ARE WE OBSOLETE ?



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!



Please Select from These 45-Minute Programs:

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.

BOOKING INFO:    jimhull@jimhull.com        213.448.9260




READ JIM'S ESSAYS!