In the early 1940s, Directors General of the BBC, Cecil Graves and William Haley had this to say about the revolutionary technology of radio and television broadcasting:

This country has in its hands an instrument of incalculable power for good. An instrument that can be given to spreading among the nation the true knowledge of each other. Helpful rather than hurtful to the interests of mankind.

These newly acquired skills of mankind will move at a breathtaking pace. Broadcasting, which we begin to see now as a worldwide international service, is a step into the future even more dramatic than the devеlopment of flying.

Broadcasting without its responsibilities is nothing. It’s not a way of thought, it’s not a way of culturе, it’s not a way of life. It’s there to serve thought, so that people think for themselves.

It’s there to serve culture in such a way that people will turn more and more to active participation in the arts. Go to the theatre, attend concerts, read books, use their hands. And help to build a community in which broadcasting is only a very small part of a full and satisfying life.

It has helped something living in us to keep alive. And it has reminded us in its graver moments that life won’t last. And that for this very reason, there are things more important than success or power.

Now read that again, this time replacing ‘broadcasting’ with ‘AI’ and imagine how different things could be if the tech giants and their acolytes took that approach rather than the complete opposite.

The band Public Service Broadcasting put those speeches to music in a wonderful concert at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s beautiful and well worth a few minutes of your day: