Humanity’s Transition - Oxford Discussions

There are a huge number of possible topics we could discuss that are relevant to Humanity’s Transition. Here is a selection of what we could discuss at this event. We’ll pick one at the start of the meeting (or one suggested by an attendee) and take it from there!

• Is it possible to define a blueprint for what we need to do to avoid a societal collapse? If not, how should we think about ‘what’s to be done?’
• Could AI destroy human life? Could it be conscious? Or will it “just” eliminate hundreds of millions of jobs? How do we respond to this dramatic disruption to our sense of what it means to be human, conscious, sentient, creative and purposeful?
• The “AI Alignment” problem is symptomatic of a deeper mis-alignment: unless we address the latter, fixing the former will only won’t address the root problem. It’s not so much that we need to align AI with human values: it’s that we need to align society with human (as opposed to financial) values.
• Is the solution to be found in philanthropic foundations, the Effective Altruism movement, social/green investing, and other “do good for society” movements? What are the benefits and limitations of these movements?
• Green New Deal or No Deal? Optimism and blind spots of the green energy transition.
• “Earth could be fair, and all men glad and wise. Instead we have prisons, smokestacks, asylums. What sphinx of cement and aluminum breaks open their skulls and eats up their imagination?” Moloch does it.
• Utopia? No thanks – too drab, boring and impossible. We’re aiming to upgrade to PROtopia
• The Enlightenment: The best thing and the worst thing that happened to humanity.
• “From Finance to Flourishing”: the paradigm change needed to transform society.
• Techno-optimism: is it delusional to put our faith in technology?
• What should we try to do about our religious instinct? Eliminate it? Tolerate it? Or enhance it?
• What is reality? Is it matter and does it matter? If you accept the latest ideas it changes everything.
• Why philanthropic foundations created by the mega-wealthy will never make the changes we need.
• Transforming education could be they key – like it was for Sweden in the 18th century. But the purpose of education also needs to be fundamentally reconceived.
• Social Media, AI and the dismantling of our identities, of democracy and our sense of meaning.
• How do we need to change our food production – taking into account animal rights, carbon emissions, artificial production techniques and our connections to nature?
• How technology could fix energy, transport and food – and why it’s not enough by a LONG way.
• The most dangerous invention ever: The Limited Liability Company
• Personal development: Growing Up, Waking Up, Showing Up and Cleaning Up.
• The Left’s Not Right: Civilizational chaos from brain imbalance.
• Web3, Cryptocurrency, DAOs, NFTs: maybe transformative, maybe disastrous.
• Systems theory and Complexity: what is it, and should this be available at A-Level?

Background
A helpful 30 minute video which others have found worthwhile
"Humanity's Phase Shift, Daniel Schmachtenberger"

Keywords
humanity, environmental awareness, politics, philosophy, spiritual growth, economics, ecological economics, intentional communities, geopolitics, open sources, the commons, activism, idealism, capitalism, sustainable agriculture, religion, consciousness, inequality, enlightenment, education, autocracy, corporatism