Announcing the Creation of LIFE CALLING INITIATIVE
Preserving Our Humanity in The Digital Age
NEW YORK, Dec. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Life Calling Initiative was announced today in New York City, founded by John Mack. It responds to our increasing reliance on technology in the Digital Age, and the various challenges this reliance presents to humanity. Our new technological tools may be moving us away from the experience of the natural world. The newly established Life Calling Initiative explores this nexus of new technology and human behavior. Its fundamental mission is to both raise awareness and to develop educational strategies to best avert these dangers.
It is the overarching aspiration of the Life Calling Initiative to help members of society live fulfilled lives in the digital age while retaining their humanity and personal autonomy. This aspiration is rooted in the awareness that digital devices can do tremendous good and enable progress but should be used as tools under our control—and not the other way around. The ultimate goal is the empowerment of our humanity in this ever-increasing shift toward device dependence.
This will be achieved through a diverse set of tools and activities, including, but not limited to, awareness campaigns, education, art, lectures, and programming. Thematically, programming of the Life Calling Initiative will be wide-ranging, but will largely focus on the biological and psychological effects of technology on humanity, as well as tech’s ever complicated relationship with democracy.
Life Calling’s founder John Mack said, “The world of today finds us caught in a balancing act. Since the invention of smartphones, we increasingly experience life through our screens. With the click of the on-button, what was once intended to serve as a mere tool now often serves as our reality. One of the most pressing conversations of our time is about the threat that the unchecked use of smart-devices poses to our humanity.”
The work of the Initiative will be supported by an advisory board that is currently in formation. It includes video game creator Richard Garriott, artistic director Shai Baitel, artistic director and executive director of Fairplay Josh Golin, economist Prof. Nouriel Roubini, Emmy Award-winning producer Richard Wiese, scholar of new media, art, and design Jacek Kolasinski, and development specialist Elizabeth Manko, among others.
Among the initial projects of the Life Calling Initiative is a month-long interactive immersive exhibition of artworks by John Mack in New York City in May 2022. The exhibition will be a launchpad for a diverse program on related topics. The Initiative will also be publishing a series of books, essays, and poetry exploring this thematic realm.
Life Calling Initiative functions as a not-for-profit organization.
As the tic to the flesh, the digital device to the psyche device. The repellent is a matter of Truth
--John Mack
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Jonathan Marder
917.685.8596
jon.marder@gsmltd.net