Slowing Up
Dear friend,
Is it me, or is the world moving faster than ever before? Looking back, the me of three weeks ago seems like an ancient version of myself.
Perhaps it’s a function of the transformational period humanity has entered, where we’re ever more aware of the need for radical change in the ways we live and move and relate to one another—and the planet?
At the same time, we’re living through a technological revolution.
Work that was once done by skilled humans is being done by intelligent machines. I see posts with titles like “A month’s work done in a day!” or “How I replaced two £15K hires with free AI tools!”
It feels like a mistake to me.
I work with AI every day.
Not to replace—but to enhance.
To explore and to learn new skills and to reflect.
The direction is towards greater depth.
Machines can generate text and images and sift and sort information at speeds and scale that outpaces humans—but humans need time to make meaning out of the data.
Rushing from one thing to the next, we find ourselves nowhere.
I remember when I started working as a teacher, and the whole department had one computer that was rarely even switched on. I don’t think the kids had a better experience when the use of computers spread so that teachers were doing hours of data entry every day.
Emails create workload.
More work done in less time?
Why?
In service of what?
Knowledge of the self is not about surface speed.
Slowing up.
Going deeper.
As we enter more deeply into the momentous changes these shifts in technology are bringing, we need more than ever to connect and support and care for one another.
Kindness is a compass, without which we are liable to lose our way.
Till tomorrow
Love
Mikey