Corporate Lectures
Themes for Corporate and General Lectures:
Science, Technology, and Humanity’s Future
What kind of future will current technologies create? What impact will these technologies have in our individual lives and at the corporate level? I analyze the social, economic, and ethical impact of new technologies, including AI, genetic engineering, and data mining digital technologies, focusing on how we can make sure that they serve our project of civilization sustainably and ethically, instead of creating a dystopic future.
Science Lessons for the Corporate World
Science and its practice have much to teach to the corporate life. Science requires humility to accept that knowledge is always limited, the courage to take risks and make mistakes, the understanding that failure is an essential part of growth and learning. In science, disruptive ideas come from the limitations and failures of previous ideas. The search for the new is essential for progress, even if the new clashes with past practices and worldviews. I use examples from the history of science to illustrate how they can enrich the corporate life, aligning it to foster new ideas, maximizing the creative power of corporate leaders and employers at all levels.
How to Sustain our Project of Civilization: Corporate Ethics for the 21st Century
Astronomy teaches that everything that exists has a history: the universe, stars, planets, life. Our existence and survival is profoundly contingent to what happens to our home planet. Imbalances in climate or in air and water quality and access, war and geopolitical instability, and the fragile equilibrium that determines the stability of human society quickly collapses. After 200 years of accelerated industrial growth, our very success has become an existential risk for humankind. We, as a species, are at a crossroads and the choices we make now will determine the course of our project of civilization. I explore these ideas and connections between cosmos and life using a systemic view of planetary science and economics, proposing a new paradigm for corporate ethics that can reframe the future of our species and the life collective we coexist with.
Our Search for Meaning
I explore teachings from philosophy, science, and religion to situate our existence as a self-searching narrative. To live with a sense of mission and act on these objectives has the power to change who we are and why we are here. I present my Theory of Existential Circles, that start at the individual, go on to family and community, and expand to embrace the planet and the cosmos, to illustrate our connection to and co-dependence with all that exists, inspiring a new emotional path that seeks to be emotionally transformative, embracing humility and spirituality. We are the product of our choices, and how we choose to live and to relate to others and to the world around us must align with all the existential circles we belong to.
The Mystery of Who We Are
Humans are an enigma, animals capable of contemplating infinity, of writing poems and composing symphonies, but also of committing atrocious crimes against other humans, animals, and the planetary environment. How did we get here? Why do we still behave in such ways, after thousands of years of “civilization”? We build technological wonders while morally remaining in the caves of our distant ancestors. Is there a way to celebrate growth not as a personal or monetary victory but as a good that should be shared more equitably? Is it possible to grow morally in a world of challenges and temptations? These are some of the questions I explore in this lecture, suggesting solutions informed by science and philosophy that embrace profound emotional and spiritual changes aligned with a new future for our species.
