The Runaway Tractor
It was last night (31/12/2023) – I started to wonder, what will the next few years hold for us as humanity? Socio-cultural, technological, and political transitions that are happening around us have been with unprecedented speed and momentum. On one hand, there are people who believe, “This is the day” – we as humanity (or even as a nation) are reaching the pinnacle of our freedom and heights, and tomorrow will take us to much more new frontiers. On the other hand, there are doomsday prophets who believe this will be the decade or generation that will see the undoing of humanity as we have known thus far!
A few transitions, out of the many, kept skipping through my confused mind. Each of these positive in some aspects challenging in others…
A. Technological Transitions (Feel free to skip over this section, but if you want to read more, explore “The Coming Wave” by Mustafa Suleyman).
One - The technology of intelligence: With AI reaching a potential point of no return, with Large Language Models and Artificial Capable Intelligence, technology will rise to newer heights. Computers that we used to use for tasks have already become machines that we communicate with as equals, and soon will be telling us what to do. Will technology become “persons” who will tell us mere mortals what to do?
Two - The technology of Life – Synthetic biology and growth in genomics: The fast-progressing ability to synthesize life by CRISPR and other biotech systems and the marriage of AI and synthetic biology are encouraging and worrying. The brain interfacing technologies like Neuralinks are moving ahead to see if technology and humans can be interfaced to create superhumans! Not to forget the robotics, and wider influences of many of these waves.
B. The Leadership and Nation States
Three - The nation-state and leadership: These technological advances are happening in a context where political transitions are very evident. Self-promoting, perception managing, and nationalistic political leadership across the globe is taking the world back from all the gains of democracy and value-based leadership of yesteryears! The effects are all around for us to see. Wars, smaller nations under pressure, minorities under pressure, large-scale migration and refugee crises, and many such turmoil’s!
Four – These leaders are amply and heavily supported by a few megacorporation’s that hold the purse strings and perception, media, and even influence electoral outcomes. Hand in glove with each other, the power is in the hands of a few political and corporate oligarchs. Big date is stage-managed for the synergistic impacts of both these stakeholders.
C. The Destruction of Our Home
Five – Despite all the big statements leaders and nation-states make, the destruction of the home we live in, the earth, has continued with no signs of abating. Blame shifting, the race for one-upmanship, reordering power equations take precedence over stewarding our home, the one and only earth.
D. The Confusion of Identity
Six - Amid all these, there is the whole question of identity: Who are we is a confusing question. Your born sex and chosen gender need not be the same anymore.
The multiple identities one has – the virtual vs the physical, and the ability to control and manipulate the virtual ones to fit the mood and expectations of the other is the way of life today. With 45-50% of humanity being less than 35, these transitions will have long-lasting impacts on the future of humanity.
Understanding of Personhood itself is confused – leading to various challenging issues around the unborn child and the unproductive elderly.
The digital, technological, economic, ethnic, religious divides are prominent issues that are confusing life amid all these transitions. There could be many more to talk about, demographic changes, the refugee crises, many such more.
As I was thinking about these, my attention was diverted by a book being read out to my grandniece. The story of the “Run-away tractor”. Ted, unable to control his runaway tractor, ends up with the trailer going off on its own, tractor and Ted ending up in a pond, and family left to pick up the pieces with much pain and costs involved. I wonder if some of these transitions are like the run-away tractor of Ted.
Or will it lead to a promised utopian state?
But then I was called to join the family prayer. And my brother-in-law chose this song to sing, the verses of which are given below.
“O God, our Help in ages past, our Hope for years to come, our Shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal Home.”
A reminder that the stormy blast of transition is sheltered by someone who is greater than all potentially run-away tractors.
“Under the shadow of Thy throne, Thy saints have dwelt secure; sufficient is Thine arm alone, and our defense is sure. Before the hills in order stood, or earth received its frame, from everlasting Thou art God, to endless years the same.”
History reminds us, that there is an overshadowing presence that will remain for endless years to come!
“A thousand ages in Thy sight are like an evening gone, short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun. Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away; they fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.”
My confused ramblings and those of others like me - of even a thousand years are like an evening gone, and temporal and transitional, and all we can hold on to is…
O God, our Help in ages past, our Hope for years to come, be Thou our Guard while life shall last, and our eternal Home!
And live relevant and confident lives amid the transitions around us.
What does it mean to live relevant lives - that for another blog…
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