Newton Lee

"I sometimes wish to be a kid again and go through life a little differently."

"Human beings will never evolve to higher creatures if we are constantly restricted by rules and regulations."

"Being a Disney VoluntEAR reinforces my belief in Walt's vision for The Walt Disney Company to bring happiness to every family in the world."

"I am never content with what I have [accomplished]. Jimmy reminded me of those less fortunate than I, people out there who are struggling just to survive."

"The meaning of life for human beings is to serve one another for the survival of humanity and the advancement of civilization."

"Through knowledge, you can develop the economy. Without knowledge, you cannot improve a society."

"May we all come to realize that education and the humanities should be valued for nurturing our minds and society as a whole, and not only as a means to build future careers."

"You can be a good Christian and a transhumanist. You can be a good Muslim and a transhumanist. You can be a good Buddhist and a transhumanist. Transhumanism gives different religions a common ground for people to live peacefully together, and as a result, to create a better future -- a brave new world of utopia, not dystopia."

"Everyone has talent. The question is how do we find it, and how do we nurture it?"

"COVID-19 is a wake-up call for humanity to be born again. In Christianity, born again is an experience when the teachings of Jesus become real, and the “born again” acquires a personal relationship with God. In humanity, born again is an experience when the teachings of natural phenomena become real, and the “born again” acquires a personal relationship with the planet Earth."

"We can change our future, but we cannot escape our destiny. That is why life is a journey, not a destination. All roads lead to Rome, but our actions and inaction determine the meaning of our life regardless of the outcome."

"The Tower of Babel fell apart not because of technology but because of languages."

"If you are too careful about taking risks, you end up not doing anything. If you don’t want to take any responsibilities, again you end up doing nothing in life. Transhumanists are the ones who actually want to take risks and want to take responsibilities. And that’s what we are doing!"

"AI is already embedded in our daily life. There are more AI applications than people realize. I think of AI as "augmented intelligence" instead of "artificial intelligence"."

"Change was a constant in Walt Disney’s commitment to tell a story well, to bring it to an audience through the technology of the day, and to push that technology so that rather than controlling the story, it enhanced the story and gave it an opportunity to touch people, to speak to each of them individually, to make it believable."

"Apart from a 20-minute stunt as Eeyore at Disneyland for “Disney Way One” and countless joyful hours of volunteering with my fellow colleagues, my job at Disney Online was mainly to make children happy by creating entertaining and educational games."

"Computers and music are converging in a new era of digital Renaissance as more and more musicians such as will.i.am are learning how to code while an increasing number of software programmers are learning how to play music."

"MP3 and peer-to-peer file sharing technology single-handedly disrupted the age-old music business. iTunes and YouTube have displaced record stores and MTV. If we take the cue from Netflix which has successfully produced original content, it will not be long before Apple and Google will sign new artists and rival the record labels."

""Music has a powerful effect on everybody: Children, adults, animals, plants, everything. It’s, I think, one of the abstract miracles and phenomena," said Quincy Jones."

"To quote computer graphics pioneer Ivan Sutherland who said in 1965: "The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal." Sutherland's futuristic vision sounds just like Star Trek’s holodeck!"

"Information is power. Disinformation is abuse of power."

"Every major technological innovation propels humanity forward to the point of no return."

"With the massive amount of personal data on the Internet, Facebook nation has opened Pandora's box of total information awareness in the age of big data. Fortunately, Pandora's box released not only evil but also hope. ... The hope is that good will trump evil."

"Dictatorship of the majority over the minority would be an encroachment on the rights of the individual and their prerogative to personal freedom."

"The useful information for the millions outweighs the privacy of the few."

"Better information awareness does not mean less personal freedoms. Feeling safe in school is a prerequisite for a conducive learning environment. Everyone should be free to express their opinions, voice their concerns, and become better informed."

"Not only that “every dog has its day”, but also that “every dog has its data” in the digital information age."

"Facebook nation exists in the intersection of humanities and sciences, somewhere in between the fictional worlds of The Godfather Part II and Minority Report."

"Personal analytics combined with social networks provide a high-tech mechanism for self-help and self-improvement."

"As wearable devices, health tracking, and quantified self are gaining popularity, human beings are also becoming part of the Internet of things."

"As citizen journalists and bloggers are becoming more important in news gathering and timely dissemination, mainstream media has found an important ally in the Fifth Estate."

"Thanks to the Internet, words can travel at the speed of light, and no amount of censorship can stop the flow of information. ... Thanks to Malala’s courage, no militant can silence her. Thanks to the Internet, the pen is mightier than the sword."

"Social media amplifies both the good side and the dark side of human nature. ... Notwithstanding human ignorance, freedom of expression is essential."

"Like the seemingly impossible moon landing, Hollywood has repeatedly predicted the future, including self-destructing messages."

"Although there is a delicate balance between children’s privacy and parental awareness, a good parent should always be attentive to their children’s activities and feelings – both online and offline."

"Social media has given a new meaning to life after death."

"One of the root causes of miscommunication is that people do not always mean what they say or do."

"Online dating versus traditional dating is like using an electronic calculator versus an abacus. They both can give you accurate results if used properly, but one of them is obviously faster and easier in the modern age."

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: data brokers are like the Wild West -- untamed and without governance."

"Every major technological innovation propels humanity forward to the point of no return. ... Instead of turning back, we must continue to innovate and push humanity towards the next point of no return. It is a good thing."

"By satisfying the insatiable desire for communication with others who seem to be willing to listen, people have voluntarily sacrificed some degree of personal privacy. “Have one’s cake and eat it too” does not apply to personal privacy in the world of ubiquitous social networks."

"To some, Facebook is both a self-published tabloid and a public relations gem. To others, Facebook is a communication tool for families and friends around the world to stay in touch. From a macroscopic point of view, Facebook offers insights into public sentiments and national trends. In a microscopic view, Facebook allows people to reach out and connect on a very personal level."

"Why is it that technology is often the one to blame? On the contrary, social media encourages people to “think aloud” and come up with bold, new, controversial, or opposing ideas."

"The future is arriving sooner than we imagine."

"While Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) helps prevent World War III, Total Information Awareness (TIA) offers insights into some of the biggest challenges facing humanity."

"Only time will tell if serendipity becomes zemblanity as consumers are constantly bombarded by advertisements."

"The question is not whether Total Information Awareness (TIA) is here to stay; the real question is whether TIA is a one-way street or a two-way street."

"In spite of the potential risk of misinformation and disinformation, anonymous social apps can be powerful tools for citizen journalists, whistleblowers, political activists, crime tippers, and other cybercitizens whose online privacy is a matter of the utmost importance."

"In humanity, there is no one size fits all. The best we can all do is to be vigilant and empathic at the same time."

"Learning is an innate human behavior. A healthy baby is happy and excited to learn to speak, play and express itself. Why should learning stop being fun? The human race cannot survive without continuous learning. Let us impart the enthusiasm and creativity of learning in the classrooms."