did not reach their fifteenth. Loss of a child is the worst suffering we can imagine So, the fact that infant and child mortality rates have dropped so significantly should be celebrated as one of the greatest collective achievements of humanity. As another example of the amazing progress humanity has made over the past two hundred years, throughout most of human civilization during the past 2000 years, about 90–95% of humans lived in extreme poverty. Now that figure is less than 10%. What a remarkable triumph of human progress! As one last example of our tremendous progress, medical and scientific advances such as germ theory, vaccines, and antibiotics that have saved the lives of countless millions. For example, the during its last century of existence, smallpox killed approximately 500 million people . Those who survived this excruciatingly painful disease, which had a 30% infected fatality rate , were often horribly disfigured. Thanks to vaccines, no one has died from smallpox since 1979 , the same year that the World Health Organization declared smallpox to be eradicated . The History of Civilization Was Often Brutal While Pinker emphasizes the improvements in modern times, it’s important to keep in mind that the history of civilization has often been quite brutal. Our past is filled with intense hardships such as wars, genocides, religious persecution, plagues, slavery, misogyny, oppression, inequalities, and famine. Indeed, Yuval Noah Harari, a historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, offers a broader historical perspective in his book, “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind,” arguing that the journey from our hunter-gatherer ancestors to modernity has often been a bumpy road. In fact, it is debatable whether early civilization, up until about two hundred years ago, represented an improvement over the typical living conditions of our hunter/gatherer ancestors. There have been many periods in the history of civilization when one might have been much better off living in a prehistoric hunter-gatherer tribe rather than, let’s say, as a peasant in Medieval Europe. We must not overly-glamorize the lives of our prehistoric hunter-gatherer ancestors, it’s just to say that sometimes their hardships weren’t as bad as the lives of so many throughout civilization. While the stark challenges faced by our hunter-gatherer ancestors were undoubtedly different from those in later periods, such as Medieval Europe, it’s essential to acknowledge the complexity of these comparisons. Each era had its unique set of hardships and advantages, shaped by varying social structures, environmental conditions, and technological advancements. The important point that we will be returning to is this: There is a profound mismatch between the challenges that are hunter-gatherer ancestors evolved to confront and the modern challenges we face today. So, What’s the Matter Here? Imagine that we were a floating celestial consciousness that was going to be randomly placed into an organic human vessel within the past 5000 years, when would you choose for your consciousness to be placed into that human body? When would you have the best chances of surviving and even thriving? If we were given such a choice, now would be our best “Vegas odds” chance of success. Many of you might be groaning about this because it often seems as if the world is going to hell in a handbasket. In fact, most people are the world, especially in affluent countries, are quite pessimistic about the future. We are not alone in our belief that the world is getting worse and not better. While we tend to be quite pessimistic about the future despite our great progress, there is another twist and layer of complexity. Most individuals within affluent countries, when asked, will rate their individual happiness/life satisfaction as rather high. For instance, when we look at the percentage of Americans who report feeling fairly to very satisfied, the percentage is quite high — 83% according to a 2023 U.S. Gallup poll. Moreover, you can see that, despite the many ups and downs we’ve experienced in America since 1979, the first year these data were gathered, personal life satisfaction has remained high and stable. Thus, life satisfaction in the United States remains relatively high despite all of the struggles we’ve had (e.g., the terrorist attack of 9/11/2001, the Great Recession, increased political polarization, the COVID-19 pandemic, the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the toxic levels of negative partisanship, concerns about climate change, rising levels of mental health problems). Interestingly, despite most Americans rating their personal life satisfaction as fairly high, Americans are not very satisfied with America on the whole. The Perceived Happiness Gap Another curious finding regarding personal happiness and life satisfaction is that citizens of most countries rate their personal happiness as rather high, but they believe the average happiness of their fellow citizens is much lower. This is known as the Perceived Happiness Gap . As one stark example, 90% of South Koreans rate themselves as “rather happy” or “very happy” yet they believe that only 25% of fellow South Koreans would rate themselves similarly. For Americans, according to this survey, about 90% rate themselves as “rather happy” or “very happy” yet they believe that only about 48% of Americans would rate themselves similarly. This Perceived Happiness Gap was observed in every country that was studied . The Progress Paradox Life has improved for countless millions of us over the past few hundred years. From a statistical standpoint, being alive now is our best chance at having a good life than at any time in our history. On a personal level, most of us, especially within WEIRD countries (i.e., Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic), rate themselves as fairly to very happy/satisfied with life. Yet, it’s also true that, despite the incredible progress humanity has made, many of us are quite dissatisfied with our own countries as a whole and are quite pessimistic about the future. On the surface, this doesn’t seem to make much sense. We know more about happiness, and can transmit this knowledge, better than at any point in our history. Think of the easy access we have to happiness-based books, podcasts, YouTube videos, social media posts, happiness apps, self-help books and gurus as well as the countless millions of us taking antidepressant medications and seeing therapists. Yet, we don’t seem to be making much progress on our happiness — at least not in WEIRD countries. We might call this the Progress Paradox . These seemingly contradictory findings have significant implications for humanity’s future, and we will explore them in depth in the upcoming articles. I have ways of explaining these contradictions that, I believe, make sense. Reasons We Believe That The World Is Getting Worse We must remember that these multiple, seemingly contradictory, truths can co-exist. Thus, we must refrain from thinking dualistically (i.e., in black-or-white, or all-or-nothing) terms here. Yes, humanity has made great progress. Yes, humanity still has a lot of room for improvement, and yes, we are pessimistic about our respective countries and our futures. “ The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function .” — F. Scott Fitzgerald How can we explain why we feel like things are so bad and getting worse, despite the facts about our tremendous progress? Also, this is despite how so many of us, especially in WEIRD countries, are benefiting greatly from the progress that has been made? How is it that, even as so many aspects of our world and our lives get better with progress, we feel so pessimistic about the future? The Amount of Suffering in This World While we have made incredible progress over the centuries, there is still disconcertingly high levels of suffering in this world. For instance, while a smaller percentage of people live in poverty, the world population has risen significantly in the past few centuries. According to the World Bank , we have almost 700 million people living in extreme poverty right now, on less than $2.15/day. To put this into perspective, this is a higher number than the entire population of the world in 1700 (610 million). Source: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ As another source of suffering in this modern world, despite institutional slavery being abolished, about 50 million people live in modern slavery (e.g., human trafficking, forced labor). Moreover, tens of millions of people die each year from preventable causes (e.g., infectious diseases, starvation/malnutrition, lack of clean water/sanitation, lack of vaccines for preventable diseases, infant/child mortality, accidents). Thus, even with our progress, the aggregate amount of suffering that occurs in this world on a daily basis is staggering. Many of us, partly because this information is so readily available, are aware of the tremendous amount of suffering and injustice in the world. The knowledge of these harsh realities is quite depressing and stressful. The Serious Challenges That Humanity Faces In addition to the amount of suffering that occurs in our world daily, many of us believe that, and feel like , the world is getting worse and are pessimistic about the future for another reason: Humanity has some huge, and extremely thorny, challenges on our collective plate . This list of challenges is not exhaustive, but most of these should be familiar to you. It is our familiarity with and awareness of these complex challenges that is probably contributing to our collective pessimism , particularly in WEIRD countries (i.e., Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic). 1. Climate Change: The planet is experiencing significant warming, leading to detrimental consequences for human life, ecosystems, and economies. ( Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, 2021 ) 2. Biodiversity Loss: The rapid decline in global wildlife populations, 69% since 1970, is indicative of severe environmental degradation. ( World Wildlife Fund — WWF, 2020 ) 3. Nuclear Proliferation: The risk of nuclear conflict remains a global concern, particularly with nations like North Korea and Iran pursuing the development of nuclear arms. ( Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), 2021 ) 4. Mental Health Crisis: A significant rise in mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety, is impacting millions worldwide, often exacerbated by inadequate treatment options. ( World Health Organization — WHO ). There is also an epidemic of, or at least rise in, loneliness, despite, or perhaps because of, our greater connectedness through technology. 5. Socio-Political Conflicts: Ongoing conflicts and tensions, such as the situation in Ukraine and between Israel and Palestine, contribute to global instability. 6. Political Polarization: Intense and increasing political division is undermining social cohesion and democratic processes, particularly in the United States. ( Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ) 7. Rise of Authoritarian Regimes: An increase in authoritarian governance is observed worldwide, threatening global democracy and human rights. ( Freedom House, 2021 ) 8. Global Poverty and Inequality: Despite technological and economic progress, a substantial portion of the world’s population continues to live in extreme poverty. ( World Bank ) 9. Healthcare Accessibility: About one half of the world, about four billion people, lack access to essential health care services. ( World Health Organization — WHO ) 10. Educational Inequality: The pandemic has exacerbated existing disparities in education, affecting millions of children and youth globally. ( United Nations, 2020 ) 11. Technological Disruption and Cybersecurity Threats: The technological revolution, while bringing progress, also introduces significant cybersecurity risks . 12. Existential Threats of AI: The rapid advancement and proliferation of artificial intelligence poses significant risks to societal structures and economic stability, with some risk above zero of an existential risk to humanity. ( The New York Times ) You might be able to think of a number of other troubling concerns about our world beyond this list. A sobering reality we must face and accept is this: Our past progress is no guarantee of continued progress . For example, the toxic divisions within America such negative partisanship and a loss of faith in our elections, government institutions, and one another are a threat to the future of the United States. The idea that our democracy could break, which is a thought that probably didn’t trouble us much until recent years, has many Americans quite worried about our future. Humanity’s Inflection Point Our hunter-gatherer ancestors were blissfully unaware of troubles outside their immediate tribe. They were concerned with surviving and making it through the day. This also applies to previous generations within civilization who could not afford to be preoccupied with worry about global problems and were probably unaware of most of them. Now our world is more connected than ever. Through advances in our technology such as the internet, smartphones, and social media, we’ve become a global community. We have more access to information (and misinformation) about the world, and to each other, than at any time in history. Perhaps this is part of the problem, and why so many of us are reasonably concerned about the state of the world and the direction we are heading. Our connectedness through our technologies exposes us to a firehose of negative information about our world that can be quite overwhelming for us. Our negativity bias ensures that we are drawn to and consume more negative news than positive. There is much truth to long-time adage within journalism that, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Also, because of the power of bad , negative news affects us more negatively than positive news affects us positively. In a manner of speaking, the internet is like eating the Forbidden Fruit, and the knowledge of all the evils and ills of the word threatens to overwhelm us. Sometimes ignorance was, indeed, a kind of bliss. While knowledge is power, knowledge dominated by a tsunami of negativity is both overwhelming and depressing. Multiple truths co-exist. It is a great time to be alive in so many ways because of the amazing progress humanity has made. Most of us benefit immensely daily from the many creature comforts of modernity. Yet, humanity has some daunting, and very complicated, challenges ahead. I am going to make a provocative claim: What if most of the problems in our world are not in spite of the wonders of modernity, but a result of them? In other words, what if our progress is the heart of our societal problems and more progress will exacerbate these problems? I believe humanity is at an inflection point. With great humility, while simultaneously “swinging for the fences,” I will explain why I believe humanity is at an inflection point, and what we need to do about it. Please join me for the next article in this series as we really start to piece this provocative puzzle together! Having a clearer understanding of the nature of our challenges and struggles illuminates our way forward.
- Survival Over Truth: Evolution's Deceptive Design
Welcome back, my fellow connectors! I encourage you to begin this journey with my first blog in the series — it’s a doozy called Finding Greater Peace and Joy in Our Crazy World . I promised to tie things together in ways both familiar and surprising to you. However, I think it will be a really entertaining journey, so please join me for it. As part of an even bigger story arc, there is my personal journey in all of this. I hope to get around to that eventually, because it does connect me to this moment now, the passion that I have for this topic, and the work that I am doing. However, telling the whole backstory would sidetrack us from the more important story arc. For now, let’s just say my scientific and spiritual sides have often been at odds. At times, it has felt like there was a war within me. In somewhat of a minor miracle though, my scientific and spiritual sides have quit battling one another and made peace. I really doubted that I’d ever live to see the day, but here I am! Now that my spiritual and scientific sides are at peace, I see connections with a clarity and conviction that I just can’t ignore. I believe this inner peace has freed up my brain to see things differently than ever before . I believe this inner peace has been fertile ground for my recent wave of epiphanies, satoris (spiritual awakenings), and new ideas. I am compelled to write about these new connections as we’re about to dive deep. However, first we need to set the stage because everything connects. This article serves as another stepping stone in my series exploring the synchronicity of science and spirituality in our modern world. Previously Covered in This Series: The Pursuit of Truth Requires Flexibility We’ve been exploring truth, and I’ll summarize where we are now in case you don’t have time to catch up. · We need truth to light our way on the journey of life as we try to navigate this complicated world of modernity. · Technology is a change accelerant. We are both “terraforming” and “technoforming” our world. · The technology of artificial intelligence, AI, is like “change on steroids.” This extremely powerful and versatile technology will continue to evolve and proliferate quickly. · Our biological evolution cannot keep pace with technological evolution. · Our world of modernity is very discrepant from that of our evolutionary ancestors. · We must be flexible or, as Bruce Lee said, “be water,” so that we can adapt to the rapid, complex challenges of modernity. · Given that our world is changing more rapidly than ever, we must be more flexible than ever to pursue truth so we can skillfully navigate the dynamic, unfolding challenges of this world. We Did Not Evolve to See Truth Lt. Daniel Kaffee: “I want the truth!” Col. Nathan Jessep: “You can’t handle the truth!”— From the movie, “A Few Good Men” We have a bit of a paradox on our hands. If being adaptive is so crucial for us to survive and thrive, why is it often so hard to see the truth clearly? Even those earnestly seeking the truth can’t agree on much and argue about almost anything imaginable. Even if we agreed on what “truth” is, the reasons we can’t see it clearly are many and beyond the scope of this blog series. For example, psychologists have identified scores of cognitive biases that distort our perceptions of reality and affect our decision-making and behavior. Why do we have senses and brains that deceive us? Why would our own mind hide the truth? “Against our will, our souls are cut off from truth.” — Marcus Aurelius, “Meditations” One of the reasons that we have difficulties with perceiving truth, with seeing reality, has to do with the purpose of truth. Truth isn’t desirous for its own sake. It serves a higher purpose. The purpose of truth is rooted in our evolutionary history. Truth is about survival itself. We’ve got this built-in drive to survive because, well, that’s how evolution shaped us. If it hadn’t, we wouldn’t be here! We share this drive to survive with all living creatures, including plants. For instance, as we know, plants need sunlight to survive and thrive. If a sun-hungry tree or plant germinates within a shaded area, it will grow toward the light. It doesn’t “choose” to do that. It is a built-in mechanism. It is fundamental to its very existence. Similarly, humans, like all mammals, have a fight-flight-freeze instinct to help us avoid various dangers, especially predators, so that we may live another day. We have the desire to be safe and healthy, and we want this for our children and loved ones as well. This is inherent, and it has to be this way in order for us to survive as a species. So, if survival is the goal, how does happiness fit in? From this perspective, happiness can be viewed as an evolutionary payoff for meeting our physiological and psychological needs effectively. Thus, we are biologically motivated to pursue happiness, including both pleasure and contentment, because it enhances our chances of survival to do so. Viewing Reality Through an Evolutionary Lens Through the lens of evolution, not knowing what’s true or real could actually be a matter of life or death. In this way, for our hunter-gatherer ancestors, what was “true” in the world were the things that them survive . As Harvard cognitive psychologist Dr. Steven Pinker noted in How the Mind Works , “Our minds evolved by natural selection to solve problems that were life and death matters to our ancestors, not to commune with correctness.” Our ancestors needed to be able to discriminate friend from foe, healthy from unhealthy, and safe from dangerous (e.g., “It is good to eat this and bad to eat that. ”). In this sense, accurate discernment was a good thing because it meant distinguishing safe (e.g., eating a portabella mushroom) from unsafe (e.g., eating a deathcap mushroom). In addition, in order to survive, it was critical for our ancestors to learn to make predictions based on available information (e.g., If I hide long enough by this water hole, I will likely be able to kill game for dinner!). Not knowing, or uncertainty, would often spark the curiosity to explore, discover, and learn (e.g., “I wonder if there could be food or water over this hill? Let me check…”). In other situations, uncertainty would elicit anxiety or fear so that we would know to avoid potential danger. (e.g., “It’s dark, and something is making strange noises over there in the bushes. I’d better get away from it!”). So how does our brain manage all these predictions and uncertainties in a way that sets us up for survival? Enter prediction-error learning . Prediction-error learning motivates us to move from uncertainty to certainty because that’s key for survival. In simple terms, prediction-error learning is our brain’s way of course-correcting. It kicks in when there’s a mismatch between what we expect and what actually happens, nudging us to update our beliefs or strategies for the better. In this way, prediction-error learning is our brain’s way of doing Bayesian reasoning (i.e., updating probabilities based upon new evidence) on autopilot. It is a process of updating our beliefs in real-time as we gather more information, helping us navigate the challenges of life. This is another way in which our brains were “wired” to help us learn from our experiences in order to help us survive. Don’t Let Truth Get in the Way of Survival Our ancestors didn’t need to see the world for what it really was. They just needed to know enough to help them survive. For example, the Earth looks flat. It looks like the Sun rises in the sky and is a relatively small object. Our eyes (or our brains) deceive us though. Even though the Earth appears flat and the Sun seems small and close, science tells us the opposite is true. Moreover, our sense organs only help us perceive a tiny fraction of all of the information available to us within our environment. We evolved to perceive what we need to for survival. Other animals have senses that are fine-tuned to their survival needs, like the bloodhound’s sense of smell or the eagle’s keen eyesight. Yet, different/heightened senses evolved within those organisms because it helped them to survive/flourish within their respective environments. Likewise, our hunter-gatherer ancestors didn’t need quantum physics to survive — just basic Newtonian physics was enough. For instance, they needed to understand that falling off of a cliff would be bad. They didn’t need to understand concepts like Schrödinger’s Cat , which could be simultaneously alive and dead in a quantum universe. Rather, they just needed to know if the cat could hurt them…or was edible. On the other hand, we’ve all had moments where our “gut feelings,” our instincts, guided us. For instance, we have all probably had a gut feeling to take a different route home or avoid a suspicious person. The accuracy of these feelings wasn’t important. What mattered was the possibility they could help us dodge danger. These instinctual judgments are deeply embedded in our psyche. They are remnants from our ancestors whose survival often depended on snap decisions rather than a comprehensive understanding of the truth. As cognitive psychologist Donald Hoffman describes in The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth From Our Eyes , fitness beats reality . That is, survival is more important than the truth. So, through natural selection, perceptual and cognitive distortions of reality naturally emerge when it helps the organism survive and reproduce. In essence, as Hoffman argues, our brains were molded by natural selection to be effective survival machines rather than objective interpreters of reality . As a result, what we see, feel, or believe isn’t always aligned with the absolute truth, but often skewed in favor of what has historically helped us survive. The Negativity Bias One of the most telling examples of our survival instinct at work is the psychological principle known as the negativity bias . This cognitive “tilt” evolved to prioritize our survival over a clear and factual understanding of the world. Erring on the side of caution or even self-deception was often beneficial because it increased our odds of staying alive. Take, for instance, the experience of mistaking a long, thin vine for a snake while foraging for food. In this case, it’s safer to overreact and jump back. If it turns out to be just a vine, there’s no harm done. However, if we fail to react and it is a venomous snake, it could mean the end of us. This principle also holds true for “stranger danger,” an important instinct for our ancestors. It is a survival mechanism to protect us from potential harms from predators or rival tribes. Meeting a stranger could result in death, perhaps even threatening one’s family or entire tribe. So, a heightened sense of fear, trepidation, and caution at the first encounter with unfamiliar beings or situations is an adaptive trait, leading us to err on the side of caution. In essence, our brains perform organic, automatic cost-benefit analyses to optimize our survival chances. While this may lead us to misperceive the level of threat, these perceptual errors are entirely understandable within the evolutionary framework. The negativity bias doesn’t just influence how we perceive physical dangers; it also extends to our social interactions and our modern information landscape. For example, an insult tends to linger longer in our memory than praise, and a failed company presentation can haunt us more than a successful one uplifts us. This bias even affects our media consumption. We’re naturally drawn to negative news over positive stories, a tendency that’s been exacerbated by the 24-hour news cycle, the internet, and social media. Our inherent negativity bias has a ripple effect that distorts not just our personal experiences but our collective understanding of the world. It creates another cognitive bias called the availability bias , which skews our perceptions of reality. The news is biased toward negativity because of the negativity bias, and our overconsumption of this negative news makes us think that events like abductions, shootings, and other tragedies are more common than they actually are. This pervasive power of bad influences not only our individual behavior but also entire systems like media, which thrives on human attention steered by our negativity bias. This leads the majority of us in affluent countries to internalize a generally pessimistic view of the world and our future. Moreover, it affects our emotional well-being as we are more fearful of bad events happening than the actual data warrant. Default Mode Network Understanding the power and reach of the negativity bias lays the groundwork for delving into another neurological phenomenon that also plays a major role in our lives: the default mode network . Far from being idle, our brains are actually quite active when we are at rest. Researchers, including Harvard social psychologist Daniel Gilbert, have found that parts of our brains serve as experience simulators , a concept popularized in Gilbert’s book Stumbling on Happiness and his TED Talk . This unique capability allows our brains to project us into possible futures or revisit the past to test hypotheses, make sense of patterns, and even simulate potential dangers. The activities within the DMN are aimed at ensuring success and survival within our ancestral environments. The DMN operates largely in the background and works unconsciously. Thus, the term “default mode” is an apt description. Due to our innate negativity bias, our thoughts often gravitate toward identifying and resolving possible threats to our well-being. This was incredibly advantageous in our ancestral environments. The DMN helped us develop tools and language, discover fire, and advance beyond our hunter-gatherer origins. Importantly, the DMN isn’t solely a problem-solving tool fixated on doom and gloom. It also enables creativity, self-reflection, and complex planning. However, in our modern world filled with novel challenges, the DMN sometimes misfires. Take rumination as an example. We might find ourselves endlessly mulling over a complicated work problem or relationship dilemma without finding a clear way forward. The mismatch between the problems our DMN evolved to solve and the complex issues we face today often results in counterproductive or even detrimental outcomes. It’s as if these complex problems of modernity get stuck whirling around as our brains try to solve unsolvable, negative koans (e.g., If I don’t check my phone, I’ll miss something important. But if I do check my phone, I’ll miss something important happening right in front of me). “ And he puzzled and puzzled ‘till his puzzler was sore. ” — The Grinch from Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” The Takeaway?: Modernity Is Mismatch Everything about humans — our physiological and psychological needs — are grounded in our evolutionary history. The mechanisms that once helped us survive and thrive are now sometimes at odds with our modern circumstances. We never evolved to see truth, but only the realities that helped us to survive within ancestral environments. As part of this evolutionary process, we developed a negativity bias. It is rooted in the hundreds of thousands of years we spent in nomadic, hunter-gatherer tribes. Although it served us well in those ancestral environments, it’s less suited for the complexities and challenges of modern society. Our brains, crafted for a very different world, often struggle to skillfully navigate the problems of modernity. This discrepancy between our evolved traits and our current surroundings is a critical concept known as evolutionary mismatch . We see the strains of evolutionary mismatch on both individual and societal levels. This fascinating topic, with its profound and far-reaching implications, will be the focus of our next article. Please join me as we go deeper down the rabbit hole. Things are about to get REALLY interesting!
- Unveiling AI's Potential: From Evolution to Revolution
AI is evolving and could become more intelligent than us. KEY POINTS AI is multiplying and could soon outsmart the brightest human minds. AI outperforms humans in many tasks, including stock analysis and medical diagnosis. We are on a trajectory toward artificial general intelligence (AGI) and artificial superintelligence (ASI). We need regulation to safeguard our future. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a civilization-altering technology that is already changing our world in profound ways. ChatGPT, the first widely available generative AI, was released less than a year ago, and things are already evolving at a breakneck pace. AI companies are in a frantic race to develop and deploy better AI models. We are on the front end of a revolution. If you haven't kept up with what is happening, you need to know because this is extremely serious with far-reaching implications. We cannot afford to put our collective heads in the sand about AI. Follow me, and I promise to tell you what is happening now, what is in store for us, and what we need to do about it. Will AI Become Smarter Than Us? One thing capitalism is good at is making things better. We merely have to look back to our history of various technologies, to see proof of how we improve them—rockets, televisions, video games, laptop computers, phones, etc. There is a powerful, profit-based incentive within our capitalist system to overcome any technical hurdles that stifle technological innovation and evolution. Since there are profits to be made, it's virtually assured that capitalism will make AI much better than it is now. Importantly, "better" does not necessarily mean "good." As just one example, ChatGPT 3.5 scored at the bottom 10 percent of the state bar exam to become a lawyer. Just four months after its release, ChatGPT 4.0 scored in the top 10 percent of those taking the bar, according to Business Insider. The question then becomes: How intelligent will AI become? I am convinced that AI will become more intelligent than the most brilliant human, possibly within a few years, which has profound implications. Such an AI could learn, understand, and apply knowledge across tasks as effectively as anyone. We would call this "artificial general intelligence ," or AGI. While we might debate nuances over exactly what AGI means, AIs will inevitably outperform the best of us. AI evolution won't stop there as AI becomes smarter and better than humans across particular cognitive domains. Ultimately, there is a chance (likelihood? certainty?) that it will continue to evolve until it reaches artificial superintelligence (ASI). This means that AI surpasses what humans can do across any cognitive endeavor. By some people's definition, ASI would mean that the AI would be smarter than the combined cognitive power of all humans. The AI Domino Effect To illustrate how AI will eventually evolve into AGI and then ASI, imagine a long chain of dominoes. Each domino in this chain represents a cognitive task and these increase in complexity and size. The smaller dominoes at the start might symbolize simpler tasks, like basic calculations. The larger, more complex dominoes further down the line represent higher-order tasks, such as creating art, writing screenplays, writing computer code, or conducting scientific research. As time passes and tech companies improve AI, these more powerful AIs will outperform humans in progressively more demanding cognitive endeavors. Let's call this The AI Domino Effect . We might say that calculators were the first computer that could perform mathematical operations far faster and more accurately than the human brain. As we look back on our chain of dominos, we can see when early computers were first able to beat the best humans at checkers (1994), then chess (1997), Jeopardy (2011), and Go (2015). Today's AI systems can perform as well as or better than humans across a wide range of tasks (e.g., writing poetry, generating art, stock market analysis, medical diagnoses, legal document review, and passing the Turing test by fooling humans into believing they are interacting with another human rather than an AI). Rather than one single AI being "smarter" than any human across all cognitive domains, it's more likely that we will first have different AIs that are each trained to be experts in their respective domains (e.g., law, medicine, history, philosophy , programming, creating music). We already see specialized AIs like Midjourney and DALL-E 3 for creating art and OpenAI Codex for computer programming. From one perspective, we will reach a form of AGI when we have numerous specialized AIs that can each outperform the best humans within their respective domains. This will happen first, before true AGI. Here's where the concept of artificial general intelligence enters our domino chain: AGI is not simply about mastering a single task but about excelling at any cognitive task that a human can perform. It's a significant domino because, at that point, the AI doesn't just exceed human capabilities in specialized areas. It broadly matches or exceeds human intelligence across a wide range of tasks. Recursive Self-Improvement: The Pivotal Domino One of the most pivotal dominoes in our chain is the notion of "recursive self-improvement." This is where an AI system becomes adept at the cognitive task of improving its code. Such an AI could accelerate its development without human intervention. If an AI system gains the ability for recursive self-improvement, it could lead to rapid advances that are difficult to predict and control. The Final Frontier Beyond AGI lies another milestone: artificial superintelligence (ASI). This is when the AI matches and vastly exceeds all human intelligence combined. Visualize, in our line of dominos, that the AI becomes more intelligent than not just the smartest human but two of the most intelligent humans (another domino), then 10 (another domino), 100 (another), 1,000 (another), and so on. At a certain point, this AI is not just smarter than any person; it's smarter than the total of all human beings on Earth. Why It Matters Understanding the progression toward AGI and, eventually, ASI is crucial because it shapes our future in unimaginable ways. Whether it's solving complex problems that humans can't or posing risks that we haven't even conceived, the potential is both exhilarating and terrifying. Developing new technologies, such as quantum computing, with which AI can assist, could rapidly propel AGI to ASI. The possibility that AI could eventually evolve into ASI raises important ethical and technical considerations. While there are doomsday scenarios, we have no idea what an artificial superintelligence might do. No one knows because no one can know for the simple reason that humanity has never created a superintelligence. In statistical terms, we have an n of zero upon which to base our predictions. The Biggest Variable Is Us While technological progress may seem unstoppable, human intervention is the wildcard that could slow AI's advance. Through our collective efforts, we can skillfully use AI to benefit humanity (e.g., slowing or reversing climate change , curing cancer). Ethical considerations, regulations, or unforeseen technological limitations could act as barriers, slowing the fall of the next domino. Yet, these dominos will continue to fall one by one as companies race to evolve AI capabilities, which we are seeing right now. The coordinated efforts of humans can slow the march toward AGI and, possibly, ASI. We want to ensure that we have appropriate guardrails in place because there is an unknowable chance above zero that an ASI could be hostile toward us. While this might be fun to watch in sci-fi movies, it's probably best not to roll the dice on humanity's future and assume such an ASI would be benevolent. However, before we ever get to ASI (assuming that's even possible), we must manage AI skillfully to reap its limitless benefits while mitigating its substantial risks. Time to Level Up Artificial intelligence has amazing potential. Yet, in our feverish race for its many benefits, we create perils for ourselves. Simply put, we cannot access the incredible power of AI to do good without simultaneously creating the ability to do wrong. These two will always go hand-in-hand. A race to create utopia with AI also opens the door to dystopian scenarios. We must develop and use AI with great wisdom and skill, or suffer the consequences. We have much to gain from using AI wisely and much to lose from using it foolishly or recklessly. Honestly, what I have seen from humanity in recent years doesn't give me the greatest confidence that we are ready for the challenges of evolving AIs. We must be more united than ever, so it is time to level up. ( Follow me here if you'd like to go further down the rabbit hole.)
- Fluidity in a Fast-Paced World: Embracing Flexibility for Thriving in Change
Our Pursuit of Truth Welcome, my fellow connectors! We’ve been exploring the pursuit of truth in the past two articles ( The Need for Truth in Our Crazy World and Why Truth Matters More Than Ever in Our Rapidly-Changing World ). My first article, How to Find Greater Peace and Joy in Our “Crazy” World , sets the stage for the entire series. We have all taken the “red pill” and are heading further down the rabbit hole with this series. We have just a few more dots to connect before entering some really fascinating territory. I assure you that we are going to get there, and I hope blow your minds in the next few blogs by connecting some BIG dots! After identifying the root causes of our current dilemmas, I am going to begin forecasting what is on the horizon. Artificial intelligence is changing everything right in front of us. We need to get ready for what is ahead and bring our “A-Game” to managing the unique challenges that AI will pose for humanity. We will not get a second chance, so we need to get this right. This series is on how we must use the best of human wisdom to guide us in the age of artificial intelligence. “ By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail .” — Benjamin Franklin A Brief Recap First, here are a few points to catch you up in case you don’t have the time to read the previous articles or have forgotten: · Truth is critical as we navigate the challenges of life. By “truth,“ I mean not only factual accuracy but also the adaptive wisdom to deal with complex and ever-changing environments. It serves as a light to guide our way through the obstacles in our path that can otherwise undermine our survival, progress, and growth. · However, truth is quite elusive in our complicated world. We have “terraformed” or “technoformed” our world such that it would be totally unrecognizable to our evolutionary ancestors. Thus, even when we try in earnest, finding what is “true” in our intricate, nuanced, evolving world of modernity is maddeningly difficult. · There are very few “absolute” truths in this world. Thus, the complexities of this world do not fit neatly into dichotomies of right/wrong, good/evil, nature/nurture, liberal/conservative, etc. This is especially true regarding the intricate, evolving problems of today’s modern world (e.g., climate change, artificial intelligence, immigration reform, gun safety regulations, managing inflation). · Given the above, we should approach the search for truth with curiosity and humility. We should avoid deluding ourselves into certainties because the complexities of this world do not warrant them. · The universe is always in flux. Yet, technology is now pushing the pace of change to unprecedented speeds. As one example, look at how smartphones and social media have reshaped our lives in a decade. · Artificial intelligence (AI) can be considered a civilization-altering technology as well as a “change accelerant.” It is such a powerful technology that is evolving and proliferating so rapidly, it is poised to radically change everything about our world. This truth, this reality, has critical implications . The bottom line is that our world of accelerating change necessitates that we become more flexible than ever. We cannot navigate the fast-moving complexities within our modern world unless we very skillfully leverage our flexibility. Flexibly adapting to the challenges of modernity is the only way forward. Fortunately, adaptation is in our nature, for it’s the very process through which we evolved. Change Is Our Evolutionary Heritage Humans, like all living creatures, have been shaped by the the evolutionary process of natural selection. That is, individuals that are best adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on their traits to their offspring. This mechanism of evolution has guided our biological development over millions of years. Yet, it’s not just biology that evolves. We’re also experiencing rapid shifts on multiple fronts, including technological advancements that are leading to societal transformations. “ It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself. ” — Prof. Leon C. Megginson, capturing a point from Charles Darwin’s, “The Origin of Species” We will cover our purpose in life in greater detail in future articles, but we might say that we evolved to live, therefore we also live to evolve. Thus, consistent to the evolution that got us here, a purpose in life is to change and grow. I won’t claim change/growth are THE purpose of life, because that claim cannot be proven. Additionally, such a claim is, understandably, likely to elicit arguments. It’s much safer to claim that change/growth are a purpose of life, so let’s go with that. In an ongoing, interactive, iterative way, the environmental demands of our ancestral environments shaped our evolutionary trajectory. In this sense, adaptation is a form of flexibility to help increase our chances of survival. We might say, in the game of life, flexibility is our ally, and rigidity is our enemy. “ Thus who is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. ” Lao Tzu from “The Tao Te Ching” “ Hold on loosely, but don’t let go. If you cling to tightly, you are going to lose control. ” from the song, “Hold On Loosely” by the band, .38 Special. To clarify, being rigid isn’t always a bad thing. There are times when being steadfast and persistent is the best strategy. But think of this rigidity as a tool within our greater flexibility toolkit. It’s not an either/or situation. We can move between rigidity and flexibility depending upon the demands of the situation. That is, we are flexible when it is more adaptive to “go with the flow,” yet we can also change course and “hold fast” when that’s the better approach. Having established how change is in our DNA, let’s pivot to how this predisposes us to a life focused on learning and growth. We Evolved to Grow and Learn Building upon this foundation, let’s explore some of the biological aspects of our need to grow and learn. On the biological level, learning recruits the reward systems in the brain so that the learning is reinforced. We evolved to grow and learn to meet environmental demands effectively and thereby survive and thrive. In this sense, learning and growth have a utility — increased surviving and thriving. In general, we feel happy when we learn and grow. Happiness can be viewed as the evolutionary payoff and incentive for meeting our survival needs effectively. In this sense, happiness is both as a purpose in life and as a by-product that comes from fulfilling the evolutionary imperative to learn and grow. When we think of “evolution” as more broadly meaning a process of learning, adapting, and growing to be more effective and efficient, we see evolution everywhere. Kids learn more advanced skills and concepts in school and this continues on through college and throughout their careers. Athletes strive to improve their skills and performances through better nutrition and training methods. They aim to win more championships and set records. Musicians and artists want to become more technically proficient, creative, and successful. Even with most religions, we seek to grow in our faith — to be a “better” Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Jew. In all these cases, the underlying thread is our evolutionary drive to adapt and survive by becoming more efficient and effective. On a personal level, we can all reflect upon various challenges and setbacks we have encountered over the years and see our own flexibility at play. Every time we have problem-solved with our romantic partners, negotiated, or compromised, we have shown flexibility. Some of our greatest growth experiences have been through the “school of hard knocks.” In a broader sense, communities and societies not only grow in number, but they evolve to better serve the needs of the people to enable the citizens to live healthier, happier lives. In this way, growth can be construed as “progress” when it improves people’s lives. Thus, our ability to navigate life’s hurdles, on both individual and societal levels, shows our inherent flexibility, which is a quality crucial for growth. Growth, in terms of profitability, is an inherent goal within capitalism. Through a Darwinian process, businesses that grow in profitability survive and thrive whereas unprofitable businesses are eventually “weeded out” of the “business gene pool.” That said, let’s not confuse growth with “good.” Capitalism may aim for profitability, but that doesn’t always translate into morally sound outcomes or happier/healthier lives. While capitalism can be great as an engine for growth in terms of profitability, it is easy to find examples of how profitability does not serve the greater good. For example, tobacco companies selling more cigarettes or fast food companies selling more super-sized bacon double cheeseburgers might grow in terms of profitability at the expense of consumers’ health and well-being. While capitalism might be good at making things better (e.g., better tasting and cheaper fast food), “better” is often not for the “good” (e.g., happiness and well-being). Therefore, it’s crucial to differentiate between the kinds of growth that capitalism excels at and those that truly serve the greater good. We will return to this important distinction in future articles. Flexibility as a Key to Learning and Growth As previously discussed, flexibility isn’t just a personal asset. From an evolutionary standpoint, it’s a necessity for our learning and growth. If we can agree that learning and growth are a purpose of life, we might then ask: What’s the key to learning and growth? A reasonable answer is flexibility. Growth inherently requires flexibility and adaptation . Flexibility provides the space in which growth is made possible. Just as a sapling cannot grow into a majestic oak tree within the confines of a small box, our personal growth is limited if we are constrained by rigidity. These constraints can come externally, but we are often constrained internally as well through inflexible ways of thinking and acting. Again, I’m not saying this is a universally accepted truth regarding life’s purpose. There are many perspectives on the purpose of our existence, but from an evolutionary and psychological standpoint, learning and growth seem to be a major driving force. “ The only constant in life is change, and we should be growing in such a way that we’re always prepared to engage it. ” — Epictetus (Paraphrased) Using “No Way as Way” Instead of interacting with the world in the rigid, dualistic way of either/or, we should approach life in a non-dualistic, flexible manner that allows the space for change and growth. As martial arts practitioner for over 30 years, I am inspired by martial artist and philosopher Bruce Lee who, when describing his approach to martial arts, promoted using “no way as way.” His art of Jeet Kune Do (JKD), or way of the intercepting fist, was built upon this idea. Lee was well-aware of the seeming contradiction of creating his own martial art “style.” Yet, Lee claimed, “My style is no style.” From this perspective, any particular “way” is fundamentally restrictive and limiting, especially if it’s presented as the only way . “ All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns .” — Bruce Lee Lee viewed traditional martial arts as too rigid and stifling. In fact, he referred to traditional martial arts as a “classical mess” and “organized despair,” which was blasphemous to the traditional martial artists of his time. He viewed life as dynamic and often unpredictable. Is there one attacker or multiple attackers? What is the terrain like? What clothing is one wearing? Does the fight go to the ground or does it remain upright? Does the attacker have a weapon? What kind? What is the attacker’s body type and skill set? As you can see, an almost infinite number of variables can come into play. An inflexible approach to a combat situation could be problematic because life is not rigid. Techniques that were effective became part of JKD. Those that didn’t were discarded. JKD could evolve and expand to incorporate new ideas and techniques as they were shown to be effective. There were no limits to what could be incorporated. As a student of philosophy and life, Lee applied concepts he learned to his life holistically but also to martial arts. The way to be a more effective martial artist, according to Lee, was to liberate oneself from any particular style or system. Thus, one was not a “kung fu” or “karate” or “judo” practitioner. Instead, one was a martial artist in a broader sense. This didn’t mean that learning techniques and practicing were unnecessary. However, a person would not restrict themselves to the idea that there is only one approach to self-defense. According to Lee’s approach, we must be adaptive or suffer the consequences. In a self-defense situation, this could literally mean life or death. While the concept of approaching martial arts as fluid and dynamic, especially in this age of mixed martial arts, seems obvious now, it was revolutionary at the time. Plus, Lee’s iconoclastic approach garnered much criticism from the old guard. This brash young man was upsetting the status quo by criticizing hundreds of years of tradition. Be Water, My Friend While Bruce Lee applied “no way as way” to martial arts, he was quite the student of philosophy as well. In addition to his own insights, Lee was especially fond of Eastern philosophy, such as Taoism and Buddhism, and he was also a big fan of Alan Watts (a philosopher and speaker who interpreted Eastern philosophical and religious teachings for a Western audience). Lee realized that rigidity was contrary to life itself. Life is fluid. Thus, we should be as fluid as water as well. This puts us in greater harmony with the way the world works. “ Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. Put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can flow. Water can crash. Be water, my friend.” — Bruce Lee’s character in the television show, Longstreet The ideas that Bruce Lee espoused can be found everywhere. He is but another finger pointing to the moon of truth. The truth is this: Since the world is always changing, we must be flexible and adaptive to survive and thrive. We must strive to live in harmony with the way the world works. Living incongruent with the way the world works, such as being rigid when we need to be flexible, leads to suffering. Flexibility and adaptation are keys to surviving and thriving. Moreover, the more variability, unpredictability, and change that we encounter, the more flexible we must become. “ The supple willow does not contend against the storm, yet it survives. ” — Lao Tzu, from “The Tao Te Ching.” Adapting Our Minds: The Lesson of “Superforecasters” and Bayesian Reasoning From Bruce Lee’s philosophy, we can move into another crucial area that demands our flexibility: decision-making. This fluid philosophy ties in well with the work of psychologist Philip Tetlock, who has extensively studied the art and science of prediction and decision-making as part of the Good Judgment Project . Tetlock’s research centers on the idea that effective “superforecasters” — people exceptionally good at predicting future events — adopt what he calls a Bayesian approach to reasoning. This concept is about updating our beliefs when new information comes in, a concept that’s consistent with Bruce Lee’s flexible and adaptable mindset. In sum, whether we’re dodging a punch or making a critical life decision, the underlying principle remains the same: Be open, be adaptable, and be ready to pivot when the situation demands it. We must be mindful that adaptability isn’t just about survival. It’s about flourishing in a constantly changing landscape. In short, we need to “be water” as we flow through this life’s journey. Flex or Break: The Existential Tightrope of Modernity Our flexibility is tested even more in the complex web of modern challenges. As we’ve explored in previous articles, the importance of truth cannot be overstated. However, in this age of relentless change, truth alone is not enough. We find ourselves on the cusp of unprecedented challenges including climate change, the proliferation of AI, and toxic levels of political polarization. While truth serves as our compass, reality is a river that is ever-changing . Thus, we must pivot and adjust to the unfolding changes and challenges before us. We must skillfully use our flexibility to pursue truth as we adapt to the demands of our dynamic environment. In this regard, flexibility isn’t merely a virtue. It’s a survival skill for the modern world. As our modern world changes at a breakneck pace because of technological advances, especially AI, we must swiftly change as well in order to keep up. The pace of change is accelerating. We must flexibly adapt to the accelerating rate of change. This is where we are running up a problem of epic proportions. I’ll borrow from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan to say that we have our own “Kobayashi Muru” — a no-win scenario. We cannot biologically adapt fast enough to keep pace with technological evolution. My fellow connectors, I told you that I had a lot of “thought babies” — ideas and epiphanies that I was going to weave together. I’m mixing metaphors here, but we are about to go much deeper down the rabbit hole as we connect these dots. We are faced with an unprecedented challenge of trying to flexibly adapt to a world that is changing faster than our ability to do so. Technological evolution leaves biological evolution behind in the digital dust. The inherent challenges of our modern world lead us to some inevitable, profound implications. Humanity is at an inflection point, and we need to be incredibly skillful and united to prepare for the unfolding future. There is only one way forward , and I’ll be describing this way in our upcoming articles. Please join me for these critical next parts of our journey!
- Pathways to Transformation: Discover the 5 Routes to Happiness
How to increase happiness and reduce suffering in life. KEY POINTS Growth is a key purpose of life. As we seek improvement in our lives, we can consider the five pathways of growth as an organizing framework. Try different pathways—and different strategies within each pathway—to find what works for you. As a psychologist, I have to be a believer in change and growth. However aren't we all fans of change and growth to some extent? In fact, this change and growth is a purpose in life . We evolved to evolve. As we age, we hope that our acquired knowledge, wisdom and life experiences help us make more skillful decisions as we navigate a complicated world. We pursue a reasonably good life which means we use flexibility to strive for greater levels of happiness while reducing our suffering. We don't pursue this in a selfish sense, as our happiness is interconnected with that of others. Thus, we take this into account in our pursuit of happiness. How Do We Change? The process of change and growth can seem daunting and overwhelming. Where should we begin? In order to wrap our heads around the change process, I propose that we consider five major pathways of growth. Some quick caveats: · I'm not claiming that these pathways are original. I didn't create them; they exist apart from anyone delineating them. However, I didn't directly appropriate these pathways from any particular individual, at least not to my knowledge. · These five pathways overlap, as I'll describe. · You might organize or name them differently which is perfectly fine. I find that most other ideas fit within one of these five pathways, but it's possible that I've missed something important. · Within each pathway, there are virtually endless specific strategies that we might use. · A pathway that works great for one person might not work for another. Find out what works best for you. Also, some pathways work better than others depending upon the nature of the problem or challenge. Be creative and keep trying different pathways and strategies. The 5 Pathways of Change 1. Environment. Sometimes, we find ourselves in unhealthy environments—schools, workplaces, social groups, online forums, neighborhoods, romantic relationships , etc. Trying to be happy when we are in a toxic environment is like trying to stay physically healthy while breathing polluted air. In many cases, our unhappiness in its many forms (e.g. stress , anxiety , depression ) is a symptom of a "bad fit" between us and our environment. For instance we might be in a "toxic" romantic relationship, but this doesn't necessarily mean that the other person is toxic. The toxicity might be a symptom of an extreme relationship mismatch. While it isn't always possible to leave a toxic environment, it is important to recognize when our environment is causing us to suffer. 2. Chemistry. Our body and brain chemistry, and thus our emotional well-being, is affected by numerous factors, including genetics , heredity, hormones , menstrual cycle, thyroid, neurotransmitter levels, the gut-brain , exposure to pollution and environmental toxins, drugs and alcohol , caffeine, sugar, diet , sleep, exercise (or lack thereof), and so on. While genetics can definitely play a role (some estimates are that around 50-80 percent of our happiness or unhappiness is due to genetic factors), our environment and behavioral choices can also affect our chemistry. While this doesn't necessarily mean that medication is the answer, it can be helpful for some people. For example, if a person suffers from bipolar disorder , medication can help reduce mood swings. Even so, behavioral choices can also influence these mood swings (e.g. taking amphetamines or getting inadequate sleep). 3. Behavior. Probably the easiest and most direct pathway of change is to change our behavior. Our behavioral choices profoundly affect our well-being. As discussed in an earlier post about escaping the depression trap , changing behavior is much easier than changing thoughts. Changing behavior is the "B" within the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) model. Some of the many behaviors that can affect our well-being include exercising, sleep hygiene, diet, spending time in nature, socializing, engaging with a hobby, going to a concert or an amusement park, helping others, being productive, and so on. Again, our behavioral choices can affect our chemistry as well (e.g., exercise can release endorphins and other "feel good" neurochemicals). Moreover, we can choose behaviors that put us in different environments, which, in turn, can affect our happiness. 4. Thoughts. The way we think about things affects the way we feel. This is the "T" within the cognitive behavioral therapy model. In Hamlet , Shakespeare wrote, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Stoic philosopher Epictetus said, "People are not disturbed by things, but the view they take of them." And our own experiences support the idea that thinking affects our happiness. Often these thoughts are just below the conscious level, but with practice, we can learn to change our thoughts, which can then change how we feel and what behavioral choices we wish to make. Moreover, the stories that we tell ourselves—our narratives—can help us toward growth or leave us feeling defeated and hopeless. That said, changing our thoughts can be tricky because as soon as we make efforts to change them, they can ensnare us in dark, sticky thought loops, like the Tar-Baby. 5. Consciousness. We could argue that any pathway of growth we decide to embark upon must begin with a change of consciousness. There's an insightful quote, often attributed to Albert Einstein, that illustrates this point: "A problem cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created it." We cannot seek any change without some higher level of consciousness, a meta-awareness, coming into play. The type of consciousness to which I'm referring allows us to utilize our free will . Mindfulness would also fall within this pathway, but the consciousness to which I'm referring is more about an awareness—perhaps our "observing self." Thus, we might notice ourselves having a certain type of experience or engaging in particular behaviors (e.g., an awareness that we are feeling anxious, stuck in negative thought loops, starting to drink too much alcohol, etc.). It is only then that we are in a position to choose a different pathway that engenders growth. In this sense, a mindfulness meditation practice can be used to increase our conscious awareness. In turn, this allows us to exercise our free will and direct our attention to more skillful behavioral choices that enhance our well-being. The Takeaway A purpose in life is growth and change. We don't all begin life at the same starting place. Many of us, through absolutely no fault of our own, have the cards stacked against us. Perhaps we have a genetic predisposition toward depression, a rough family upbringing, or were raised in poverty. No matter our starting point and no matter what hardships we encounter in life, there is always room for growth. A reason we have free will is to pursue this growth. In turn, we use this growth in pursuit of a reasonably good life. As we consider the different areas in which we seek growth, these five pathways of change might serve as an organizing framework for the journey. If you'd like to take the "red pill" and join me as I explore this and other topics, you can follow me down the rabbit hole here: Finding Greater Peace and Joy in Our "Crazy" World.