In our current political climate, we’re locked in seemingly intractable conflicts that pit competing values against each other as zero-sum games.
Take the “culture wars” of American politics. The abortion debate forces us to choose between bodily autonomy and fetal life.
Gun debates position personal freedom against public safety. Religious differences become territorial disputes.
Each side sees victory only in the other’s concession. This is often true in the continually polarizing political sphere as well, as individuals have, in many Western societies, become so wrapped up in their political opinions that it has become part of their identities, and they choose to disassociate with others who have differences of opinion.
However, what if our perception of these conflicts as irreconcilable stems not from their inherent nature but from the technological limitations of our time?
The advancement of AI and other technologies will happen whether we as individuals want it to or not.
Governments will develop it, militaries will advance it, and entrepreneurs will innovate with it. The question isn’t whether technology will transform our society, but how. And who will benefit from it?
We need to harness this inevitable technological development to intentionally create a future where today’s “either/or” conflicts become “both/and” solutions. This requires a process I call “positive visioning,” focusing not on what divides us today but on what we collectively want for tomorrow.
There are some obvious benefits and blessings that new technologies can bring, which all groups can get behind.
Consider mental health. Both progressives and conservatives would likely agree that a world with less depression, anxiety, and addiction would be a better world.
What if we directed AI research toward understanding and addressing the neurological and social roots of these issues? We might discover ways to reduce suffering while preserving the essential functions of our emotional systems.
There are the less obvious ways we could use the technological possibilities of the future to solve social and political conflicts, ways that seem irreconcilable today.
I propose a radical shift in our approach to societal problems. Instead of fighting over today’s limited solutions, let us use technology, such as AI, to envision and create a world 10, 20, or even 30 years from now, where these conflicts simply dissolve because we’ve transcended their underlying constraints.
The process begins by bringing diverse stakeholders together to envision their ideal world, setting aside current constraints.
Then we work backward, identifying the technological developments needed to make that world possible and directing research and development (R&D) accordingly.
Suppose that in the State of Israel opposing sides of the Right-Left and religious-secular divides are brought to the table to describe the societies they would love to see. There is just one rule: “You can only use positives in your conversation, negotiations, and mediations.”
A new approach
Instead of religious groups saying: “We don’t want people publicly desecrating the Shabbat,” they say, “We want a day of complete rest.”
Instead of secular groups saying, “We don’t want religious restrictions,” they say, “we want access to all services every day.” Then ask: Can we have both in 30 years? With automated services and advanced planning, perhaps we can, and perhaps we can alleviate a lot of built up hatred that develops from negating the desires of the other side.
The same could apply numerous other seemingly irreconcilable dilemmas between ethics, religion, identities, and freedoms.
This isn’t mere utopianism. It’s strategic direction-setting for research and development. By identifying our collective desires for the future, universal education, improved health, reduced violence, greater harmony among different groups – while maintaining the individuality and uniqueness of our own – we can shape the agenda of technological advancement toward solving these problems.
Consider the abortion debate in the US. The Right says: “We don’t want fetuses to die.” The Left says: “We want full control over our bodies.” These seem to be fundamentally opposed views. But what if, in, let’s say, 30 years, technology allows for both? Technology opens up new political possibilities.
Large democratic systems could not happen before revolutions in communication and transportation that allowed for meaningful nationwide voting.
If we work at it honestly, R&D may even bring viable solutions to intractable issues, such as the Israel-Palestine conflict.
At a simple level, technology can be developed to create increasingly targeted security to prevent terror attacks while allowing peaceful and law-abiding people to go about their daily business.
At a more fundamental level, a large part of the conflict stems from many Muslims sincerely believing that the whole land must be under Islamic control, while many Jews believe the opposite, that Israel is an inherently Jewish state with every right to Jewish self-determination.
What if we could reimagine political systems that are not tied to geography? Could technology help create a world where Palestinians are free “from the river to the sea,” Jews are free in their indigenous land, and everyone can live under the government they choose while security is ensured?
As more of life becomes virtual and automated, this type of thinking becomes increasingly plausible.
Suppose we all get around the table today and start to think about how this might look if there were no technological limits. In doing so, even before a single technological solution has been found, we will already have started to think collaboratively. Your needs and values need not undermine mine.
We can find solutions together as partners. Confidence-building can begin today.
This approach doesn’t mean we abandon addressing today’s pressing injustices. But it does offer a path forward, one that transcends the limitations of current political thinking.
The technology that will shape our future is being developed now. We need to ensure that it is directed toward creating a world where current seemingly irreconcilable conflicts no longer exist, not because one side has won but because we’ve all moved beyond the limitations that made them conflicts in the first place.
Thinking that way today can help channel funding and governmental priorities to producing a world in which everyone is a winner.
Bringing competing groups together to forge that vision can already help the rivals of yesterday to become collaborators and partners today, to forge the world of tomorrow.
The writer is a rabbi and the educational visionary of Aish, originally from Manchester, UK, and currently a resident of Jerusalem. He is an expert on Jewish and Muslim history.