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.
JIM HULL has a 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.