{"id":962,"date":"2017-07-19T14:24:30","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T13:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wellbeingandcontrol.com\/?page_id=962"},"modified":"2026-01-24T21:25:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T21:25:05","slug":"themes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wellbeingandcontrol.com\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Main themes<\/h3>\n

\nWellbeing and control<\/strong><\/a> – What is the nature of wellbeing for the individual and society and how does it relate to the degree of control we have over the various aspects of our lives? This has implications for social policy and how we, as individuals, live our lives. <\/p>\n

The human operating system<\/strong><\/a> – What are the fundamental principles that govern how people ‘tick’? Can we work towards a computational model that helps our understanding? This has implications for the design of better systems, for the development of artificial intelligence and for improving our relationships. <\/p>\n

Robot ethics<\/strong><\/a> – How should we develop robots and artificial intelligence systems so that they do not become a threat to humanity? What do we learn about people from a study of ethics and the way moral principles are applied? This has implications for the design of robots, AI, society and the future generally.<\/p>\n

Social policy, politics and inequality<\/strong><\/a> – What’s wrong with the way in which society works? How can our new knowledge from social science inform the changes needed to enhance overall wellbeing?<\/p>\n

Theory of knowledge and theory of mind<\/strong><\/a> – How do we come to understand the world and develop our beliefs about it? How certain can those beliefs be? This analysis provides a foundation for informing work on the human operating system and how we can effect change. <\/p>\n

Local government<\/strong> – new models for transformation<\/a> – How can local government be transformed to better service the wellbeing of citizens?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Click on the themes to see the relevant blog postings summarised.<\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n

We now have a whole lot more detailed understanding about human nature than we did, even at the turn of century. It’s not just the increased rate of research and publication in neuroscience, psychology and other social sciences. Just as significant is the packaging and access to knowledge that has mushroomed with the advent of search engines, knowledge repositories like Wikipedia and Youtube, and a multiplicity of radio\/TV channels. The vision of having the world’s knowledge at our fingertips has arrived. Now the problem is sifting the good stuff from the rubbish and the misleading.<\/center><\/p>\n

This blog\/book is concerned with how we can exploit our new knowledge about human nature to the benefit of us all as individual citizens, as organisations and as a society. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite the availability of all this new knowledge, many of our organisations and institutions often lag decades behind in the way they operate. Silicon Valley and other multinational companies know how to exploit this knowledge for their own commercial gain (although sometimes leaving unintended consequences in their wake). It’s mainly public institutions with outdated organisational structures that need to change if they are to offer the levels of service expected by the 21st century citizen. <\/strong><\/center><\/p>\n
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