Are we at an inflection point in human history? Physician, futurist and X Prize founder, Peter Diamandis believes the next 10 years will see more advances in technology and medicine than we have seen in the last 100 years.
Leaps forward will be propelled by Artificial Intelligence [AI] and quantum computing that makes use of the quantum states to store data in a multi-dimensional way- a major departure from the current traditional binary, 0 or 1 approach.
But how will all this ‘blue sky thinking’ impact Sarah, stuck in an ‘always busy’ corporate quagmire? Is being mindful really helpful? Is it likely that the most significant event in business in 2024, is not even on our radar?
Is this futuristic tech hype, from the Harvard-trained doctor, just plain exaggeration, or will the rollout of AI and the use of quantum computing, become as self-evident as the use of personal computers and smartphones?
According to this optimistic school of thought, problems that stymie today’s fastest supercomputers will be solved in the flicker of an eye. Quantum computing now led by firms like Google, IBM, Honeywell and Chinese entities will put them in distinct dominating advantage.
But better able to address wicked problems like, for example, confronting the issue of climate change, causing excessive carbon-dioxide emissions, thanks in part, to the burning of fossil fuels (like coal, oil and gas), which produces heat-trapping gases, promoting global warming.
That’s the futuristic thinking, that thanks to technological advancements, with an ability to model complex systems, we will have creative solutions to life-threatening problems.
Is tech making us smarter and happier?
But closer home, in Kenya, as we slide into 2024, does Sarah, the ambitious manager in ‘Red Oak Bank’ with her MBA, and abundance of professional qualification letters after her name, feel more content, and just plain smarter? Or, is she increasingly irritable, soda slurping, overweight, and prone to bouts of dark moments of depression, blaming it all on the increasing cost of living?
How does the prospect of a brave new world, thought to change profoundly in the decade impact Sarah with her ‘passive–aggressive’ jargon spouting, prone to micromanagement CEO?
“As within, so without, as above, so below, as the universe, so the soul.” We see the world not as it is, but as we are. We see our workspace, not as it is, but more based on our emotions, how we feel, at that moment. When we are happy and optimistic, the ‘challenges’ seem easily fixed.
But on a foggy dismal day, when Sarah feels a touchdown in the dumps, the inevitable day-to-day problems can seem bordering on overwhelming. Only, solution seems to be to quickly surf the web and search for a new job.
Awareness is everything. If you are not aware of something, does it exist? Paradoxically, the way up and out, is down and within. For Sarah, her inflection point comes when she learns to quieten her mind, to create the distinction, that ‘she is not her mind’.
To be able to sit quietly, simply focus on her breathing. To be able to notice the transient thoughts in her mind, jumping about like a Colobus monkey constantly swinging, from branch to branch.
Contemplate and reflect
The trick is to think about thinking. To notice that at times we risk behaving like a single-celled amoeba, based on a basic stimulus-response mechanism.
The inflection point for Sarah begins with the recognition that the future is now. All that exists is present-moment awareness. As sages have pointed out, almost since the dawn of humanity — Can one be anywhere else than in this moment? Unfortunately, at times, yes, in the mind, being tormented by traumas that happened decades ago, and anxious about future problems.
Words can have odd meanings. Just as “empower” means to dispense power, the most powerful person in the room is the one who has given their control and influence away. Mindfulness really means mind–lessness, in other words: less mind. Being able to appreciate one is not their mind.
As we approach a new year, positioned a few steps forward, scanning the horizon for the inflection point, one wonders what next? In the words of Thomas Carlyle “Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.”
David is a director at aCatalyst Consulting dja@acatalyst.co.ke
