Kevin Kelly - What Technology Wants and Why We Need Humans in The Future

Today our guest is Kevin Kelly, the founding editor of Wired magazine, former publisher of the Whole Earth Review, and author of many books, including his latest one called ["The Inevitable]"](https://goo.gl/78orqo), which forecasts the twelve technological forces that will shape the next thirty years.

This episode airs in two parts. In the first, we talk about what technology wants, the new sharing economy, and creating a smart environment.

In the second, we look at how artificial intelligence and artificial consciousness will shape the future of work and life, what will make humans uniquely useful in this scenario, and reasons to be optimistic for the future.

In This Episode of Future Thinkers:

What technology wants: the biases of technium, or technology viewed as a whole system
Deep engagement with technology as the only way to become aware of its wants
Inevitable vs. unpredictable developments of technology
New sharing economy and the transition of value from owning to the benefit of access
Smart environment - the idea of superabundance or fulfilling all life needs on demand
Flattening of hierarchical structures and the cost of decentralization at scale
Why the idea of a global government meets resistance on both left and right side of political spectrum
Mobility as a universal human right and why next generation cities and states will compete for humans
How we can work together with different varieties of conscious AIs in the future
Asking good questions — a uniquely human trait that cannot be replicated by AIs
Possible future professions related to AI industry like AI curator or AI whisperer
Implications of AI safety movement and the inconsistent ethics of humans
Decentralizing manifestations of AR — mixed reality world
Censorship concerns in a post-ownership society
Why studying history can make us optimistic about the future