City of Santa Clara’s Post

In the movie "Contact" by Carl Sagan, Dr. Ellie Arroway poses the following question to the committee: Committee: "If you could ask the aliens one question, what would it be?" Dr. Arroway's Answer: "And I suppose the question I would ask is, how did you do it? How did you evolve, how did you survive this technological adolescence without destroying yourself?" This thought-provoking question reflects Dr. Arroway's curiosity about the alien civilization's ability to navigate the challenges of technological advancement without self-destruction. It resonates with our current reality, where humanity is going through a technological adolescence. The rapid growth of technology outpaces our ability to fully comprehend its implications, and it grants the power for one individual to have a significant impact on millions. This question underscores the urgent need to understand how we can navigate this technological adolescence and ensure a sustainable future for all.

Most poeple don't think that the arts are crucial to the economy but they really are! In this article, we look at the latest in economic trends with SmartHub and how the arts are uplifting cities.

"In the movie "Contact" by Carl Sagan, Dr. Ellie Arroway poses the following question to the committee: Committee: "If you could ask the aliens one question, what would it be?" Dr. Arroway's Answer: "And I suppose the question I would ask is, how did you do it? How did you evolve, how did you survive this technological adolescence without destroying yourself?" This thought-provoking question reflects Dr. Arroway's curiosity about the alien civilization's ability to navigate the challenges of technological advancement without self-destruction. It resonates with our current reality, where humanity is going through a technological adolescence. The rapid growth of technology outpaces our ability to fully comprehend its implications, and it grants the power for one individual to have a significant impact on millions. This question underscores the urgent need to understand how we can navigate this technological adolescence and ensure a sustainable future for all."

Vox' Future Perfect team evaluates the liklihood of key 2025 predictions for culture, politics, science, and manufacturing. #2025 #artificialintelligence #predictions https://bit.ly/42atn9u

Interesting to see how Silicon Valley pairs up its shift to the right with how it supports the crucible of social and economic engineering in Sacramento... https://lnkd.in/gDrA9WqM

People who came into this world after the 60's haven't had the privilege of being born into a gleaming vision of a harmonious and vibrant future, and then having that vision torn from their heart. I guess they just live with the dull daily pain of its absence, never knowing how close to greatness our civilization came. Here's what happened, because someone has to document this. In the mid-century, up to the 1960's or so, governments led ambitious socio-technical visions. Then they stopped. Why? Not just because of economic downturns, although that was part of it. Somewhere between the 1970's and 1980's, the pace of technological development outstripped governments' abilities to understand and regulate it. So the technical part of society's techno-humanistic vision moved forward, but the humanistic part was abandoned. Governments gave up on developing ambitious visions to lead society to the future, because they no longer understood the future. They barely understood the present. And here we are.

In this video, we tackle a thought-provoking question: Did both Professor Miller and the late Carl Sagan accurately predict the trajectory of our future? As we witness the alarming rise in the wealth divide, the omnipresence of computer algorithms shaping lives, and the media acting as pawns for Western governments, we can’t help but reflect on their insights. From the targeting of millennials to the economic struggles faced by individuals and couples today, Miller's foresight—carrying on Sagan's legacy—calls into question whether the education system has intentionally misled future generations. With only one meeting between these brilliant minds, they shared parallel visions of society, education, and humanity. Were their predictions spot on, and should we have paid more attention? Join us as we explore the nuances of their foresight and the pressing issues we face today. You decide! Shared by PS Sharma - Post Doctoral Researcher (California) https://lnkd.in/gS8nYaCc https://lnkd.in/g_vFN_fi https://lnkd.in/g_dxyTsp

It's not easy to build a healthy relationship with the #future. Some of the reasons for it include: 1. Our social and sometimes professional circles mostly include people who resemble us. This leads to the exclusion of some alternative points of view about the future 2. We have our own biases as humans. When we talk about the future, it's easy to jump to either extreme - utopia, or more commonly, dystopia 3. It's not easy to come up with artifacts that can help us and others "feel" the future (e.g. articles, videos, images, etc.) If you're curious to learn more about these three points and how to overcome them, I highly recommend this article from Jessica Clark. #futuresthinking #strategicforesight #speculativedesign #innovation https://lnkd.in/eaSZHkBQ

Weekend reading - it's only Thursday but this is lengthy and thought provoking, and very appropriate for our moment in history that is proving to be transitional in so many ways. Stanford Social Innovation Review has shared a publication sponsored by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) titled: Practices for Transitions in a Time Between Worlds https://lnkd.in/gnprbwhA You can download the full document or read the chapters online. Sampling of chapters: These Times Ask More of Us | Practices that will help social sector leaders prepare to usher in a new world. Prefiguring a Future We Want | Imagining and living into a new world requires freedom, space, and support to dream and take risks. An Infrastructure of Care for the Oracular | To create a new world, we need to nurture our ability to foresee it. A Creatrix Praxis Space for Liberation | To build new worlds, we need a place and a set of practices to be able to free our imaginations. Intrigued? #transition

Weekend reading - it's only Thursday but this is lengthy and thought provoking, and very appropriate for our moment in history that is proving to be transitional in so many ways. Stanford Social Innovation Review has shared a publication sponsored by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) titled: Practices for Transitions in a Time Between Worlds https://lnkd.in/gnprbwhA You can download the full document or read the chapters online. Sampling of chapters: These Times Ask More of Us | Practices that will help social sector leaders prepare to usher in a new world. Prefiguring a Future We Want | Imagining and living into a new world requires freedom, space, and support to dream and take risks. An Infrastructure of Care for the Oracular | To create a new world, we need to nurture our ability to foresee it. A Creatrix Praxis Space for Liberation | To build new worlds, we need a place and a set of practices to be able to free our imaginations. Intrigued? #transition