Living United
What is science’s role in warfare? Neil deGrasse Tyson shares his thoughts on war and begs the question: why can’t we all just get along? Do we need an outside threat to humanity before we learn to live united? Why do we so often turn against one another? I find myself wondering about our desire for dominance and our willingness to subjugate others. Where does that come from? As I listen to my “personal astrophysicist,” my thoughts turn to AI: have we trained these same impulses into the...
Do we need an outside threat to humanity before we learn to live united? Why do we so often turn against one another? I find myself wondering about our desire for dominance and our willingness to subjugate others. Where does that come from? As I listen to my “personal astrophysicist,” my thoughts turn to AI: have we trained these same impulses into the systems we are building? And how might those systems be used to wage another kind of war?
I believe living peacefully together begins with recognising our common humanity and understanding ourselves well enough to see how we deny it to others. Whether introspection comes naturally to us, I cannot say. But I do believe we must deliberately cultivate our inner lives, examine our impulses and deepen our capacity for empathy. A future of peace depends on more than what we invent. It depends on who we choose to become.
About the Author
Lorraine Villaroel is an AI builder, transformation facilitator and community catalyst exploring the intersection of technology, education and human development. Through her writing, projects and collaborations, she examines how we can embrace emerging possibilities while cultivating the wisdom, judgment and inner growth needed to thrive in a changing world.
She writes Beyond Now at WebblyWeb, exploring who we are — and who we are becoming.