Ben Sasse has Stage 4 metatastic cancer. Based on his initial 4-month prognosis, he should be already dead as he discussed recently.
In today’s Wall Street Journal, he wrote an Op-Ed on “Habits for Humanity in the Age of AI.” The article is “adapted from his speech accepting the Manhattan Institute’s Alexander Hamilton Award on May 6.”
Perhaps because he is staring death in the face, Sasse writes with clarity of the moment we now face:
“A technological revolution is driving an economic revolution in our time, and the changes in this economy are already having and will have more profound spiritual, cultural, educational and even political implications—though the political is arguably the least important.“
Sasse correctly identifies the importance of asking fundamental questions about human flourishing, the stuff once left to philosophers:
“The challenge is how to live with virtue and technology when technology tends to erode virtue and place and human texture. Our response must be to cultivate habits, community and a revivification of place.“
He even outlines 4 habits we can teach our kids:
- Reading books.
- Hard work.
- Tech sabbaths.
- Serious travel.
Amen to that.
But what more can we do?
Although Sasse focuses on the family’s role and seems skeptical of the role of government, I see no way to ignore scrutinizing our political institutions — and their dysfunctions — to truly tackle the many challenges we will soon face.
These political questions are central to answering how can humans flourish when, perhaps for the first time, humans face a form of intelligence that surpasses them.
These political questions expose human weaknesses and their inability to agree on matters of importance. As Madison wrote eloquently in the Federalist Papers No. 10:
The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man; and we see them everywhere brought into different degrees of activity, according to the different circumstances of civil society.
Federalist papers no. 10
A zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and many other points, as well of speculation as of practice; an attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for pre-eminence and power; or to persons of other descriptions whose fortunes have been interesting to the human passions, have, in turn, divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good.
So strong is this propensity of mankind to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions and excite their most violent conflicts.
Madison’s words seem like they were written today. A Gallup poll reported: “A record-high 80% of U.S. adults believe Americans are greatly divided on the most important values.”
Although Americans are divided on the benefits and drawbacks of AI, 71% fear AI will result in job losses.
Sasse mentions this problem, even suggesting that the U.S. will have to have a “big messy debate” over universal basic income (UBI), a policy that he disagrees with. Sasse says the debate over UBI “will dwarf the fights over ObamaCare, the Great Society, and the New Deal.”
At least he didn’t say dwarf all those debates combined.