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David DeSteno's avatar

I get the point from Douthat and others about the tech-trad alignment. But I think there’s also a part that’s missing: humility. The tech bros have an implicit assumption that they can figure it all out. Wonder, yes, but optimize/analyze too. In that sense, the true humility that is a necessary part of spiritual traditions/practices goes missing. We’re seeing it already.

Take psychedelics. People are doing ayahuasca / psilocybin on hipster retreats or in the halls of Silicon Valley. But without the ritualistic guardrails provided by traditional ceremonies/shamans, up to 20% of trips go badly. Stripping chemicals from ancient practices just shows hubris. Same for tech and spirituality. We’re already seeing robot/AI “priests” and advisors. Yes, people believe they can show empathy and wisdom, but it’s a veneer that seems acceptable because so much of our life is lived interacting with technology rather than other people.

What worries me is the confidence the tech industry has that it can solve the big questions. To borrow Greg Epstein’s phrase, tech is becoming like a new religion, but to me it’s one based on optimization without wisdom.

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John Wilson's avatar

Musk "agrees" with Jesus... that's rich. We must have different understandings of the word... I wonder how Musk defines "servant" or "sacrifice"? Perhaps "humility" needs reviewed as well.

I'm sure Musk thinks he's the savior of the world... that is probably where the confusion begins

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