Something Extraordinary Happened in China

What should’ve been a celebration of innovation turned into a mirror reflecting our global priorities.

In 2019, I stood on the judging panel of the world’s largest entrepreneurial competition—4.6 million students, 1.19 million projects, 120 nations.

Our international judges—uncoached, diverse, and united only by instinct—chose a humble Indonesian project that gave voice to the deaf. We gave second place to a Brazilian platform that empowers the disabled. In a sea of billion-dollar pitches, we chose humanity.

But we lost.

To a drone attack helicopter.

That moment has never left me. And as the world barrels deeper into AI arms races, techno-solutionism, and global instability, the choice we face is no longer theoretical. It’s existential.

We can build technologies that elevate life—or engineer efficiencies that erode it. We can code for compassion—or optimize for dominance.

I still believe in the power of innovation. But innovation with a conscience. With context. With courage.

If we don’t shape the values behind what we build, the tools we create will shape us in their image.

And we may not like what we see.

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