Without a baseline of omni-win genuine concern within wider scopes of longer term inclusion — call it Game B, mellow Integral, Turquoise Spiral Dynamics, bodhisattva motivation, wisdom-compassion, or whatever else you like — I don’t see how any solutions will adaptively auto-correct under the accelerating pressure of the AI tidal wave.
Regardless of whether it comes from top down or bottom up, inside-out or outside-in, individual-to-collective or collective-to-individual, only a humble, care-full, omni-win motivation deep enough to not crack under pressure is going to be enough. It’s almost already at the point when complexity has to turn on one’s up-leveled simplicity-elegance perspectives, not turn them off.
I think certain systemic approaches like Vajrayana are consciously designed for challenges like these, but they typically work best in smaller groups that have enough time to cultivate deep self-worth, community trust, and tested cooperation that sustains through life’s usual ups and downs.
AI policy and regulation will be nearly impossible during these early stages of testing and implementation — way too much money pouring in. This next big thing is going to be too incredibly big to risk sitting this one out in the name of long term planetary survival-thriving of future generations.
I sincerely wish that heartfelt compassion and wisdom directed more of everything, but ethics have been omitted in large scale mainstream for a while now.
As the Buddha said so long ago, “contentment is the greatest wealth.” But voluntary simplicity is a hard sell. And it takes a long time to reliably reorient old deep habits, as well as a lot of supportive structures. Incentivizing contentment has to come from within, or at least being around a bunch of heart friends that offer reciprocal nourishment pretty regularly.
These days have been a preparation period: training times when the overwhelm isn’t yet as suffocating, and when fear-responses are easier to work with by intentionally choosing to lessen opportunities for limbic hacking. The options still aren’t as seductive and toxic as they will continue becoming, for the most part, in most spheres of mainstream cultures.
Simple kindnesses. Genuine moments of love. Deep, curious listening. Silly, serious playful breaks. Longer walks. Breathing. Regular gadget free life experience. Careful presence of mind and interest in attuning with others instead of against them. Slow cooking food together. Reading some poetry. Dancing. Regular sleep. Whole foods. Some kind of meditation and body awareness. Keeping in touch with a few good friends over the years. Caring about your neighbors. Taking in distilled bursts of news instead of a constant drip of weaponized narrow perspective-taking. These are all viable, simple, inexpensive options on the table right now without AI. They are also avenues into more comprehensive, inclusive well-being that healthier applications of AI can foster.
But as usual, unfortunately that’s not where big business mega money is going to direct the applications.
I’m actually very hopeful. But I’m also a Mahayana Buddhist, have an orientation around bodhichitta, and enjoy a worldview that includes a very long time scale over a vast amount of space.
Sending love for sure.
