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- The only question worth asking
A curated community of leaders.
An algorithm didn’t render three Ivy League university presidents incapable of condemning calls for genocide. They managed that all by themselves. Then we dutifully feigned disbelief, silently admitting nothing could be more believable.
A cursory review of human history would lead any reasonable person to conclude that all intelligence is artificial, whether programmed by code or indoctrination. While rightfully considering the consequences of AI’s rapid development, we shouldn’t lose focus on the consequences associated with an accelerated shift in humanity’s values.
This leads to the purpose of this newsletter. With so many leaders engaged in first-order thinking — meaning they attempt to solve immediate problems without considering the consequences — we believe a more rational voice must exist to confront humanity's most pressing issues with careful thought and intention.
The name makes our mission clear. We want to understand why leaders make the decisions they make. Further, we seek to determine whether they’ve taken the time to consider their decisions' potential unintended (or intended) consequences.
There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.”
Our natural inclination is suspicion whenever governments, corporate media, and “experts” are aligned on a particular issue. We’re suspicious because it’s easy to obfuscate and avoid responsibility when things inevitably go awry. Without accountability, it’s impossible to learn from or avoid repeating our mistakes.
While we may wear our favorite team’s jersey at a sporting event, when it comes to the future of humanity, we don’t root for anyone or anything over our species' continued advancement and survival. In other words, we don’t attribute much importance to political affiliation or strict ideological purity. We seek to understand and inform. As Sturgill Simpson sang to his son, “The only word you’ll ever need to know in life is why.”
We invite you to join us and encourage others to subscribe as we posit the only question worth asking.
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