Deepak Chopra: 'Technology is Neutral, It's Up to Us How We Use It'
*By Chloe Aiello*
The internet can be a toxic place ー but it doesn't have to be, according to Deepak Chopra.
The bestselling author and new age advocate is helping to build a healthier internet through a new Amazon ($AMZN) Alexa skill that delivers his daily "intentions." The skill is a result of a partnership with A.I.-provider LivePerson's innovation lab, LivePerson Studios.
"Technology right now is the global brain. If you want to see the human condition, just go on the internet. Divine, diabolical, sinner, saint ー it is all there. We can rewire the global brain if we want for a more peaceful, just sustainable, healthier and joyful world," Chopra told Cheddar on Friday.
"Alexa, Open Deepak's reflections." That's all enthusiasts of Amazon's assistant need to say to access 30 seconds of Chopra's private shower thoughts, and just maybe kick off the day on a more mindful note. And these are no canned responses. Deepak actually records them daily himself, according to LivePerson.
"I just shoot the breeze and people seem to enjoy. I don't have any conscious intention, other than, you know, we should all have ... joyful, energetic body; loving, compassionate heart; clear mind; lightness of being," Chopra said. "It's like I'm singing in the bathroom and people like the song."
"Now it's on Amazon Alexa," he chuckled.
LivePerson CEO and founder Robert Locascio says the new skill is one way of taking back technology for good ー of connecting and engaging users, rather than targeting them.
"I think we gotta take it back. I've been in technology for 20 years, we went off a road. And technology companies ー even what we see with social ー it's hurting our society in many ways," he said.
"It's about connectivity, it \[should never have been\] about influencing people and corrupting their brains," he added.
This is LivePerson's innovation lab LivePerson Studios' first partnership with an influencer, but Locascio said he plans to do more in the future. He also hopes to expand to other platforms, like Facebook ($FB) Messenger, iMessage and more.
"Technology is neutral, its up to us how we use it," Chopra added.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/now-you-can-hear-deepak-chopra-any-time-on-amazon-alexa).
Meta announced its plans to join the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. This is leaving businesses and customers wondering what the tech giant has in store for the event. Nicola Mendelsohn, the vice president of the global business group at Meta, joined Cheddar News to preview what the tech giant will discuss at this year's festival. "We're going to be showcasing more about reels. We're going to be talking about our commerce solutions, are messaging solutions, and of course, the method of us speaking of new ways to kind of connect with customers," she said.
Paul Tracey, Founder & CEO of Innovative Technologies, and author of 'Delete The Hacker Playbook' and 'Cyber Storm', joins Cheddar to discuss the most effective ways to protect small businesses from cyber attacks, the labor shortage's effects on cybercrime, and how businesses and employees can stay cyber secure while working from home.
NASA has announced that the first official full-color images will be beamed back to Earth from the James Webb Telescope on July 12. Gregory L. Robinson, the director of the James Webb Space Telescope Program in the NASA Science Mission Directorate, joined Cheddar News to discuss the anticipated image drop. “We expect to see the universe different," he said. "Webb will allow us to see much, much clearer and deeper into the universe."
Dave Burg, EY Americas Cybersecurity Leader, joins Cheddar News to discuss the rise of quantum computing and how it can compromise existing security measures at play today, and what the timeline looks like for quantum computing to become a reality.
Nicolas Halftermeyer, Communications & Product Branding Director, SoftBank Robotics, and Emile Kroeger, Robotics Engineer, Humanizing Technologies, join Cheddar Reveals to unveil Pepper and NAO, the humanoid robots designed to interact with humans.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Christopher Atkeson, roboticist and a professor at the Robotics Institute and Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, discusses what the robots of the future will look like, the role they will play in society and different industries, and if they will they ever reach human-level sentience; Nicolas Halftermeyer, Communications & Product Branding Director, SoftBank Robotics, and Emile Kroeger, Robotics Engineer, Humanizing Technologies, unveil Pepper and NAO, the humanoid robots designed to interact with humans; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'iHuman.'
