Human society can be a much better

In defense of searching for utopia

The singularity has already happened. It’s called humanity.

We have the unique and sacred capacity to reflect upon and improve the ideas through which we perceive and act on reality. While tech geeks everywhere lust after smart machines, they ignore their sentient human fellows, or muse that soon they will all be replaced by robots of moderate capabilities.

Yet I know that through our simian flesh, a part of nature has become conscious of itself. So people are capable of great things, and collectively we can realize goodness, and beauty and truth. Thus the world can be a much better place, but it won’t come about on its own accord. We must earn a better world by creating it. And that depends on us becoming better people by improving our ideas and our practices.

Far too many people let themselves be overtaken by pessimism. It’s widespread in the culture. Pessimism characterizes a culture in decline. Instead, we must find the deep source of soul and optimism and hunger to thrive. We must insist that we can get better, grow more capable, ennoble our interests and aspirations. All it takes it a heartfelt search, an open mind, and the summoning of all natural and human forces in the interests of the common good.

While these ingredients are simple, it is a hard thing to do amidst the noise, chaos and the fray. It takes discipline. Yet it must be done. Business as usual in an age of technology tends to magnify and accelerate our worst aspects, and it certainly won’t solve the problems in our culture. No number of smart machines can save humanity from a crisis of the soul, the poverty of our own ideas or the cruelty that comes from trauma. No amount of data or machine learning can fill the void of a culture in decline. Instead, such growth of technology premised on toxic principles may very well accelerate our demise.

We live in a cave of our own making, no matter whether luxurious or impoverished. It still blocks us from seeing the sun. It’s time we stepped outside and took a walk to find a better path.