From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
People were sure that they were risking death when building mutual aid webs or asking for dignity on the streets of our great cities around the world. People are choosing humanity, dignity, freedom and equality as ideals even when they perceive a risk of dying.
Conditional on the emergence of the human brain, civilisation was inevitable for many reasons. We had a commendable population in Africa 300,000 years ago and given the fact that these individuals were equipped with the power of the modern brain, the emergence of civilisation was inevitable.
This has been a heart-wrenching day, and I will never forget the destruction and suffering that I have witnessed. I have visited the scenes of many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this. The scale is so large: so many people, in so many places, in so much need…
The French Revolution really is this incredible hinge in the story of Western political thought. For a long time, it was just taken for granted that the French Revolution was the starting point of political modernity.
There were large segments of the population with tremendous talent, who were being overlooked and underestimated because they didn't have the right 'pedigree.' – These individuals had fabulous business ideas and were genuinely going to change the world as they were solving real problems.
A lot of business leaders were watching all this and seeing it as a warning call… they felt that they had to figure out how to operate better or risk losing their operating license.
Artists have always been part of networks; Art history is more connected than we have believed.
We don't trust human beings to do things without being audited, and we're now getting AI to do those very same things without the same checks and balances.
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.
When you're a child, you define your team as those wearing the same jerseys and your team's goal is to defeat anyone wearing different jerseys. But as you get older, your notion of what constitutes a team evolves.
I made a principled decision that none of my wealth will be passed on as inheritance, that my capital will work for philanthropic causes. In other words, philanthropy is the reason I make money.
It feels to us that the festival is owned by the people, and me and my Dad are kind-of custodians of it. In that sense, it's a bit like a sailing ship… me and my Dad drive it, but the ship is made of a few hundred people.