Looking back, what truly matters is the effort you make to cultivate yourself,” says Korean centenarian philosopher, Kim hyung-seuk. “Life is about nurturing yourself, about allowing the heart to grow.”
Kim possesses long-distance viewing, having grown up in North Pyongan Province, attending the same elementary school as Kim il-sung, North Korea’s founder. He ate breakfast at the future founder’s home after liberation from Japanese colonial rule but left the North in 1947. He is emeritus professor of philosophy at Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea. He continues a writing career which includes giving lectures.
Ginness World Records deemed Kim hyung-seuk the world’s oldest male author after he published 100 Years of Wisdom at age 103. When his publisher alerted him that 30-year-old individuals found the book useful, Kim wrote his next book to “make sure there were things young people might find meaningful!” At age 105 he published Kim hyung-seuk, A Century’s Legacy. His abiding advice, good for every age, is “…[to] stay young at heart, to hold a sound faith and to live without despair.”
I find his advice on AI compelling. Kim believes that AI is helpful in natural sciences or engineering where a question has one correct answer. In social sciences he sees AI as a tool with considerations that a question can have several answers. However in arts and humanities, Kim affirms that there is never a single right answer. Furthermore, Kim advocates that humanity must preserve truth from falsehood and be capable of discerning good from evil through one’s conscience. He emphasizes that humans are the masters of AI. Kim supports ethical technology. My question is who monitors AI to ensure that such values are upheld?
As for longevity, Kim recalls his frail childhood when his mother questioned if he would even live to his 20’s. He attributes his good fortune in a long-distance life to his mindset. I view him as a noble example of someone with a growth mindset rather than possessing a fixed mindset where change is not welcomed. AI is about change. After experiencing many kinds of changed societies, Kim concludes that societies embracing freedom have longevity.
Kim offers the wisdom that reading and working help maintain youthfulness. Say yes to embracing lifelong learning! Kim’s belief is that a person “grows old” only when they start thinking that they are “old.” It reminds me of how often I hear someone say, “I’m old,” as if that statement might excuse some behavior. Kim refers to 7 people he knows who are 100+ like him. He reports that they have 2 things in common: they do not speak ill of others and they do not lose their temper. They live as peacefully as possible.
We circle back to values and ethical guideposts. If AI rolls out misinformation (deepfakes) or even half-truths, we must make the whole mountain of an issue transparent.
Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz
462. What are your 2 ingredients for longevity?
463. How do you view using AI personally?
Pearls of Peace: A Family Psychologist’s Circle-of-Life Blog 