Preface

'Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.'1

These past three years have been particularly challenging for nearly everyone living on planet Earth, with the exception of the few, for whom financial concerns are not incidental to their daily lives. The global pandemic has shaken liberal democracies to their core, called into question the inequities of the capitalist system; and left war-torn, grief-stricken populations grappling to find new meaning in their lives.

Chief Executive Officers and the Boards of Directors are under increasing pressure to resolve the most intractable societal problems. They have sought to stabilise increasingly 'fragile' systems to ensure business continuity, whilst confronted with faltering business models, concerns over health in the workforce, safety and security issues, severe supply-chain disruption and climate change. Recent legislation is set to further regulate the functioning of Socio-Technical Systems and Artificial Intelligence, an all too pervasive part of our 'reality.'

This may at first glance appear overwhelming. However, human beings are remarkably adaptive and resilient.

We are at a new 'tipping point,' in the midst of a great transition without clear sight of our desired outcomes. It seems we are in a mad race for a destination that is as yet unknown. We do not have a clear vision and consequently the strategy as to how we will reach our new destination appears nebulous. However, this is an intrinsic part of the process of change. The so-called Exponential Age of Technology or the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the 21st century, is the moment 'to learn something about everything and everything about something,' lest you be left behind.

What concerns me, and I imagine many Business Leaders, is how we shall interact successfully with emergent technologies, and where this will take us on our future path of evolution. How shall we re-imagine our digital future for the benefit of Humanity and the Planet? Our quest to find meaning in the present and future reality shall be the subject matter of this book. A message to the unborn child, that through our uniqueness, consciousness, intelligence, curiosity, creativity and courage, we may still recognise what it means to be a 'human being,' distinct from other inanimate forms of 'Artificial Intelligence,' with the continuing evolution of homo sapiens.

As human beings, we have the unique ability to explore the past for lessons learned, while envisioning the future in the realm of the imagination. In contrast, 'Artificial Intelligence,' a subset of which is the confusingly named 'machine learning,' cannot compute nor fully discern the multifaceted dimensions of our 'reality.' We should not undervalue the power of the human mind, nor assume partially understanding the structure of some of the processes occurring within the human brain, sufficiently explain the full complexity of the same. Cognitive and perceptive abilities in human beings have developed over millennia and the intricacies of the same are not yet understood. In contrast, computers are only just beginning to learn; they serve to imitate some of the structures of the human brain and fail to replicate the complexity of human thought and actions.

Huxley, in his 'Romanes Lecture' in 1893, refers to ethical considerations as emanating from the 'cultured reflection' human beings have developed over time to form a sense of justice. This is, in turn, denoted by 'action from right motive,' which he goes on to qualify further as 'the positive constituent of innocence and the very heart of goodness.'2

To an extent, this still constitutes our notion of ethics today, and it is from the evolution of culture that societal norms develop. However, this essential notion of 'goodness' has not necessarily been translated into the Socio-Technical Systems,3 which operate in society across many sectors and run a large part of our lives today. From financial services to government institutions, business and manufacturing, as citizens, we are effectively entangled in a complex dynamic web of systems, which make up the greater whole. However, algorithms are structured using formal logic, a narrow set of mathematical rules to determine 'binary choices:' option A as an intended outcome, as opposed to option B, the less desirable unintended outcome. These computational processes rely on computable data being fed into the system; they are not yet general enough to take in the nuances of the human form of natural language and a highly complex changing reality. Often disproportionate and non-transparent algorithms and data sets lead to 'black box' or unexplainable outcomes, leaving potentially adverse effects on individual citizens unmitigated and residual risks undisclosed.

The fact that we are sometimes unable to explain how the algorithm has reached a given output adds an element of danger, depending on the context in which the particular model is being used. It begs the question as to whether we should continue to pursue current research to create 'Artificial super intelligence' to surpass our own capacities, if we are then putting ourselves in a situation where we cannot arrest the systems.4 In the commercial sphere, we are surrounded by 'noise,' and it is not an easy task to extricate biases or errors embedded in the data being collected, which is used to train these systems. Since personal data about human beings is being collected indiscriminately, the potential for autonomous systems to cause harm is extremely high. Had we thought about the ethical values a priori, about what is truly desirable, we may have averted the worst outcomes. Just because we can use technology to assist a given task, doesn't mean we should.

The difficulty being that to reconcile 'the course of evolution into harmony with even the elementary requirements of the ethical ideal of the just and the good,' has proven an elusive goal for millennia; as Huxley so eloquently puts it both for the 'ancient sage whether Indian or Greek.'5 Thus, in many of our modern theories and assumptions, we have conveniently ignored the 'messy' nature of human morality, which is not so readily and neatly tied up into pure mathematical logic. We have chosen instead to look through an overly simplistic lens, constituting a somewhat imperfect and rather incomplete view of the reality; for instance, in economics, which underpins the thinking in modern businesses and governments that are inclined to take decisions based on the available and likely flawed data.

However, we need to take a much more nuanced view of emerging complexities in the reality, and strive to create innovative solutions to resolve structural and systemic problems that have thus far hindered progress. We need to prepare for surprising events and build a new capability, systematically, consciously and deliberately to ensure the future success of the Enterprise and the survival of our species. I call this capability Adaptive ResilienceT and we will explore what this means in nine dimensions, from Vision through to Evolution.

I hope you will enjoy the journey and that this book will spark the reader's curiosity and eventually inspire a new way of thinking. If we seek to transform our present reality, we need to change our thinking. It is within our reach to create a better world, though new solutions to our 'wicked problems' cannot be found through disparate actions or wilfully blinkered views of emergent complexities in the reality before us. Our world is constantly changing. It continuously evolves and transforms itself synergistically with the laws of nature and the universe, which we do not fully understand. We can envision an alternative future, provided we acknowledge the value of human relationships, our interdependencies and interconnectedness with the natural world. A world that consciously turns away from fear, anger, and negative self-interest can move towards a more positive growth trajectory. Celebrating the uniqueness of our human consciousness and ingenuity together with the infinite possibilities we are capable of discovering and exploring, for the benefit of all humanity and our planet.

'All nature is but art, unknown to thee;

All chance, direction, which thou canst not see;

All discord, harmony not understood;

All partial evil, universal good;

And spite of pride, in erring reason's spite

One truth is clear: whatever is, is right.'6

London, 6 February 2023

Notes

1. 1.  Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 - 29 June 1895) - English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. Best known for his courageous defence of evolutionary theory proposed by Darwin. Recognising evolution is not a straight line, he focused on evolutionary relationship between the species and in particular, revealed distinctive features of the human brain relative to our ancestors.
2. 2.  Thomas Henry Huxley - 'Evolution and Ethics' The Romanes Lecture, 1893,...