Almost 2 years ago I was at the World Internet Summit in Sydney and was introduced to some software that can research and write an original article on any topic you choose – or it could write 50 articles on the same topic if you want, each of them unique. I watched it in action, and honestly it could write just as well as I can, without any effort whatsoever.
A few weeks ago I was at a conference where someone said that in a few years if your doctor isn’t using artificial intelligence for diagnosis you’ll be wanting to go to a different doctor.
It seems we’re reaching the end of the line in terms of our own mental capacity. In fact, I believe we’ve so overstretched our minds that it’s no surprise we’re seeing so much mental and stress-related illness. Enough is enough.
So what’s next for human beings? Are we ready to become the servants of artificial intelligence, as it races ahead, solving ever more complex problems, taking over our jobs and making our education redundant?
However powerful the technology – and personally I believe it will be very powerful, and that could be a very good thing – it’s not an appealing prospect for us.
So it’s time for us to upgrade our technology as well – our inner technology. It’s time for us to go beyond our minds into new territory where we can expand our potential and capacity and rise to a new level.
There are two aspects to this, which need to be balanced. Firstly there’s the heart. When we become too mentally focused we disconnect from our hearts and lose touch with the feeling of being truly, fully alive. Interestingly the heart is one part of us that no artificial intelligence will ever be able to replicate. At a physical level, we’ll be able to create hearts and any other organs, but the experience of love and connection that’s associated with a healthy heart is something quite different.
I can definitely foresee that we’ll become far more heart-based as we realise it’s a total waste of time trying to put all our energy into being very intelligent. We’re seeing heart-centred entrepreneurship emerge and a gradual shift to a more-heart centred society seems inevitable.
And then there are superpowers – special abilities we access when we let go of our minds and access higher levels of energy. Using superpowers is a radically different way of working, because the experience is effortless and highly enjoyable. It’s the absolute opposite of what we’re used to.
The work of developing superpowers is at a very early stage, but it’s real and it’s fascinating. It offers us a way to upgrade ourselves, rather than our external technologies and it promises a lifestyle that’s easier in a way, but a lot more powerful as well.