Jason Silva: If You Start Thinking Exponentially Every Solution Becomes Inevitable

Living in an age of transformation, and in an age of rapid change, humanity is slowly falling into a state of vertigo, overwhelmed with the pace of change and how it is increasingly taking place in real time. However, Jason Silva, Global Speaker and host of National Geographic’s “Brain Games”, sees great potentials in humanity, and how it can address and overcome misperceptions of technology through exponential change.

Speaking on the second day of the 7th International Government Communication Forum (IGCF) 2018, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and themed “Digital Millenium…Where to?”, Jason Silva brought the audience his popular energy, enthusiasm and passion on the topics of human relation and evolution with technology, during his interactive speech titled “The Era of Exponential Change”.

Silva began by saying: “This all starts for me with a passion for human imagination, and with a passion for human creativity. This then has turned into a passion for technology, because I believe that technology is the embodiment of human creativity and liberalisation of human imagination in the world. I also believe that technology has turned the human brain inside out, and that this evolution has allowed us to impregnate the world with our mind.”

Reflecting on the significance behind the definition of technology, Silva shared with the audience the cognitive philosophies of Andy Clark and David Chalmers’ “The Extended Mind”, addressing how they viewed technology as the “scaffolding of mind”, which is used to extend our thoughts, our reach and our visions.

He said: “If you go back a hundred thousand years to the Savana of Africa, where early humans picked up a stick from the ground and used it to reach a fruit that was on a really high tree, you’ll see that we’ve been since then using our tools and instruments to transcend our limitations and go beyond our boundaries.”