https://www.ft.com/content/19d90308-6858-11ea-a3c9-1fe6fedcca75
"Humankind is now facing a global crisis. Perhaps the biggest crisis of
our generation. The decisions people and governments take in the next
few weeks will probably shape the world for years to come. They will
shape not just our healthcare systems but also our economy, politics and
culture. We must act quickly and decisively. We should also take into
account the long-term consequences of our actions. When choosing between
alternatives, we should ask ourselves not only how to overcome the
immediate threat, but also what kind of world we will inhabit once the
storm passes. Yes, the storm will pass, humankind will survive, most of
us will still be alive — but we will inhabit a different world.
Many short-term emergency measures will become a fixture of life. That
is the nature of emergencies. They fast-forward historical processes.
Decisions that in normal times could take years of deliberation are
passed in a matter of hours. Immature and even dangerous technologies
are pressed into service, because the risks of doing nothing are bigger.
Entire countries serve as guinea-pigs in large-scale social experiments.
What happens when everybody works from home and communicates only at a
distance? What happens when entire schools and universities go online?
In normal times, governments, businesses and educational boards would
never agree to conduct such experiments. But these aren’t normal times.
In this time of crisis, we face two particularly important choices. The
first is between totalitarian surveillance and citizen empowerment. The
second is between nationalist isolation and global solidarity."
Via Bill Daul.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://www.xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
http://www.glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
http://www.sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
