Wisdom in fragments

Imagine if Coca Cola said, 'well, we *could* take the sugar out of our drink, but how else would we give the world diabetes?' – we have information diabetes.

Design ethicist & founder of Center for Humane Technology

If Russia or China try to fly a plane into the United States, they'll be shut down by a USAF F35 that we spent a trillion-dollars developing. Meanwhile, if they try and fly an information plane into the United States they're met with Facebook and Google algorithms that run an auction to enable them to get the maximum audience, for the cheapest price. They're met with a white glove that takes them directly to their target.

Design ethicist & founder of Center for Humane Technology

Technology claims to be showing us a mirror of what was already present in society- racism, conspiracy theories- but in reality, technology is a funhouse mirror with a feedback loop that's engineered to show us the most egregious parts of society… those parts that are better at keeping our attention. The mirror gets more and more warped, but we mistake it for an honest and neutral view of who we are.

Design ethicist & founder of Center for Humane Technology

Our past technologies, such as hammers, didn't manipulate or influence our weaknesses… they didn't have a business model dependent on building a voodoo doll of the hammer owner that allowed them to predict the hammer owner's behaviour, showing them videos of home construction such that mean they use the hammer every day. A hammer is just sitting there patiently waiting to be used.

Design ethicist & founder of Center for Humane Technology

I worry that the emotional side has these days too much dominance over the rational. We think we're being rational, but unconsciously we're being swayed by the power of some of the images and words that we've seen, particularly on social media.

Former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator & National Security Adviser

The ability to build trust is an essential human skill but it's not easy to build trust relationships quickly and certainly not in the midst of crisis. That comes from consistent behaviour that demonstrates integrity, honesty, truthfulness, and keeping one's word.

Former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator & National Security Adviser

In comparing alternative explanations, it is not necessarily the one with the most evidence apparently in its favour that we should choose but the one with least evidence against it. One solid piece of evidence can demolish a hypothesis.

Former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator & National Security Adviser

We wouldn't want to live in a world of full transparency. That is a world where I can see into your brain, and you into mine. Perhaps one day this will be possible… we will be able to plug into each other's brains, and I will experience the world as you, and you as me…. A hive-mind… I just hope I'm not around when that technology arrives.

Former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator & National Security Adviser

Our knowledge of the world is always fragmentary and incomplete and our explanations of how the world works have therefore to be considered as provisional. This means we have to accept that sometimes we will turn out afterwards to have been wrong. But we can use that knowledge to learn and refine our ideas.

Former UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator & National Security Adviser

In the early days it was controversy… I remember, back then, thinking that there was something good about not being acceptable to everyone… it made us stand out from the crowd, and courted press attention.

Founder and former CEO of Ann Summers lingerie and party plan business

I remember taking my daughter to a speech I gave when she was just 5 years old, I wanted her to see mummy on stage as a way of showing her that she could be whatever she wanted to be.

Founder and former CEO of Ann Summers lingerie and party plan business

If you don't empower your team, you are doing them a disservice and it's not about working long, long hours but working smartly, productively, and sharing the workload with others who you are able to empower.

Founder and former CEO of Ann Summers lingerie and party plan business

We need to give women the freedom and confidence to believe and be whatever they want to. This isn't just about business, but about social conditioning in all cultures. Even now I experience inequality- I see it when I go to external meetings and I see two solicitors, both equal, and a female pouring the tea.

Founder and former CEO of Ann Summers lingerie and party plan business

I remember writing myself a letter- it's something I encourage women to do today- listing the things they've achieved in their career and personal lives. Before you go into that next important meeting, event or anything outside your comfort zone it's a great tool to give yourself that boost. Women need to be their own cheerleaders and remind themselves of the amazing things they've achieved.

Founder and former CEO of Ann Summers lingerie and party plan business

I'm extremely proud of the fact that we have driven social and cultural change. I have always wanted women to be empowered, and we've given them that opportunity. At the beginning, we said our events were going to be for women only, it enabled women to talk to each other about their sex lives in private, in a safe and unintimidating environment, and that was part of women's sexual empowerment as a movement.

Founder and former CEO of Ann Summers lingerie and party plan business

This year our footprint has gone down, but that has come at a huge human cost. There's no way we can aspire to decarbonise the way we have done this year, that's not responsible, the human cost cannot be sustained. We need responsible decarbonisation that creates jobs, creates wellbeing, and leaves the climate net better at the end.

Former UN Climate Change Executive Secretary & Global Climate Action Leader