Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
"It's extraordinarily important for survival for all of us to be able to relearn a set of values that go well beyond those of utility... such as beauty, goodness, and truth, and I would say also the sacred." Ralston Chancellor Iain McGilchrist, a speaker at next week's AI event.
What is the measure of usefulness, and to what end does it serve? Beginning from a provocation attributed to Lessing, this reflection confronts the modern fixation on utility and its quiet but profound insufficiency. For while our powers multiply through technological advancement, the question of their right use remains prior, unresolved, and urgent.
"It's extraordinarily important for survival for all of us to be able to relearn a set of values that go well beyond those of utility... such as beauty, goodness, and truth, and I would say also the sacred." Ralston Chancellor Iain McGilchrist, a speaker at next week's AI event.
What is the measure of usefulness, and to what end does it serve? Beginning from a provocation attributed to Lessing, this reflection confronts the modern fixation on utility and its quiet but profound insufficiency. For while our powers multiply through technological advancement, the question of their right use remains prior, unresolved, and urgent.
