Comments about Mr. Musk’s “two fundamental paths” facing humanity today have, from reading the media stories-comments, aligned to about 50/50: He’s either unrealistic or he’s mankind’s answer for survival. 

  As for much of the state of culture and popular values – one cannot question too loudly technology trends these days without a rebuke from those whose trust in technology is unwavering. People are already using, developing or investing in digital technology but are we ready to leave earth for Mars? For now when you think about the autonomous car, sensors, artificial intelligence, internet-of-things, genomics – our imaginations go wild. The cool factors aside; jobs are created, innovation thrives, healthcare advances and lives change. All good.

As for the two paths elaborated by Mr. Musk, however, he’s denied the most basic knowledge about the hope of humanity. Hope isn’t left to humankind fleeing toward the planets and starting over nor is it about human intelligence figuring out how to survive “inevitable destruction”. It’s about going way, way beyond the planets to heaven which is God’s promise to those who accept Jesus’ words about his Father. Mr. Musk is right in one regard: earth is not an eternal planet in its present state. From Genesis to Revelation the message is clear: our time here was always heading toward more than extinction but rather, re-creation. The frustration we’ve been subjected to is not eternal. Techno-dreamers, adventurers and hope-filled optimists for humankind are a sign of humanity’s hope even though the science & technology fields apply understanding of things scientifically, empirically, mathematically and logically. The miraculous is not their concern. It’s beyond understanding.

Going back to AI, genomics, neuroscience, precision medicine, robotics and more; throw all of this together and we are still more than concerned about planet Earth’s inevitable destruction Mr. Musk mentioned. Honestly, it’s painful to watch in motion. Sure enough, there was a solution all along and in Jesus the promise of eternally living far, far beyond Mars to Heaven itself is for everyone who dares to believe. No rocket required.
RPW2016

I began reading the new report “Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030”. One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence (AI100), published by a Study Panel composed of university technologists. The areas of industry having social impacts covered in the 52 page report are transportation, healthcare, robots, education, low-resource communities, public safety and security, employment and workforce and finally, entertainment.  (https://ai100.stanford.edu/ )
Each section references “ethics” and this got me thinking about how ethics, in general, are of great interest and concern to us because each industry produces technology that is pervasive in our lives whether you are age 1 or 101.

Therefore, I’ll let technology considerations rest for this blog. I want to address ethics, which, too, is pervasively sweeping into society about present and future human behaviors such as device and software dependence. Like all aspects of life, there is a beginning, a foundation, a forerunner, a spark of wisdom that sets ideas and values in motion. For me, that sense of beginning came from my study of the Bible. Yes, I know: science with religion fare poorly in our digital, scientific age. The Bible clearly establishes God as the giver of intelligence, skills and life itself - all for a greater glory.

The foundation of ethics is that we, as individuals, are not here to simply exist but to exist with a purpose. The purpose in life is absolutely individualistic. No two persons are alike or have the identical calling or purpose even though many share a common vision. In fact, that’s where people of different callings find one another; in their unique purpose living for something greater than themselves. My point being, we are created with nothing artificial; we're the real deal of life.

And that’s all I hope to communicate to such a collection of intelligent people who have committed to study and report how AI is changing many aspects of life. Ethics grounded in truth such as provided in Psalm 139 will enable leaders to envision a hopeful future whether AI or any other human-technological integration occurs. Here, it starts with valuing human life above all else - we've been created for a purpose. “For You created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place.”

Forever human. Born with purpose. Authentic.
RPW2016

You are in meetings and various other engagements all week. You are looking into the eyes of many individuals and, as psychologists say, speaking a language uniquely embedded in human intuition and perception. You are capable of offering hope to business people while your product is capable of disrupting theirs or their customers' lives.

I am pinpointing a matter of hope amid tensions business people face. Do you and your co-workers find it challenging to convey to clients, “The things we do and innovate and charge customers for offers hope, but...?”

Disruption or disruptive technology may not offer people hope but if your business can go the way of imagining a hopeful outcome for customers – you can lead them to even more imagining. Still, disruption is first and foremost indicative of chaos and overwhelming change. Another subject, genetic engineering, sounds very hopeful to people suffering with diseases and has even shown incredible progress using advanced technologies. For others, genetic engineering means humanity is about to get strangely out of control, diabolical. How about the less tangible like one’s personal freedom? This week the Fed released alarming traffic fatality stats showing a 7.2% increase in deaths since 2014 (35,092 in 2015). My guess is; and it’s only a guess, it that texting and managing that big screen while driving may be causing the rising stat. Still, auto companies are not only bringing more home entertainment features to their vehicles but also the freedom to be fatally distracted. The consumer hopes he or she wont be the next fatality. This creates tension between the vehicle owner, insurers and car makers. And another, genetically modified grains are the fear of many while also the hope of farmers trying to survive unexpected climate changes that destroy crops.

Hope for a better world has shifted toward technological solutions while diminishing in government and institutions. The technology introduced to us is on one hand marketed as the “future is now” and on the other hand “disruptive” only for the purpose of being relevant. When a business taps the internet-of-things does it demand too much personal information? Is a robotic innovation the result of a bunch of zealous mechanical engineers with myopia about displacing skilled workers? The answers aren’t simple when ethical and cultural considerations obscure the better future we hope for. How do you and your firm communicate hope if the goal of disrupting lives is central to overall strategy?
RPW2016