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To think that I considered skipping the Game Changers Conference and listening to former President Obama. I was tired, low on energy and not in the mood for a conference. Luckily, kids and husband were outsourced, so I really had no excuse. To think that I could have missed it.
Politics, really?
I know politics can be divisive, and I rarely write about it. And while Obama will always be a political figure, what stayed with me that evening goes beyond politics. And I guess it took me tearing up in emotion as he entered the stage at MEO Arena for me to understand. It brought me back to that night sitting on the couch in Boston as he got elected president and how I felt civilisation was moving forward. And it reminded me of how uncomfortable it feels to have lost so much of that in recent times.
At moments, it feels like a blur to have been there, but luckily, I took notes.
On AI and what makes us human
On the speed of change, much faster than we have seen before, with deep impact on knowledge work. A change that is so accessible to everyone that brings with it significant security concerns at a time when we don’t yet have the guardrails to manage it. And at a time when global trust between nations is eroded as we need it the most.
What about the human qualities that endure?
Caring for people, for instance. Teachers who teach us how to be human rather than just history or geography. That will comfort a child and help them grow. Nurses who take care of a patient and his/her concerns beyond metrics and meds. To comfort the fear of the future.
Immeasurable human impact in a world devoted to KPIs. Can’t be measured, can’t be monetised, can’t be paid. Also, women have historically fulfilled the majority of these roles… and we have not always chosen to pay them well.
Judgement and wisdom, for the areas that we can’t define for the models. We expect models to outperform when there is a unique solution. But judgement is about what is important in life: family, friends, caring for strangers, having perspective.
The truth is, judgement makes life less efficient. Algorithmic decision-making would make for the fastest way to a solution. But we don’t always want efficiency as the maximising factor.
All in all, democracy is not the most efficient way of ruling a country, but it is something we should aim at.
Decisions that have complexity need to consider the judgement of multiple people and different perspectives. Not just a computer or a single person.
This means the education system will need to follow by putting a stronger emphasis on ethics, values, and appreciation for other people, so we can deal with complexity and not relinquish control.
On Politics in a world of uncertainty
With as much poise and candour as one would have expected of him. I felt comforted. Or maybe just less confused. He did not necessarily say that everything is going to be OK, but I certainly felt more at peace.
There is a recognition that the world has gone through major disruptions, and that raises the sense of uncertainty. The outcome is that it makes people revert to old ways – to tribes. A tribal world is a more protectionist one. One where, for people to win, someone needs to lose. A smaller and more isolated world.
At the end of the day, we easily forget democracy is relatively new to the history of civilisation. So it’s not like we have it all figured out. After all, the concept is still fairly radical in parts of the world and perhaps a bit philosophical in others.
Equality is radical.
So we should expect democracy to evolve and be replenished rather than facing these times as a failure of democracy. These times are a natural response to stress, but we don’t need to expect them to be definitive.
Does that mean we just need to wait? Not necessarily. We do need to want equal opportunity, to want democracy, but also to be willing to change what we have. We need leaders that recognise this need, that move fast, that respond to the needs of the people.
The EU is given as a good example. The response it brought to the need for peace decades ago is invaluable. But now, it also creates frustration because things don’t get done, decisions don’t get made.
It is easier to think an authoritarian leader can and will be more efficient by breaking some rules and moving things forward.
It is appealing to think democracy does not work.
Perhaps that was what I needed to hear. Not that everything would be OK, but that uncertainty doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve lost our way.
On Change and how we recover our sense of agency
People need to be at the centre of any change. By believing they have agency and giving them a voice to speak (and imagine) and participate. They will talk to each other. People want to be heard and feel heard. That is where change can start.
We can’t forget that, throughout history, freedom has not been given freely. It has been demanded.
It happened because some people were willing to speak up. And then some other people. And then people related.
Change can happen because people speak up. Not because someone allows them to do so.
But do people still believe the famous ‘yes we can’? Can we even make them believe?
Ultimately, often people feel like life is happening to them. That is the case with the wars, the economy, the technology change. Leaders have the responsibility to restore people’s feeling of agency, that what they do and think matters.
It goes back to education again, to more experiential learning, so people can work through the process, find solutions, challenge assumptions.
This may sometimes feel counter-intuitive to efficiency or convenience. But not all decisions in life need to be tied to convenience or efficiency.
As inspiration fades, Obama wants to remind us that all of us have influence. He urges us to choose one problem, one thing that is important to us and think about what one thing we can do when faced with it. Ideally with someone else.
There is no reason to think we don’t know enough or can’t do enough.
Children think grown-ups have everything figured out. Until they reach adulthood. Because we don’t.
So each of us can have the power to influence what comes next, in our home, our street, our community, our country, the world.
Nobody is more qualified than you to do something.
Obama was, as ever, himself in his ability to inspire and move people.
Did I expect to be so comforted?
Not really.
Did I leave with gratitude to have been part of that small moment of history?
Absolutely.
P.S. These were not his direct words, and this is not a transcript of his speech. These were the themes that called my attention, led me to take notes and made me make a connection in my own reflective way. If you were there and heard differently, be sure to drop me a line. If you felt the same, perhaps, like me, you were in need of hope.