What We Unfold
So much can happen when we allow life to unfold naturally. And become aware that it is us who integrate what is valuable to us. No one else can decide for us what’s valuable when it comes to our choices.
There are people who love to grow and process our own coffee. And then brew it the way we like it on the stove for example. There are also some of us who use technology to make our coffee or beverage of choice. We don’t look at the technologies we use and call them “evil.” Do we need to detox from the espresso machine? Maybe when we seek alternatives to coffee? We get to choose what we consume and how we process what we need.
The key to digital technology is becoming aware of its value to us. I love having video calls with friends and family, despite the physical distance between us, because apart from touch and smell, everything is real. We get to choose how we use any technologies and integrate what is valuable to us into our lives.
Have you noticed that there is a lot of fear of digital technology right now? For example, the love-hate relationship with AI is spreading now. Some are wanting to become cyborgs and have AI and trans-humanism run the world, while many of us are wanting to navigate our own lives.
We have a huge opportunity right now not to focus on the “cool new stuff” by asking ourselves what’s possible and what is that we want.
Traps We Unfold
One of the biggest rabbit holes we keep going down is our need to lead with structure. And it keeps us trapped in the same stories focused on the next shiny object, which now seems to be AI.
We get so excited about being innovative and making progress that we skip and miss the need for integration into our lives. CEOs, for example, meet peers who tell them about a radically disruptive technology they are using. And they tell everyone in their organization that to stay “ahead,” they must follow the disruptors, pronto. But is that aligned and integrated with the overall mission? Does it actually minimizes the human element and creates more havoc than anything else?
The fax machine made everything immediate. There was no need to wait for couriers anymore when faxes were sent in real time. We got obsessed with speed and productivity (structural mechanics) and often forgot why we needed to go fast and how it supported our mission (human dynamics).
When we focus on the benefits of integrating technology, it is a game changer. Technologies change and evolve, but we build the foundation based on what we need. Let’s stop assuming that we are moving into an AI-driven, world, for example, and maybe consider how AI can be an integrated benefit? Why would we continue to give our power away to technologies we create?
Imagine when the people reporting on conversations with AI tools begin to share conversation with other humans instead? And together, we create opportunities. It’s all under our noses.
Choices
Do we want to spend hours washing dishes this holiday season or do we want to stack the dishwasher and spend time visiting with people in dialogue and connection?
Why become machines when we can be messy humans? Maybe AI can do some stuff that allows us to spend more quality time with our kids, elders and people we’d like to connect with? Perhaps this is where HI (human intelligence) plays a major role in us becoming the architects of our own human life?
How do we lift each other and allow ourselves to elevate what we’re here to create?
If we can do it in our personal lives, imagine what we can do to create the next generation of healthy organizational life?
How we react to every situation matters and we are the ones who create and unfold what is next in our lives. We are each needed in this world and our job is to make discerning choices when it comes to our incredible personal power. And who we choose to co-create with with a lot of HI matters deeply.