The unabated exponential progression of science and technology has driven a staggering pace of innovation. The building blocks are mostly there, allowing creative minds to combine them in ways that attack the world’s most difficult challenges.
Additional forces have emerged to position the next two decades as a period that is purpose-focused and transformative. Innovation itself is no longer the sole purview of business, universities, government, and military, as our connected world provides an ideation and innovation engine never seen before. Peter Diamandis in his book on Abundance describes another phenomenon, namely the Techno-Philanthropist. Focused globally, these wealthy individuals are changing the traditional rules of philanthropy, using their wealth to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges. In the above mentioned book, Mr. Diamandis focuses on an abundant world that drives a future that is better than people think. Let’s view this perspective as the first force driving our future.
If abundance is the first force, than a second force is the emerging concern that unintended consequences are lurking, and humanity itself is at risk. Futurist Gerd Leonhard explores these concerns in his newly released book titled Technology versus Humanity. The path forward represents a delicate balance between the socially constructive benefits of innovation, and the unintended consequences driven by technology that has no ethics, and an innovation engine that has no governance. Mr. Leonhard does a masterful job of describing the forces that could negatively affect our well-being. He views this topic through the lens of human happiness, and explores the role of technology in enhancing or detracting from it. As I contemplated the point of view advanced by each author, I developed a visual (above) that captures these opposing forces and underscores the need for balance and ethics. An interesting note: you could place several of these items of well-being on either side of the visual. For example, increased longevity has a positive impact on our well-being – but it also has unintended consequences.
With regard to digital ethics, Gerd Leonhard proposes the creation of a Global Digital Ethics Council (GDEC), which in his words, would be tasked with defining the ground rules and universal values of such a dramatically different, fully digitized society. In doing so, Gerd envisions a push towards agreements on the limits and independent monitoring of both the scope and progress of AI, genome editing, and other exponential technologies. These digital ethics would be open enough to not impede progress or hamper innovation, yet strong enough to protect our humanness. The GDEC Gerd envisions would include well-informed and deep-thinking individuals from civil society, academia, government, business, and technology, as well as independent thinkers, writers, artists, and thought leaders.
This dialog must begin, as much is at risk. We must realize the socially constructive benefits of exponential technology, while mitigating the risk of unintended consequences. I hope this visual helps in some small way in positioning the opposing forces and underscoring the need for balance. I recommend these books as a way to explore these opposing forces of innovation.
[…] likely path, and their potential to enhance our well-being (or diminish it as explored in this post on balance). To explore this topic further, I overlaid these scenarios and their various innovation […]
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[…] described in this post titled Balancing the Opposing forces of Innovation, we will see an increased focus on ethics in 2017. There are growing concerns that unintended […]
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[…] The ultimate question is this: will the convergence in this century replicate or surpass the societal impact that convergence enabled in the special century? I developed this expanded innovation wheel to map the elements of our curves to the various areas of our well-being. Overlaying those components on top of the original wheel. Not only do I believe we have the potential to improve our standard of living, but I believe we can enable global parity. The opposite is also true. These same innovations have the potential to diminish our humanity, requiring us to Balance the Opposing Forces of Innovation. […]
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[…] advancements in human development. However, the lack of governance has some concerned about the Opposing Forces of Innovation – the unintended consequences of exponential progression. As with everything in life, balance is […]
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[…] two examples underscore the need to Balance the Opposing Forces of Innovation. They should also impress upon all of us the need to focus on possible futures. Understanding the […]
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[…] I found a very refreshing Article today describing Japan’s vision for the fifth iteration of society. Our hunter-gatherer days represent the first iteration, with agriculture coming in as number two and the industrial and information revolutions rounding out the next two. I’ve written about the Tipping Points in human history – and this vision of a future society is aligned with my point of view on the next tipping point. With each tip, we have experienced Unintended Consequences. Big visions such as these would be wise to ensure a balancing of the Opposing forces of Innovation. […]
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[…] and direct resources to where they’re most needed. I’ve described this lack of Governance Elsewhere in the context of innovation. At the broadest level, the hard work post World War One and Two […]
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[…] Acceleration as a phenomenon is a great societal challenge. The world grows more unrecognizable every day – and the pandemic makes what we find on the other side even more unrecognizable. As we stare into this different future, we need context. What future are we trying to create, and how will we innovate to create it? Tell a story about the world that is emerging, and then much like Apple did, create that future. Along the way, ensure that this emerging future is one filled with purpose, a focus on well-being, and the balance required to avoid Unintended Consequences. […]
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[…] there is another narrative in that story: a world with not enough workers. As is always the case, Balance is Critical. We must allow for the solving of our grand societal challenges, while mitigating the risk of […]
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[…] the risk of unintended consequences. I described this phenomenon when I wrote about balancing the Opposing Forces of Innovation. Nanotechnology is an interesting case study. As described by Wikipedia, innovation in this area […]
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[…] a Post from 2016, I explored the balance required when the forces of innovation take hold. The pace of […]
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[…] but that example illustrates something we see so often in considerations of evolving technology: a dichotomy between positive and negative effects, or benefits and challenges. And as it so happens, this same dichotomy is present with regard to […]
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[…] My take: the convergence of the physical, digital, and biological. There is so much to unpack here. The number of constructive outcomes possible in our continued efforts to advance human development are overwhelming. So too are the potential destructive paths. This specific topic is a great case study for the need to Balance the Opposing Forces of Innovation. […]
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[…] science, technology, and several emerging scenarios. The result is innovation in ways that both enhance society and diminish it. In a world filled with geopolitical conflict, perhaps as the article states, it is innovation that […]
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[…] She believes that if these negative externalities were priced in, growth would stall. The two faces of innovation date all the way back to fire. It was great for cooking, but also burned down villages. We must […]
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[…] and its fear and destructive potential. It effectively describes our need to balance these opposing forces of innovation. Some background: Jason Rohrer, a Bay Area programmer, launched Project December, which is powered […]
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[…] are there. While we can’t predict how this century unfolds, we can pay attention and work to balance these opposing forces of […]
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[…] encroach upon those traits that make us distinctly human. Our path forward continues to represent a balancing act. Elon Musk describes his vision in the video […]
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