"Our future will turn into heaven or hell thanks to technologies and AI – the decision is up to us", stated futurist Gerd Leonhard at the CONNECTED conference.

One of the headliners of the CONNECTED conference is Gerd Leonhard from Switzerland, a futurist, humanist, and author of the book "Technology vs. Humanity”.

He is currently among the top ten key speakers futurists and is a film director managing his own film studio, TFA Studios, as well as the CEO of The Futures Agency, a global network of over 50 leading futurists.

Leonhard presented a talk titled "Humans and machines, human intelligence and artificial intelligence: The World by 2030" to the conference participants.

As the speaker noted, AI is a widely applicable technology, like a fire or a printing press. It is also a new technological platform that can be either a paradise or a hell, depending on whether these tools will dominate us or whether the human telos (purpose and meaning) will prevail. Gerd Leonhard is convinced that the more power and capabilities we have, the more wisdom we will need.

According to his assessments, science fiction is becoming a reality as "smart" machines – both physical and virtual – take on more tasks previously deemed impossible for digital systems. As a result, intellectual work is rapidly transforming, forcing us to rethink what it means to be a human in our daily lives, professions, and organizations.

"We must embrace new opportunities while protecting and preserving our humanity. We need to redefine values and goals that go beyond increasing efficiency or financial gains. In the coming era of AI, we will be valued not for our ability to manage technologies or become faster with their help, but for our androrhythms – our unique human skills and qualities" Gerd Leonhard

In his presentation, the speaker discussed how to distinguish the important and real from the false and dangerous when it comes to AI. He also explained how we can harness the power of AI for the prosperity of people and the planet, achieving happiness, success, and well-being.

As Gerd Leonhard reminded, the convergence of humans and machines is already occurring today, and we can observe it in our daily lives.

"It is said that we have more relationships with our phone screens than with people, because we use our phones so much. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, I can now simply press a button and translate a text into another language. Two years ago, ChatGPT was launched. The idea was to invent a machine capable of answering our questions. ChatGPT was comparable to the launch of the first Earth satellite, an event that sparked the competition for space. Now, ChatGPT has launched its own competition in the development of AI. On a global level, we see how people are already getting accustomed to using AI" Gerd Leonhard

According to him, humanity is currently living in the midst of several revolutions. The digital revolution has led to the digitization of everything, including television, banking, education, and business. The energy revolution is changing the ways we obtain heat and electricity, as the world increasingly moves away from fossil fuels, with technologies, investments, politics, and economies concentrating on renewable "green" energy.

"If you are 20, you are already a citizen of the planet, thanks to the internet and social networks. In just five years, we will see the migration of money and power to the next generation from those who are currently 60 years old to representatives of the younger generation. This will bring different politics, more diversification, more freedom, and diversity, all of which will happen by 2030" Gerd Leonhard

The technological revolution raises the question for people: "What can machines give us?" However, the futurist believes it is wrong to consider AI as a slave to humans. Applications and programs will become digital agents for performing tasks that require concentration and precision, as well as processing large volumes of data.

But we may also find ourselves dependent on machines and technologies. Even today, a person who does not know how to use a smartphone, applications, and programs might simply not be hired.

"AI will help treat cancer, but at the same time, someone might use that same technology to create an artificial person, a super-soldier. This is a challenge for us. How will we live in a world where technologies have such power? Will we end up in hell or in heaven with these technologies? That is a decision we must make. The governments should assist us in this. We must maximize the probability of heaven and minimize the likelihood of hell" Gerd Leonhard

Overall, Gerd Leonhard believes that the future can be bright if we set the right priorities and focus on people, the planet, goals, and prosperity.

The CONNECTED-2024 international conference, focused on conceptualizing the vision of the future, took place in Astana on October 18-19.

The agenda included 18 panel sessions featuring more than 70 international speakers from the USA, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, China, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Israel, Turkey, UAE, South Africa, Nepal, Uzbekistan.

The uniqueness of the CONNECTED conference lies in its worldview approach to discussing global issues. The CONNECTED conference does not limit itself to a single system of values or knowledge; instead, it openly explores the multifaceted world through the lens of various fields – from science and art to philosophy and social sciences.

The general sponsor of CONNECTED is AITAS – the leading agro-industrial holding in the country.

The strategic partners of the event included the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Foundation for Sustainable Development of Education.