A.I. JFK & Having the ‘Rice Stuff’
True story.
Got a note a short while ago from my friends with the WAVE Business Leadership group in Taiwan asking if I could create a short video about A.I.
I responded back by saying, I may not be the best person to weigh in on this topic. Can’t really speak to the subject with any first-hand knowledge. Would they like any recommendations on who might be a better fit?
Here is the message that came back from Taipei:
“We would love for you to create a video sharing your thoughts on a belief that remains timeless. Even in the age of A.I., it’s crucial that business leaders need to know how to: “Tell Stories & Create Magic.” With A.I. transforming industries, automating tasks, and generating content, some may wonder—what space is left for human creativity? But storytelling and magic represent much more than a transfer of data and information; they’re about emotion, connection, and meaning. Would love to hear your insights. Let’s remind people why stories and creativity are more important and powerful than ever!”
With that request, it became clear that maybe there was a way to communicate all those things. How leaders will always need to touch the human spirit in a way that sends hearts soaring. More reflection led to thinking about a moment in history where one 18-minute story launched a stratospheric wave of massive change, spell-binding innovation, unbridled passion, and a dramatic surge in national pride.
At a time when America needed to hear it most, John F. Kennedy stepped up to a podium on a football field at Rice University in Houston, Texas and delivered “The Moon Speech”. It was a rallying cry back then and is still relevant today; a personal challenge to find “The Rice Stuff” on Leaders & Legends.
“There is a connection, hard to explain logically but easy to feel, between achievement in public life and progress in the arts. The age of Lorenzo de Medici was also the age of Leonardo da Vinci. The age of Elizabeth also the age of Shakespeare. And the New Frontier for which I campaign in public life, can also be a New Frontier for American art”
p.s…. This piece became a personal mission to uncover something more meaningful about the magical frailty of art itself and the attacks it currently faces from machines. Only a leader knows if the creating art should represent so much more than just a convenient marketing tool or any other form of propaganda. It opens the door to a Pandora’s Box of ethical questions such as: How does a company that espouse values like ‘authenticity’, ‘transparency’ and being ‘real’ turn around and let digital robots determine their voice and message? How does any reader nowadays know what’s real and what’s not? Business owners who are stampeding to outsource social media content to be processed by a machine also run the very real risk of handing over the building and nurturing of meaningful relationships to a robot. Could easy shortcuts and time savings come at the heavy expense of losing public trust and credibility?
These are just some of the very hard questions leaders are reflecting on, let alone the questions surrounding the people who build and maintain all of the latest A.I. applications. What are the end game intentions of the people behind this technology because I can recall a certain Harvard guy named Mark proclaiming how great Facebook was going to be; how it would connect the entire world in peace, love and harmony through the spreading of communication sunshine, rainbows, lollipops and unicorns. How it was going to be ‘super cool’ and allow everyone in the world to connect with everyone else. Back in those heady days of their initial IPO was there any talk of how truth and democracy itself would come under relentless attack thanks to faceless people who create algorithms. Because what does any of that matter when stock options are on the line?
♫♫ … “In the chill of night at the scene of a crime. Like a streak of light, he arrives just in time”. ♫♫
The stark reality is that there is no technology, big business or political superhero coming to save any one of us. No caped crusader or polished professional ‘influencer’ to protect us from evil and light the way. The real power lies within us; to become our own web headed wonders, ensure any tech tools we use are aligned with our values and remember the enduring words of Uncle Ben Parker.
p.p.s…. special thanks to the enthusiastic Mike Langford from Austin who took the drive to Houston so we could hang out at places like a Vistage meeting and the Olive Garden. Mike was the guy who ran the video camera that day at Rice University and witnessed how the essence of what JFK delivered that day in September of 1962, was captured in a single take. Without using A.I.
Originally from Boston, Mike is a huge NBA fan, a global expert on podcasting and also happens to run a growing enterprise called PodBox. You can find him here: https://www.podbox.com/
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