How can you and I be fully human in the face of Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies? An initial exploration.

1. Beyond
Intelligence

2. The BIG Question
How can you and I be fully human
in the face of automation, artificial intelligence
and other emerging technologies?

3. A Possible Goal
For all human and other sentient beings to thrive,
recognising each other as brothers and sisters,
sharing the planet peacefully and equitably
and constantly expanding our capacity
for a meaningful and fulfilling life.

4. “We’ll spend the next three decades - indeed perhaps
the next century - in a permanent identity crisis,
continually asking ourselves what humans are good
for.”
Kevin Kelly, The Inevitable

5. Who am I?
I’ve taught business owners and leaders how to manage and develop their
personal energy for the last 20 years. I recently published the book, “Energy On
Demand: master your personal energy and never burn out.”
I run Prime Activation 1.0 and 2.0 - programs for people to connect with their true
selves and explore their greatest potential.
I run an experimental program called Superpower Academy, for people who want
to develop higher level abilities and solve problems other people can’t solve.
I’m currently creating a program for changemakers to explore their inner wisdom,
clarify their purpose and lead with integrity.

6. Some of my personal explorations
● 22 years training with Chinese Energy Masters
● 27+ years exploring human potential
● To Self Mastery - a course with Brandy Bennitt and Ian Mussman
● Superhuman Operating System, a program with Ken Wilber
● altMBA, a program created by Seth Godin
● Extensive personal and spiritual exploration
● Constantly encouraging clients and others to discover their true
purpose and align their life with it, to create meaning and fulfilment
along with increasing joy and inner peace.

7. The problems
Loss of work
As automation and AI continue to replace manual and intelligence-based work, what
will we do? How will we occupy our time? How will we create meaningful work? How
will we create wealth? How will we distribute wealth?
Loss of identity
We have prized our intelligence as our most precious asset, through our education
system and intellectually based culture, but this will no longer hold true as AI
increases its power and capacity. So who am I if I’m not primarily an intelligent
being? What are my most significant qualities if both my physical and mental
abilities have been superceded? What do I need to learn to find myself and
experience fulfilment? How do we educate our children?

8. Loss of meaning
We create meaning in the way we interpret and tell stories about our lives. If our
lives and the way we see ourselves change so massively and so fast in the next few
decades, what kind of meaning will we create in the future? What education do we
need to be able to create meaning in the midst of such a change? How do people who
are good at creating meaning help those who are struggling with it? How do we
prevent the creation of an underclass of people who are so depressed, lost and
confused that they see little point in living, with disastrous consequences for health,
families, wider society and the next generation?

9. Three keys to the future
1. Education
Since our education is currently largely based on the cultivation of intelligence
and the intellect, it is obvious that some of the biggest changes will have to take
place in the way we teach and learn.
2. Connection
Human beings thrive on feeling connected. It is through our connection with
other people and with a higher source that we create meaning and find purpose
in our lives.
3. Creativity
We are on the verge of recognising that we are vastly more creative than we
have ever imagined. Developing our creativity gives us unlimited scope to grow,
especially if we harness the power of technology to do the hard work.

10. Education
These topics could be on the core curriculum for children (and their parents)
● How to manage your health and wellbeing
● How to master yourself and your emotions
● How to cooperate and collaborate with others
● Empathy
● How to care for others
● How to make ethical decisions
● How to solve problems
● How to create new programs for ethical change
● How to create new realities that serve humanity and the planet
● How to discover and align with your true purpose

11. Connection
Human beings have the capacity to love, share and give to others. This is what gives
us meaning and makes us feel good - far more than any kind of intellectual pursuit.
We crave community, social connectivity and to feel loving and loved. Without this
we feel isolated and purposeless. This is not something technology can do for us, or
even touch. It is a matter of the human heart.
We also have the ability to access a personal spiritual connection. This is what
defines us. It gives us an inner sense of purpose and often guidance as well. No
technology can overcome or stifle this as they belong in different spheres of life.
Most people only rarely experience this connection, if ever, but it is unmistakeable
and can be developed through sincere, connected teachers.

12. Creativity
The more we learn about the energetic nature of the universe, the more we realise
that human beings possess extraordinary creativity that is rarely tapped.
A lot of research and other work is emerging about this, but it is largely restricted to
creating financial abundance and success at the moment.
It can be developed in multiple directions to create any reality we can conceive.
The most noble occupation for the next 30 years might well be creating a new
society, through intention, manifestation and the power of connected community.

13. Advanced abilities
It’s not enough to be loving, kind and self aware. There is a natural instinct in human
beings to develop themselves vertically as well.
I believe the greatest opportunity for this lies in us developing our own abilities.
Rather than putting all our energy into developing the sensitivity and capability of
technology, we need to place a high priority on investment in growing our own
sensitivity and capacity. It is quite remarkable what humans are capable of - when
they need to be.
There are ancient traditions, especially in China and India, that can point the way to
developing human ability to extraordinary levels, and many movies about special
abilities are pointing the way.

14. A few examples

15. Health
Here lies huge opportunity for humanity.
After almost 30 years observing and teaching the art of natural health and healing it
is obvious to me that we can create a largely healthy society through education and
developing the natural healing abilities that are latent in many people. However
sophisticated medical technology becomes, it seems likely that natural is best in
most cases.
A modern health system should be full of people who can heal, not just diagnose and
treat through use of technology and chemicals.
This requires us to invest in developing the people, as well as the technology.

16. Health
Children can easily learn how to heal themselves of almost all common ailments.
This becomes a preventative system for major illness and chronic disease.
The medical system can focus on accidents, emergencies and people who are unable
to master self healing, saving the vast majority of current health budgets.
Also supporting health in nations that are dealing primarily with infectious diseases -
so improving sanitation, water supply, nutrition and health education.
Support for health and wellbeing also to be central in work communities and care for
the elderly.

17. Food
Cooking in family units is inefficient and often fails to meet basic standards of
nutrition. Here are two possible scenarios.
1. Your daily allowance of precisely calculated vitamins, minerals and other essentials have been infused
into your 3d printed meal, which is delivered to you at precisely the time you need it from an ATM style
delivery system.
2. You visit the community eating hub. Food which meets your precise daily requirements is ordered and
cooked by robots. There are human food specialists whose primary role is to create a warm, friendly
and optimal environment which supports healthy digestion and connected communities. They make
everyone welcome and exude love. They infuse the food with energy and love, so it’s easy to eat and
makes you feel great. You can turn up as a complete stranger and feel instantly at home.
There are many other possibilities. What would you prefer?

18. Farming
Food is growing everywhere - on spare land, on and around buildings, inside houses.
It’s all organic and robots do the hard work that humans used to do (from optimised
companion planting to preventing pests, weeding and harvesting).
Human farmers, who manage the robots, have the highly significant role of putting
special energy into the food they’re growing. They work in teams (to expand the the
power of the energy exponentially) to infuse all food with nutrition, love and other
qualities. It requires a high level of responsibility and it’s a wonderful job. They feel
amazing and enjoy themselves all day every day. They know they make an impact on
every person who eats the food they’ve grown and they gain fulfilment from that.

19. So what do we do?
I believe it is very important that we wake up and face the changes that are now
inevitable and already under way.
We need to be talking about what makes us human, what gives us meaning, how to find purpose and how we’
re going to live alongside and in harmony with technology.
We need to work together to explore how we can create new realities, so we’re not just waiting to see what
happens.
We need to educate people in the unique aspects of humanity, so they can find their place in a very different
world.
We need to ask the difficult questions and develop ethical, responsible answers.

20. “I have to say, I think that we are in some kind of final examination as to whether
human beings now, with this capability to acquire information and to communicate,
whether we’re really qualified to take on the responsibility we’re designed to be
entrusted with. And this is not a matter of an examination of the types of
governments, nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with economic systems. It
has to do with the individual. Does the individual have the courage to really go along
with the truth? – Only Integrity is Going to Count .” Buckminster Fuller (1983)

21. What are you going to do about it?
Get more informed?
Clarify your purpose?
Talk about the future with your family?
Explore how creative you really are?
Explore human energy?
Educate your kids differently?
Retrain for the future?
Open your heart?
Develop your spiritual connection?
Get in touch with me?

22. Some good starting points
Books
“The Inevitable: understanding the 12 technological forces that will shape our future”, by Kevin Kelly
“What Technology Wants”, by Kevin Kelly
“An Optimist’s Tour of the Future”, by Mark Stevenson
Film
“The Singularity Is Near”, with Ray Kurzweil
Two great blogs about AI:
http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/01/artificial-intelligence-revolution-1.html
http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/01/artificial-intelligence-revolution-2.html

23. www.sarahmccrum.com
sarah@sarahmccrum.com