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As for the two questions above, I have concluded that we we will have a far better chance of saving ourselves if we can figure out a way to safely tap into the incredible power of artificial intelligence to totally reinvent our civilization. Here's my thinking:
In a world with 195 countries and thousands of religions, it seems highly unlikely -- to this practical engineer -- that we will ever come together to the extent necessary to totally replace our grossly unsustainable way of living in the developed world of today. How desperate is our situation and what are we up against?
In Outcry, among numerous urgent alarms from our planet, we report on the rapidly increasing loss of insects, birds and coral -- species of nature that we depend on for our survival.
But since the book was published in April, the news on the sustainability front keeps getting worse. Just last week, a report was released on 9-9-20 by the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London -- with this headline:
The world is losing its mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish, and with them, the security of ecosystems that have supported humanity since it first emerged.
This year's report, released Wednesday, shows that these animal communities shrunk on average 68% between 1970 and 2016. Parts of the world are much worse off. The tropical Americas have seen animal populations decline 94% in the same period. The size of observed animal communities in or near freshwater globally have fallen by 84%.
Reports like this one, along with the wild fires burning at record levels on the west coast of the USA and the melting ice setting records in the Arctic -- all lead me to this conclusion: We are running out of time when it comes to figuring out a way for Homo sapiens to live sustainably on this planet.
Check out this brand new stat: Six of the largest twenty fires in California history are burning NOW!
The Bottom Line. Maybe our current predicament renders the numerous concerns about the risks of AI somewhat moot. Will AI destroy humanity? It might, but if left to our own devices, I think it is almost certain that we will destroy ourselves -- along with all other forms of life on Earth.
That said, we have decided to share the complete chapter on the AI topic from our book, Outcry. Click on the link below for a quick read that consists of about 4400 words.
In that chapter, we include input from Dr. James Lovelock's latest book, Novacene, that addresses the pros and cons of partnering with the robotic cyborgs to save our species. We also suggest two, urgently needed, global sustainability "projects" that we might want to assign to the AI team.
Check out the rest of the book in the two links below and consider purchasing an ultra-green e-copy for yourself. If you like Chapter 12, you will definitely appreciate the entire book -- as a handy global conversation instigator.
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Let's talk.To help jumpstart a global conversation that I keep encouraging, I am now offering to conduct private Zoom conferences free of charge to groups of almost any size. I look forward to Zooming with you and your group sometime soon.
In preparation for those sessions, I have developed a one-hour format consisting of an opening statement followed by a 20-minute slide show and then ending with a discussion and Q&A with the attendees. The sessions you organize will be far more interesting and productive if attendees have read Outcry in advance.
Our book, for a host of environmental reasons, is only available as an e-book on Amazon. As such, it contains hyperlinks to hundreds of references and videos, is less expensive, does not kill any trees and does not have to be manufactured and delivered.
You can join my mailing list and/or find all of my previous postings by visiting the SOS Memos page on my website. Here are a few of them where you can see how my vision has evolved since that first "creative idea" on 9-21-18:
As always, I am just trying to spark a global conversation about what is needed. By sharing a vision of what I believe is possible, I hope to influence others to think bigger, better and bolder.
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As for speaking, I continue to search for mainstream audiences who may have an interest in learning more about a realistically hopeful vision for our future - and their role in making that vision come true.
In the months ahead, I will continue to focus on the urgent need for a totally reinvented greening of our civilization - beginning with a model in the USA that could be applied globally over the next fifty years.
Upcoming talks: There are lots of open dates on my calendar and I look forward to the opportunity of tailoring my presentation to best suit an audience you may have in mind:
Universities, churches, book groups, legislative bodies, think-tanks, environmental organizations, alumni associations, leadership clubs, PTA's, family, neighbors
and/or civic groups who may appreciate a message of reality and hope for our future.
What else can you do to help? Three things:
1. Live as greenly as possible while doing all that you can to raise the awareness of "big picture" solutions that are crucially necessary for saving our civilization.
2. Share this BSB and my "Mama Ain't Happy" BSB with prominent journalists, thought leaders and/or elected officials whom you respect. They need to learn a lot more about the many reasons why Mama ain't happy.
3. Here are a few more GRATOLA-related blogs that you can share with your most powerful friends, leaders, journalists and movie producers.
Until next time, just remember...
Humanity is on a collision course with Nature.
A damaged Nature will survive. We may not.
We must change course to avert an ecological disaster.
This SOS Memo series was created by:
J. Morris (Jim) Hicks
CEO, 4Leaf Global, LLC
In the past two years, I have spoken at a VegFest in
Fort Myers, at vsh.org in Honolulu and Kahului, Maui, the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, a Plant Powered Manhattan event in New York, at a lakeside health conference in South Haven, Michigan, in Buffalo, NY, at the University of Scranton, at Dr. Fuhrman's Golden Gate Health Getaway in California and at the Healthy World Sedona Health and Sustainability Conference in AZ.
Promoting health, hope and harmony on planet Earth
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