How and why the rich hold power and money and what my commencement speech would say now

This is not breaking news, but I just had this penny drop!

You know when I was finishing studies, we were in the middle of the millennium drought and I was finishing a degree in environmental and computer engineering so for my career it felt more meaningful and more relevant to go into environmental sciences. But nearly 20 years later, l wonder how much more money I would have made if I had gone into computers, since my research was specifically in the technology that forms the foundation of Al.

But look at the world around you, what we really need, is it Al or to tackle climate change?

Been seeing Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, that Facebook guy, Gina Rinehart and the likes playing out in real time and realising that the rich find all the opportunities because they bribe and steal to be able to break laws or create laws or more likely have laws not be created. Take a look at this series on Instagram on the billionaires of Australia and you'll see exactly what I mean. Billionaires are crooks who are brilliant at being crooks! Recognising this makes me go easy on myself - that perhaps being a billionaire is a package deal that I don't want.  

Most of the rest of us just want to do good meaningful work, have a reliable place to live, go on a couple of holidays occasionally, support our family and ourselves when we retire. I am hoping that that is achievable. 

Let me be clear, I did not choose my career knowing that I was making the less lucrative choice, but I did not make my choice on the basis of how much I'd money make, and so my story is an amusing anecdote and not a gut wrenching story of regret. In fact, the regret is more about the world we live in, rather than my choice.

If based on my own experience, I could give advice - while still pretty much in the middle of career, and still pretty much trying to figure it out - I would say, be intrinsically motivated, be curious, while somethings are hard, there is so much to be grateful for, have fun on the journey, hope is a choice. Walk but don't sleepwalk the path someone else has paved for you, whether it is your University or it is where you end up working. Al, in my opinion, has a place in this world, just like plastic has a place in this world - but Al and plastics don't need to be so ubiquitous. Read - preferably stuff that is not written by Al - it is the best way to learn new things, appreciate different perspectives, develop a capacity to sit with an idea for a long period of time. Write and create - don't surrender your agency, or your responsibility towards yourself or the world.