Are We Too Smart for Our Own Good?

That the advancement of humankind demands not just the progress of the few, but the elevation of all. This is the great imperative of our time.

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Transcript

In March 2016, the Google DeepMind team celebrated a historic moment. Their Artificial Intelligence system AlphaGo had just defeated Lee Sedol, one of the world's greatest Go players (Go being an ancient Chinese board game of profound complexity where players aim to surround more territory than their opponent).

During the second game, AlphaGo made a move so beautiful and unexpected, known now as 'Move 37', that experts were stunned by its brilliance. While the world marveled at this technological breakthrough, just blocks away from the match venue, homeless people huddled in Seoul's subway stations, seeking warmth in one of Asia's most technologically advanced cities.

This stark contrast highlights a fundamental problem. We can create machines that play ancient board games with divine-like ability, but we struggle to solve basic human suffering.

Technology is advancing at a breathtaking pace, while our understanding of human nature struggles to keep up. The gap keeps widening. Each day brings new machines, new algorithms, new ways to reshape our world. But wisdom lags behind. To ensure balanced progress, we must advance in both realms simultaneously. We cannot wait. Without a proper understanding of human nature and reality, our technological achievements may lead us down an unintended path.

Technology has eliminated some ancient forms of hardship, there’s no question about that. But it has spawned new ones. Digital addiction, social isolation, environmental degradation. More troublingly, our "progress" has dramatically increased the suffering of other sentient beings. We have industrialized our consumption of animals, destroyed their habitats, and disrupted their ecosystems, subjecting countless species to immense suffering.

So what's the point of all this advancement if we're not making humans and other beings happier? If we're not alleviating suffering?

The ancient Yogis knew what we are only now beginning to grasp. That the advancement of humankind demands not just the progress of the few, but the elevation of all. This is the great imperative of our time. We will not truly advance until we extend to every stranger the love we give our family. We will not genuinely progress until we grant to every creature the dignity we offer our pets. We will not meaningfully evolve until our hearts expand as rapidly as our technologies.

We must commit ourselves, not just to the mastery of machines, but to the understanding of our deepest nature. We must dedicate ourselves, not just to the conquest of code, but to the growth of wisdom. Because if we do not, if we cannot, then all our dazzling innovations will ring hollow, all our brilliant inventions will signify nothing.