Humans do not only ask what is happening. We also ask: why? What is a good life? What is beauty? What does progress mean? What can we know? What distinguishes a machine from a human being — and will that distinction always remain so clear? For millennia, philosophy, religion, science and art have dealt with such questions. The answers change with our knowledge and our societies. The questions themselves remain with us.
New technologies suddenly make some of these questions very concrete again. Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, virtual worlds and the increasing connection between humans and machines change more than our tools. They may also change our understanding of what it means to be human.
It is equally worthwhile to look back. Culture, history, literature, music and art show us the answers people before us found — and the mistakes they made.
The future does not begin with a new machine. It begins with a new idea.