We need to figure out how to live together in a resilient unison on our only planet. To learn respect and leave hatred – today.
As we are entering a new era of ultimate connectedness and machine learning, robotics and abundance, we are seeing increasing inequality, uncontrollable events by human actors, and distant actions which translate globally. We need to get rid of hate today.
Historically things have always been getting better (in less death rates, disasters, wars..) but now in this period of accelerating change, the consequences can grow too big before good actions come along – unless we grow to a new mindset and take immediate action. The Stockholm Resilience Center speaks of managing slow variables (sometimes unnoticed hints which don’t immediately lead to catastrophe) as a way to increase resilience. “Managing slow variables and feedbacks is often crucial to make sure ecosystems produce essential services. If these systems shift into a different configuration or regime, it can be extremely difficult to reverse.” I think that we can apply this advice to our global human ‘systems’ or groups, as well as other named resilience amplifiers such as increasing complex understanding on a given subject, broadening participation and interdependencies.
We need to stop ongoing suffering which we’ve conveniently closed our thoughts from, and ensure everyone’s basic human rights are fulfilled. I believe that a lot of the problems which we face today - an overpopulated planet which we’re on the verge of ruining, are caused by lack of access to basic human rights around the world.
Whether measured in dollars or human suffering, climate change threatens to take a terrible toll on civilization over the next century.
To give you an update - George Monbiot for the Guardian recently wrote that we have 60 harvests left until we’ve made our soils unfit for agricultural purposes, while Ross Koningstein & David Fork wrote “Whether measured in dollars or human suffering, climate change threatens to take a terrible toll on civilization over the next century”.
We need to increase cross-border cross-cultural cross-disciplinary action for good. Complexity can be fruitful, and as we today use biomimicry and try to reverse engineer nature, we notice how it is all massively complex, interlinked and interdependent. Just like we are. Increasingly.
We should be wiser than to take rash action when uncontrollable events occur, and instead attack the root causes.
"We should be wiser than to take rash action when uncontrollable events occur, and instead attack the root causes.”
A person who has their basic needs met, including basic education, and choices about life available, will educate their child to lead a better life than what they had. I believe this would, along with other matters, lead to reducing hatred towards each other.
We need to educate the women – all of them – finally. They will educate every child they ever bare. Prof. Hans Rosling has done amazing research on this.
The world needs the brave more than ever. Let’s work together, build human relationships and use tools such as new technology – this planet is our only home and we deserve to live in peace now and some day in the near 30 yr future when we will have multiple planets colonized. (Who will remains to be seen unless we unite as humanity before that.)
Every decision you take or do not take has a consequence, as there are no more bystanders.
It seems easier to concentrate on a single event, a single fault or a single small problem rather than on the large picture, root causes, and the complex puzzle we’re in. Luckily there are several cures to our issues - someone just needs to start.
At Yle Prophecy event on the 8th of May I’ll also be addressing rising opportunities in our global challenges, and how we are leveraging technologies to solve them.
Pia Henrietta Kekäläinen
You can find the comment writer Pia Henrietta Kekäläinen on twitter at @phenriettak
