Philosophy and Ethics Are The Key To Avoiding A Dystopian Future

Why tackling technology’s big questions today can save us from disaster tomorrow.

Welcome to 2025! I hope you all enjoyed a restful and meaningful holiday season. While I didn’t know how taking a full two-week digital respite would go, it was more refreshing than I could have possibly anticipated. The time was loaded with family activity, yet there was also a healthy dose of space to reflect and align on my plans for 2025. On that note, if you haven’t checked out my website, I’d encourage you to do so, and it’d mean a lot if you told a friend while you’re at it.

Now, regarding Future-Focused, if you followed my journey through 2025, you know I largely shifted away from interviews toward weekly reflections on what’s happening at the intersection of business, technology, and human experience as well as what it means for the future. However, every now and then, I encounter someone that leaves me compelled to capture a conversation. That’s exactly what happened when I met Brian Beckcom, making him the perfect guest for the inaugural Future-Focused episode of 2025.

At first glance, you might think Brian’s experience as a trial lawyer is an interesting mix. However, he’s also a computer scientist and philosopher. His rare combination of experiences and expertise left us in agreement we should have a dialogue about a theme I think about a lot: how the decisions we’ll make in the next few years will ripple through generations.

As we continue racing forward in our tech-driven world, we both share serious concerns that we’re at risk of losing sight of something essential, ethics and philosophy. You can check out our full conversation as a podcast and on YouTube, where Brian and I dig into these urgent questions and explore how to avoid disaster by reconnecting with timeless wisdom. However, true to my SubStack style, I want to share my deeper reflections from that conversation, ideas that should challenge us all to think more critically about the future we’re building.

Key Reflections

“The problems we face today feel unprecedented, but they rhyme with the challenges we’ve confronted throughout history.”

At first glance, technologies like quantum computing and advanced AI present as radically new chapters in human history. And, in some ways they are. Machines that write, think, and process at speeds we can’t fully comprehend have pushed us into some uncharted waters. However, if you take a moment to strip away the technical details, the core dilemmas underneath are strikingly familiar. The problems we face aren’t all that unique at their core. They’re timeless challenges resurfacing in a new form, echoing through time with a fresh coat of paint.

Now, I say that, yet I’d be a fool to say that what we’re dealing with today is identical to the past. What’s unique is the speed and scale at which these tools are advancing. Unlike past revolutions, where change unfolded over decades or even centuries, today’s innovations are reshaping the world almost overnight. We’re also being confronted with tools that can mimic human thought and behavior, blurring the lines between creation and creator in ways that demand entirely new frameworks for understanding.

All that aside, I find comfort amidst the chaos by knowing these challenges don’t require us to completely reinvent the wheel. If we can draw from the wisdom of the past while designing for the future, we have a unique opportunity to avoid repeating the mistakes history keeps warning us about.

“Progress without purpose is like building a skyscraper on sand. While it might look impressive, it won’t stand for long.”

We live in a culture where the pace of change is celebrated as an achievement in itself. One of the primary measurements of “success” is how quickly you arrive at a destination. Unfortunately, we frequently fail to stop and ask deeper questions about what we’re actually trying to achieve or the deeper implications of achieving those outcomes. Progress has become the race, and no one seems to know or care where we’re running. Our problem isn’t progress; it’s the foundation, or lack of one, that underpins it. We’ve neglected essential principles that should guide every step forward.

As we think about the structures we’re creating, we need to remember that without clear purpose, these tools risk becoming humiliating monuments to our own foolishness. Furthermore, the purpose needs to be grounded in a strong ethical and moral framework. Critically thinking through the ethics and moral implications of our plans aren’t roadblocks to progress; they’re the bedrock that ensures what we build actually lasts. Progress without a moral and ethical foundation is progress that can’t withstand the test of time.

The question that drives us shouldn’t be how far we can go. It should be whether the road we’re paving will lead to a destination worth arriving at.

“A foundation built on subjective truth isn’t a foundation at all—it’s quicksand.”

We live in a cultural moment where truth has somehow been promoted as fluid. We’re encouraged to define truth for ourselves. The story goes you can have ultimate freedom to live by “your truth” so long as you let others live by theirs. Looks good on Instagram and motivates a crowd, but it falls flat in practice or the second your truth conflicts with someone else’s. When truth becomes subjective, reality becomes a constantly shifting tide, dragging us all into chaos. Twice in the book of Judges it describes the time as a time when “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” If you’re familiar, you know it wasn’t a beautiful time of joy and freedom. It was a disgusting and downward spiral into complete and utter ruin.

Now, if you feel the hairs standing up on the back of your neck, take a breath. I’m not advocating for draconian policing of what people say and believe or erasing nuance in complex debates. We need diverse perspectives to navigate the complexities of this increasingly complicated world. However, we must acknowledge some truths are universal, non-negotiable, and essential to our survival. In an age where technology amplifies everything at unprecedented speeds, the stakes for defining truth have never been higher.

Progress requires direction, and direction requires fixed points of reference. Without that, we’re going to end up spiraling into ruin and calling it forward motion.

“The choices we make today will echo through generations, so we can’t afford to get this wrong.”

As a dad of eight, I regularly think about the world my kids will inherit, and the one their children will inherent, and so on. It’s a frequent reminder that as we think about the incredible pace of technological advancement, we need to think beyond the here and now. The decisions we make today about AI and quantum computing as well as the moral and ethical foundations they’re built on aren’t just about us; they’re about shaping a world for future generations.

Now, we’ve been here before, multiple times in recent years. The Industrial Revolution reshaped humanity’s relationship with work and progress. The Internet and smartphone connected us in ways we never dreamed possible. Today, the tools and systems we’re building never sleep, operate beyond our comprehension, and move faster than we ever will. The question isn’t whether these advancements will radically shape the future since they absolutely will. The question is whether we’ll take the time to shape them thoughtfully and deliberately. This is more than a moment in time; it’s a defining moment in human history.

As a parent, I feel that responsibility in a way that’s deeply personal. I don’t just want to leave behind a world that worked for me. I want to leave behind a world that thrives for those that will carry forward long after I’m six feet under.

Concluding Thoughts

Hopefully, this post didn’t weigh you down too much, which I’m assuming it didn’t since you’re still reading. Think of this as your New Year’s cognitive HIIT class. Apologies in advance if you’re feeling a little sore over the next few days, but take it as a sign of growth. The challenges ahead aren’t simple. These aren’t easy things to grapple with, but they are necessary if we want to step forward into 2025 in a way that truly matters.

At the same time, let’s hold in tension the reality that many New Year’s quests fade quickly. They begin with energy and enthusiasm but are too easily abandoned when distractions and the demands of life creep back in. For me, after two weeks of a digital detox, I’ve recommitted to writing, recording, and sharing my reflections each week for 2025, which isn’t about growing a brand or selling a service. It’s about creating a space for all of us to wrestle together with the big questions destined to face us this year. How about you? What’s your commitment to staying ahead?

While my question may seem like a rhetorical plug for engagement, we have an opportunity here. Together, we can set a course that’s not just about surviving another year but about building the kind of momentum that moves us toward a future worth being part of. Yes, it will feel overwhelming at times, but that’s part of what makes this moment so exhilarating. It’s both a challenge and invitation to participate in shaping a future that reflects the best of who we are.

So as we move into 2025, let’s not be afraid to make space to ask and think through the hard questions. Let’s not shy away from the responsibility and accountability that meaningful progress requires. And most importantly, let’s commit to doing the work—not just for ourselves, but for the generations that will come after us. Because the future we’re building starts right here, right now, with the choices we make today.