What happens when a capability that for centuries we considered exclusively human becomes technology?

Artificial intelligence is no longer limited to answering questions. It is beginning to write, program, research, use tools, and act through vehicles and robots. It can transform work, education, medicine, and creativity, but it can also increase dependence, concentrate power, and create new inequalities.

This essay traces the history of that transformation, explains how these machines learn, and examines the industry, chips, and energy that sustain them. It also explores five possible futures in which artificial intelligence could expand our capabilities, give us back time, or bring us closer to a form of abundance that we will still have to learn how to share.

The question is no longer how far artificial intelligence will go, but what we will decide to do with it.

Walking Upright  is the first book in the trilogy that bears its name. It tells the story of Gichin Funakoshi, the master who brought Tōde from Okinawa to Japan and helped transform it into Karate-Dō.

Through his life, the book opens the path for the rest of the trilogy, exploring the spirit of Budō: discipline, humility, respect, and character.

For Gichin Funakoshi, Karate was not merely a technique, but a way of walking upright through life.

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Translation Notice

The German, Portuguese, Italian, and French Kindle editions were translated by Amazon from the original English version, so their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Revised translations are currently being prepared.

This notice applies only to these four language editions. If you have purchased one of them, I would be grateful if you could email me and share your experience with the translation.