Sooner than we think, smart
machines will take our places at work and shake up the world we
live in. Jim Hull — author of
Are
Humans Obsolete? — will speak to your group
about how this may happen and what you can do about it. Jim
takes you on a witty, no-holds-barred tour of the next few
decades, where machines will do everything we can, and do it
better... yet we can take the advantage!
1.
Are
We Obsolete? We think of ourselves as
the top of the mental food chain, but that may not last long!
Already, machines can outplay us at chess, perform surgeries,
manage airports, design buildings, and act in films. Soon they’ll
be able to compete with us in nearly every field. Will this cause
mass layoffs and rioting in the streets? Or will these mechanical
geniuses usher in a paradise of wealth and leisure for us all? Jim
will show how the laws of creativity and Chaos Theory combine to
give us ammunition in the battle to keep our jobs and enhance our
lifestyles, no matter what happens.
2. Is Culture Obsolete?
Urban
life
— with its hectic, high-tech pace — gives us no time to grow up!
We live in a culture of perpetual adolescence that keeps us from
attaining deep and lasting satisfaction from our lives. Jim cites
examples from politics, the workplace, our social lives, and
religion to show how city life and rapid tech-nological change
provide us with plenty, yet stunt our growth as human beings. Jim
suggests ways we can counteract these trends without giving up the
perks of modern life.
3. Can Science and Religion
Unite? It’s not just our high-tech society
that’s going through upheaval: science and religion may have to
rethink their truce, and soon! One of the great myths of the age
is that science is limited to the physical world and cannot study
the spiritual realm. Jim will present evidence that the physical
universe is not as physical as we think, and that science has
already begun to study things spiritual! You’ll learn how today’s
religions might benefit from an “alliance with science” in the
search for greater understanding about our world and its meaning.
4. How Did Government Get So
Big? Nowadays, you can't walk outside
without breaking some law. Government keeps
getting bigger and more intrusive, and American taxpayers spend
half the year just paying for it. How did the original Colonists'
dream of a small, narrowly focused legal system mutate into a
nightmare of bureaucracy? We'll look at the factors that make
government seem attractive even when it causes more problems than
it fixes. Then we'll see how you can solve issues without turning
to City Hall.
JIM HULL got his degree in philosophy from
the University of California at Santa Cruz. He has lectured
widely, appeared on TV and radio, and teaches a weekly course in
current events at The Braille Institute in Los Angeles.