The Future of Humanity - 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

“In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power. […] Join the debate about the future of humanity, […] to simulate thinking of the major conversations of our time.” - Yuval Noah Harari

Hello Humane Tech community!

For our next meetup, we will be discussing historian and professor Yuval Noah Harari’s latest book “21 Lessons for the 21st Century”. https://www.ynharari.com/book/21-lessons/

In this book, Harari poses some fascinating and controversial “big-picture” questions on the future of humanity – questions that will affect all 7 billion of us on this planet we call Earth - ranging from disruptive technologies that compete for our attention, the benefits and dangers of Artificial Intelligence, advances in infotech and biotech, automation and ethics, equality and liberty in the age of big data, the future of our education systems (what should we teach our kids so they are prepared in 2050?), and resilience skills, the importance of self-awareness, self-knowledge and meditation in an age when machines could know us better than we know ourselves.

Whether or not you’ve read the book – whether or not you consider yourself a ‘techie’ person – whether or not you have any background knowledge on this topic - come join us for some lively, inclusive and open discussions on the most important and controversial questions of our day. You’ve got a viewpoint and we want to hear it!

Language of the meetup: English

Format of the meetup:
We’ll begin with a brief 5-10 minute introduction to the topics discussed in the book (presented by Helen Ai He, Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction), before splitting off into small table open discussions. Each table will discuss a different topic for ~15 minutes, before switching to a new table (a new topic). The idea is by the end of the evening, you’ll be exposed to lots of different questions, topics and perspectives from other members and from the book.

We’ll close with a short reflection with everyone. We want to hear about - what you learned, what sparked inspiration or controversial debate in your groups, what you’ll take away from meetup and this book.

At the end you have time for open networking.

Space is limited! Sign up early to get a spot! (And if you can’t make it after you’ve registered, please cancel so someone else can take your spot!)

Everyone is welcome! We can’t wait to see you!

If possible, please bring: Paper, post-it notes and a pen. You’ll use these to discuss ideas in your groups!

About the organizers:
Helen Ai He (Ph.D) is a Human-Computer Interaction researcher. Her research tackles timely, high-impact societal problems including: loneliness and isolation in an increasingly digital world, intercultural and multi-lingual collaboration in remote teams, and persuasive technologies to motivate pro-environmental behaviors. More about her research here: www.helenaihe.com/research
Follow her on Twitter at @helenaihe.

Kamil Barbarski is an entrepreneur and innovation hacker from Cologne. He supports people and organizations to focus on what's essential by helping them to start, test and implement their ideas as easy as possible. He's the initiator of the Humane Tech Meetup Rheinland, other meetups and loves good food and meditation. More about him here: kamilbbs.com and on Twitter @kamilbbs.com

Charlotte is our new member in the Humane Tech team. She will support us with her superpowers at this event.

Some interesting articles about the book:

https://medium.com/@SteveGlaveski/book-summary-21-lessons-for-the-21st-century-by-yuval-noah-harari-73722006805a

http://spdrdng.com/summaries-of-books/summary-of-21-lessons-for-the-21st-century-by-noah-yuval-harari