The Sense of Purpose

Lambros
Lambros
Sep 6, 2018 · 2 min read

I watched this video of Tim Cook’s speech at the 2017 MIT commencement last year and found it one of the most inspiring speeches I have ever heard. Even today I think about it in various situations of my life. I highly recommend to anybody that is worried about where technology is going, to watch this video. Technology doesn’t harm anybody, people do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NXjUpo-1q8

There will be days where you will ask yourself: where is all this going? What is the purpose? What is my purpose?

Tim Cook explains that he searched for more than 15 years for the purpose of his life. He thought he could answer the question of purpose when he knew what his major would be at college, or when he would get his first job. He pushed the search for purpose from one achievement to the next, asking: Is this all there is? He tried meditation, he searched for guidance in religion, he read great philosophers and authors, but nothing helped.

He had to meet Steve Jobs and experience his passion and mission to get the answer for his question. A company with the goal to serve humanity was something he could identify with. He finally felt aligned with a company that brought together challenging cutting-edge work with a higher purpose. Aligned with himself and his own deep need to serve something greater. So it became clear to him that he would never have found his purpose working at a place without a clear sense of purpose of its own. Steve Jobs and Apple made Tim Cook through his whole self into his work, embrace Apple’s mission and make it his own.

How can I serve humanity?

Technology can help us solve some of the hardest problems the world is facing today. But technology alone is not the solution and some times it can even be part of the problem. Never has humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures that it will be used wisely. Threads to our privacy, safety, social media that becomes anti-social, fake news are only a few examples. Technology is capable of doing great things, but it doesn’t want to do great things. It doesn’t want anything. This part takes all of us.

I’m not worried about Artificial Intelligence giving computers the ability to think like humans. I’m more concerned about people thinking like computers, without values and compassion, without concern for consequences.

It is our responsibility to use technology in a wise manner and to always be aligned with our values whatever we are working on. I think it is a good advice to frequently ask yourself whether your job and your work serves humanity, or if you have lost track.

Lambros

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Lambros

“The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness.” N. Kazantzakis