Wisdom in fragments

Visionary leaders that build great companies have some personality attributes they share. They are self-confident enough to be humble. They have a reservoir, a personal drive, passion, belief in their capabilities, and they're willing to admit what they don't do well and to seek those people to join their team from the very beginning.

Prominent venture capitalist and early Tesla investor at Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Whether we look at the rioters who converged on the capital, the Gamestop Redditors, Incels or Qanon followers, what they have in common is that they're groups of people who are lonely and craving community. That fundamental need for human connection is missing for significant swathes of our population, and that's dangerous.

Economist & Author on Globalization, Corporate Power & Digital Society

Loneliness is thought to be as bad for our health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. If you're lonely, you have a 32% higher chance of getting a stroke, a 29% higher chance of having heart disease and 30% higher chance of dying prematurely.

Economist & Author on Globalization, Corporate Power & Digital Society

The neo-liberal capitalist mindset has been a huge contributor to loneliness. Since the 1980s, a new form of economics came to the fore which enshrined the pursuit of self-interest over the pursuit of collective good. That generated the mindset we see today- me first, dog-eat-dog, greed is good.

Economist & Author on Globalization, Corporate Power & Digital Society

Loneliness very much defines what this century has become. It's a feeling of being disconnected from our government, our fellow citizens and our employer. That feeling of being invisible, unseen and unheard occurs not just from those we are closest to but also from our workplace and state.

Economist & Author on Globalization, Corporate Power & Digital Society

There are all kinds of things where we can use technology to reflect our own humanity to better us.

Creator of AI baby "Baby X" & facial animation technology pioneer

We take ethics very seriously – and it's important to never fool the user. It must be clear that you are dealing with a digital person, not a real person, and at the same time you cannot create any dependency.

Creator of AI baby "Baby X" & facial animation technology pioneer

The ultimate goal is to be in a state of flow with machines. Think about people working with horses, or herding cattle with a dog, they are examples of interactions with other intelligent creatures in a way which is fluid and allows us to achieve something we couldn't do ourselves.

Creator of AI baby "Baby X" & facial animation technology pioneer

When we create digital faces, they have to look and behave organically- they have to trigger that part of your brain that starts to think about what that 'person' would be like.

Creator of AI baby "Baby X" & facial animation technology pioneer

The story is told sincerely, but the cumulative effect is misleading – a subconsciously organised trick.

If I could change only one thing about public understanding of the meritocratic structures in our world, it would be to give more recognition to our hidden heroes.

In the West, we say things like, 'human connection is very important' but in reality, human existence is connection and when we lack the right kind of webs of connection with each other, we cease to exist.

Connection is not a nice to have. When we lose the right kinds of connections with others, we start to feel we don't exist.

The most corrupting idea about power is that it gives you a set of techniques to enable you to get more of what you want, no questions asked. If we think about power in that way, our soul will get eroded.

At the risk of being glib, in the United States, most of the narcissistic sociopaths are also devoutly religious...

Terror Management Theory researcher & social psychologist

I could have been born in the third century as a goat herder in Mongolia, or even as a goat. This is the realization that should open up a mental horizon where we can say, 'I know I'm going to die – maybe in the future, maybe in the next few minutes – and therefore every minute I'm here is precious.'

Terror Management Theory researcher & social psychologist