“We’re in the big bang days of AI, and the social implications are going to be profound. In the US, one of the most common jobs in 47 out of 52 states is the truck driver. But we already have AI’s that can do that job. And we’re developing AIs that will replace millions of middle management jobs.” By some estimates, more than half of today’s jobs might be automated by AI within the next 20 years. Kamel believes that without some serious collective thinking and exploration of ideas like guaranteed basic income, the social upheaval will be massive.
“But it can also be liberating. It can make space for people to be their best selves. To be more self-reliant and more useful to others. I want to help make that happen. I want a highly distributed revolution.”
To Kamel’s thinking, a revolution that truly serves humanity and creates a better future will be hastened not by incremental activism, but by helping individuals become more conscious: by training people in the intelligence of the heart. He sees the impact of trying to shape the future through policy or the work of NGOs or confrontational activism as one with a mixed record – one that’s all about convincing people and institutions to do the right thing.
“When you raise someone’s consciousness, you don’t need to convince them. They see it. I spent so much time working on big issues until I realized I was trying to boil the ocean. The real challenge, and in my view the silver bullet, is to help people have a more intelligent heart, to detox not just their body, but their mind and spirit. That began for me with hacking my own code, finding my own triggers, figuring out my larger mission. It continues by helping the people around you to hack their own operating systems, and widening the circle of people you can reach, help, and be helped by.”
Kamel thanks THNK for creating a safe space where he could nurture some of his embryonic thinking about the House of Geeks and Geeksters. Introduced by Rand Hindi, Kamel saw the cardinal values of THNK as very similar to his own, and he relished the creative pressure cooker it provided for peer consultation, for coaching, and for exploring the ideas of like-minded people who want to impact the world.