Preparing for the Transition to the AI Era: Talk-circle
The transition to the AI era will be one of the most turbulent times in human history. Right now, we are not preparing adequately for that transition. If the world takes the right steps, AI will be a force for
good and leave everyone better off. —Bill Gates 08/26/2026
Never has humanity had such power over itself. —Pope Francis 2015
We knew the world would not be the same. Few people laughed. Few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scriptures, the Bhagavad Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” I suppose we all thought that, one way or another. — J. Robert Oppenheimer 1965
The thread by which our fate hangs is wearing thin. Not nature, but the “genius of mankind,” has knotted the hangman’s noose with which it can execute itself at any moment. — C. G. Jung 1952
We are living through a rapid phase of transition a ‘change of era,’ in which—while some are vying for the future of new technologies and other dedicate themselves to reflecting on the matter—most people are watching and waiting, observing from afar and merely hoping for the best. For this very reason, crucial questions impose themselves on our conscience and can no longer be avoided: Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as a people and as a human community? —Pope Leo 2026