Deepak Chopra is a champion of the power of social media. The spiritual and cultural leader told the audience at the 2012 Social Good Summit that social media is an extension of society's subconscious and is the inevitable next phase of humanity.
"Technology is our creation; we weren't created by technology, so let's use our creation to bring about a healing," Chopra said. "At the most fundamental level, we are not just connected, we are inseparable."
But harnessing the power of social media, to become something larger than just networking, Chopra said, is a choice for humanity to make — the world is still at a crossroads. Although he said technology itself is neutral, he espoused a message of hope, saying that if harnessed for good, technology could lead the world to a place of good and produce a united solution for the challenges of the world.
"What drones can't do, what the armies can't do, what the weapons can't do, what the weapons of mass destruction can't do, what biological warfare can't do — we can do through technology to heal the world," Chopra said.
While he is bullish on the power of digital to unite people, Chopra remains confident that social media will never be a substitute for true relationships, imagination and human creativity. Computers, he feels, are only mathematical algorithms, but people thrive on emotion.
"You can never program true intelligence into a computer," Chopra said.
But despite social media itself lacking true human feeling, Chopra said, it is still a medium that can work to bring even enemies together. All it takes is working to create hope, trust, stability, compassion and respect in our shared online space.
Do you agree with Chopra that social media is advancing humanity? Tell us why in the comments below.
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Read more of Mashable's coverage of the 2012 Social Good Summit:
Day One:
- Hillary Clinton Opens the Social Good Summit [VIDEO]
- How the U.S. Chief Technology Officer Is Making Data Awesome
- Can Mobile Phones Help Fight Pediatric AIDS?
- How Is Social Media Changing Diplomacy?
- Peter Gabriel Makes Case For Internet Freedom
- ITU Secretary-General: OK to Make Profit When Helping Developing Nations
- 8-Year-Old YouTube Sensation Performs at Social Good Summit
- Social Good Summit Day 1: Highlights and Pics
Day Two:
- ShoutAbout Aims to Inspire Social Action Based on News Stories
- Tim Pool, Guerrilla Journalist of the Digital Age [VIDEO]
- U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice: Twitter Crucial to Her Mission
- How Social Media Is Empowering Women in Haiti
- How to Use Mobile Devices to Solve Global Problems
- How Forest Whitaker Is Using Technology to Spread Peace
- Social Good Summit Day 2: Highlights and Pics
Day Three:
- Napolitano: Congress 'Got Stuck' on Cybersecurity
- U.N. Foundation Challenges the World to Take Action
- Nick Kristof Takes Social Good Gaming to the Next Level
- Why Tech and New Media Can Help End Modern Slavery
- UNICEF Launches Online Campaign to Reduce Child Mortality Rates
- What It Means to Be an Advocate in the Digital Age
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