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Societal Transformation Articles

As an elder, Jim Selman turned his attention to some of the larger narratives at play in society. Politics, artificial intelligence, and aging were common subjects in his conversations and writing. We invite you to engage with the ideas he was playing with in these articles.

 

Healing America’s Festering Sore

Do you dread speaking up when politics enter a conversation? Jim Selman suggests a practical strategy for participating in this June 2024 post.


America’s Festering Sore

The 2024 U.S. election wasn’t about Democrats versus Republicans. Jim Selman shares his perspective on what was in the background in this post.


Our Spectator Society

Jim Selman confronts his screen addiction and what he can do about it in this June 2024 article.


Complaints & Complacency

Jim Selman riffs on being a responsible citizen, commitment, and constitutional democracy in this June 2024 article.


Who is responsible for leadership?

Jim Selman shared these thoughts about how we can relate to presidential leadership on Medium in February 2018.


Time to Saddle Up

Wonder how Trump succeeds at hijacking our conversations? Jim Selman shares three reasons in this article, originally posted June 20th 2018 on Medium.


Ethics & AI: The Importance of Context

There are three requirements for making ethical choices: a background, a context, and an observer. What if we can’t tell whether our context is being created by human beings or by AI?


Ethics & AI: The Basics

Does AI have ethics? Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is still a dream. But generative AI (GenAI) influences and impacts our business choices and practices today.


Action in Language

Leaders use the tool of language to mobilize people to action. Can GenAI, with all its conversational capabilities, help?


Talking to Stones

Communicating a possibility you see is often an uphill battle. Not because you can’t explain yourself well, but because of the universally dangerous condition Jim calls “cognitive blindness”.


In my Lifetime

None of us really knows where the world is headed. So how do you, as a leader, talk about the future?


Where Did Sentience Begin?

The debate about whether artificial intelligence can—or will—become sentient continues. Meanwhile, here’s how to achieve some degree of serenity by taking charge of how you relate to AI.


Doomsday: A Dead End?

AI has hacked our reality. This alien intelligence is evolving at a remarkable pace. What can leaders do to avoid succumbing to doomsday scenarios?


Close Encounters

Now that AI has entered the picture, all bets are off. This article is a good place to begin to enter the conversation and move beyond all the positive and negative scenarios.


Serene Ambition

Flying blind in a permanent state of uncertainty? This article offers leaders grappling with our rapidly evolving “real-time world” a practical strategy for staying sane.