Oh, the doomsayers.
The pundits, futurists and prophets predicting the end of civilization with the rise of robots.
They may be right.
Yet I do wonder whether we’re looking at this historic moment through the wrong lens.
Perhaps AI (the intelligence that drives the machines) will not diminish humanity. Perhaps—if we are wise enough—it will force us to become more completely human.
Human beings have always been frightened by profound change. The unfamiliar feels dangerous before it becomes ordinary.
Consider the printing press Test. When Gutenberg's movable-type printing transformed Europe in the 1400s, it threatened the established order. Suddenly ideas, propaganda and dissent could travel farther, and faster, than before.
Yet ultimately the printing press helped make knowledge dramatically cheaper and more abundant—and became one of the foundations of modern civilization.
Then came the Industrial Revolution. Machines really did eliminate certain forms of work. Skilled craftspeople feared becoming obsolete. Yet mechanization also multiplied human productivity, created entirely new industries and helped raise living standards on an extraordinary scale.
Then came electricity. An invisible force capable of killing a human being understandably terrified people who did not yet understand it.
Today, electricity has dissolved into the infrastructure of civilization. We barely think about it. Yet almost everything around us depends upon it.
Maybe AI will follow a similar path. I predict it will.
So my offering to you on this sunny early-autumn morning on the farm is this:
The smartest way to beat AI may be not to beat it at all. It may be to learn to live brilliantly alongside it.
Because every great technology enlarges human power. The question is whether human wisdom (and leadership) enlarges with it.
That distinction matters.
…The printing press could publish Shakespeare—or propaganda.
…Electricity could illuminate a hospital—or decimate a village.
…AI could cure diseases, democratize expertise and release millions of people from repetitive work.
Or it could accelerate manipulation, distraction and dehumanization.
Technology does not relieve you and I of responsibility. It increases it.
And so I believe one of the great opportunities of this artificial age is not merely learning how to use AI. It is learning how to become more deeply human because of it.
To protect our creativity. To pursue a mission. To strengthen our courage. To reclaim our attention. To deepen our relationships. To trust our instinct. To make things that matter. To be of service to others. And, yes, to love more fully.
As our machines become more human, we must make sure our humans do not become more machine-like.
This is one of the core ideas within my new book, The Robot and the Gardener: Being Fully Human in an Artificial Age.
And it is why I created The Fully Human Sessions: Living with Greater Meaning, Mastery and Freedom in an Artificial Age.
These are not sessions about becoming anti-technology. Not at all.
It is a four-part live learning experience designed to help you use the extraordinary possibilities of this new age without surrendering the qualities that make you irreplaceably human.
Over four live sessions, I'll teach you the frameworks, philosophies and practical methods I believe leaders, entrepreneurs and everyday human beings need to do their finest work and live their richest lives in the years ahead.
THE FULLY HUMAN SESSIONS
SESSION ONE — PROTECT BEING HUMAN
How to Fortify Your Greatest Gifts in the Artificial Age
Strengthen the human gifts technology cannot replace—creativity, empathy, instinct, courage and presence—while learning to use technology without surrendering what makes you human.
SESSION TWO — DO A+ WORK
How to Achieve Mastery, Leadership and Exceptional Productivity in a Distracted World
Learn to protect your attention, deepen your focus and produce exceptional work through craftsmanship, disciplined execution and doing fewer things extraordinarily well.
SESSION THREE — THE DNA OF A RICH LIFE
How to Find Greater Happiness, Fulfilment and Joy in a World That Never Stops
Discover how to cultivate greater joy, meaningful relationships, inner peace, peak health and a deeper appreciation of the ordinary moments that make a life rich.
SESSION FOUR — THE LIVE FREE FRAMEWORK
How to Break Free from Fear, Approval and the Expectations of the World
Break free from fear, comparison and external validation so you can make braver choices, live according to your deepest values and build a life that genuinely feels like your own.
When you join me for the complete experience, you'll receive:
• Four live teaching sessions with me
• Four live Q&A sessions following each teaching
• Full access to the recordings
• A progressive curriculum in which each session builds upon the previous one
• Early access to Humanitara, my upcoming platform for helping people become fully human in an artificial age, along with an extended complimentary trial
Investment for the complete four-part experience: $1,000.
I have spent much of my life studying a simple question:
What allows a human being to realize more of their potential while living with greater meaning, mastery and freedom?
I believe that question has never mattered more than it does now.
If that speaks to where you are in your life and work right now, I'd be delighted to have you join me.
Join The Fully Human Sessions here.
Very best wishes,
Robin
