“Technology and Cultural Values: On the Edge of the Third Millennium”
January 9-21, 2000
Not long ago a human being could live and die in a world that remained relatively constant and familiar. But no more. Humanity has arrived at the edge of the third millennium. The past century has witnessed a veritable explosion in the growth of technologies affective every aspect of the human experience—education, health, economics, environment, communication, politics, and security. And none of the world’s cultures has remained unchallenged as the half-life of these technologies grows shorter and their capacity to penetrate and shape our lives compounds itself. And the pace just gets faster.
These technologies are empowering achievement, enabling us to live our lives and carry out the business of the day with an efficiency and productivity never before imagined. But they are never innocent in fact, they are formative. In many ways, for better and for worse, they create their own culture and often change the world in ways unanticipated by their erstwhile masters. As we, with excitement, try to look into and take command of our immediate future, the horizon is hazy, and the visibility is not good.
The collective and overruling responsibility of humanity has been to sustain the world for the children yet unborn. In our historical moment, more than ever before, this prime directive means that technological power must be accompanied by a considered wisdom. We need to sustain a global conversation that enables us, with deliberation, to see where we are going and why.