(April 2025)
The annual communication took place last weekend in Waite Park, offering a valuable opportunity to step back and reconnect with Brothers from across the state. This occasion is bittersweet as it signifies the conclusion of a Masonic year and the transition of our Grand Lodge officers. MWB Foster will be fondly remembered for his heartfelt remarks, meticulous attention to the details of our ritual, and his warm hugs. As we move forward, I hope that the spirit of camaraderie he fostered will continue into the coming year, even if informally the year of the hug continues … I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention that I was absolutely blown away by WB David Graham’s oration. While a rose by any other name may smell as sweet, I have no other words except this oration was amazing. If you didn’t hear it, put simply: you missed out.
It was a pleasure to see so many of you, particularly during the LEO breakout session. We explored the fundamentals of lodge education together. We discussed what constitutes an effective LEO, approaches to lodge education, and the potential enhancements AI could bring to our LEO approaches and studies. Notable discussions included exploring the differences between teachers, coaches, and mentors, along with strategies we make use of for each. Several individuals have approached me to further expand on our conversation. I greatly appreciate this as it allows for deeper thought and clearer definitions. I believe it also means that the topic resonated with Brothers, and it reinforces my viewpoint that perhaps it is more important to know how to think than it is to coach our Brothers on what to think.
We also spent time discussing where we get information – books, blogs, podcasts, YouTube, Brothers, societies etc. I’ll try to get these items assembled and posted to the cheat sheet on bythecompass.org. We also had a sign-up sheet that included capturing Brothers who are interested in giving LEO presentations – I’ll work with RWB Keith to get that list added to our Google drive (accessible from Grandview under resources).
The conversations about mentoring and friendship were heartwarming and inspiring. I am glad to hear that we are each taking time to get to know each other and supporting our shared interests. This is especially important in this world, that is reinforcing remote work, isolation, and potential for loneliness. Freemasonry holds keys to knowledge and awareness through self-reflection and interactions that seem more relevant and important today than perhaps it was in days past.
As expected, our AI discussion was polarizing. I appreciated the safe environment for sharing diverse opinions. I demonstrated how to gather information from various sources, ask thoughtful questions through a chatbot interface, and create AI podcasts with AI-generated voices. This was startling for many as I expected it would be. Discussing technology and its implications is crucial for us to thoughtfully and ethically use it. We covered plagiarism, the importance of humanity, and what it means to have unique thought. These aspects made the conversation engaging and insightful. Our hour flew by quickly.
If anyone reading this is interested, an example of one of these podcasts was shared in my latest Ashlar article and can be found here: Reflections on Honey. During our discussions, I briefly mentioned a book that I thoroughly enjoyed called “Scary Smart” by Mo Gawdat (previous Chief Business Officer of Google X). It is because of this book that I regularly use ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ when interacting with AI.
In the end, I asked the room to think about why we as humans would have created AI and continue to do so – even knowing the perils that it presents. In the few minutes we had to discuss, making our lives easier and the emulation of our creator came up as topics. I would love to solicit essays/write-ups to further reflect on this question, “Why did we create AI and continue to enhance it knowing the potential dangers it presents us.” Please submit your contributions to masonicconundrum@gmail.com. If I publish your submission, I have a pin for you.
Until then, travel well my Brothers.
Fraternally,
Brad