The air is clean, the sun is shining. The open road is in front with perceived freedom, a fluttering feeling that arises with a new journey. The excitement to get to the end, enjoy that acomplishment of being there. What’s along the way? Does one slow down and make some stops to take it in, chat to the locals, see what life is like outside this journey? Or does one bypass them at any cost with a speed reflecting a journey being made to face-off an existential threat? 

Have we not been here before? Slavery is one example, destruction of the natural environment another. There are undoubtedly many more parallels of human advancement and exploitation. 

But Let’s consider these two broad areas for now.

Since times of systemic slavery in the world and the intense use of natural resources in the industrial revolution, as a global society we have sought to put in safeguards to ensure such atrocities do not occur again or at the very least, nothing of the same scale occurs again. 

Human rights and environmental laws and agreements, both at an international and national scale, are now generally in force, at the very least they’re in force in theory to varied degree. 

Maybe a quick stop here to reflect on whatever happened to the Brundtland Report? Have we so readily forgetting such a ground breaking piece of insight and catalyst at the highest of levels that embraced the concept that sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Back to the journey where it is reasonable to conclude that since the adoption of the laws and agreements, countries around the world have always produced outputs at different efficiencies, under different circumstances. Some of these circumstances involved greater exploitation of the environment and human rights, at odds with accepted modern norms but democratic societies generally sought to uphold these, for the most part. There are reasons why concentrated parts of the world became production powerhouses in the late 20th century. 

Have we lost our way? And when did society collectively choose this? Have we lost sight of our values? At what cost may this be?

If we are being promised more time, more equality, abundance and a better life – then it should form part of a contract and engrained in law, otherwise we are placing these outcomes on the good will of elite corporations.

If AI was being created and advanced so rapidly to address existing existential treats so as to redirect a meteor strike, address climate change or protect against a solar flare, then reasoning could be reached. But it is not. Quite to the contrary. AI on its current path is now accepted as the number one existential treat to humanity.