Thanks for re-visiting these ongoing - seemingly intractable - aspects of human nature. I’m now an old man, and am no longer surprised by the technologies and atrocities invented/employed/ignored by humans consumed by greed for wealth, power, and a sense of security. As always, it is disheartening, but it’s incumbent on those who oppose the actions to speak out as possible, and to seek and then practice alternative life paths.
I just read some ending lines from the Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer that resonate in these - as in all - times of horror, a poem with the title, “If I must die.” It is written with the hope that a child who survives,
“... sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale.”
According to today’s news reports, Mr. Alareer and members of his family were recently killed, in their home, in Palestine.
Jason, your eloquence is deeply appreciated, and can create ripples far beyond what we can see in the moment.
My apologies for the delayed response, B. Too much stuff, digital and otherwise... Thank you very much for the wisdom and for the lines of poetry. I had also seen those lines going around in the wake of Alareer's death. I'm glad you thought to add them here.
To your point: It is hard to be surprised by the foolishness and waste of people wielding or trying to wield power, isn't it? If you want to surprise me, fix the intractable. Fortunately, those surprises are trickling in almost daily too. Those are the surprises that bring hope and good tales.
I learned about two new things from this essay: “The Gospel” and “Ways of Being.” Both are food for thought, with intermingled horror, sadness, anger, joy, wonder, and discovery (with of course the horror and anger skewed heavily in the direction of a smart-bomb AI). Just like life, I guess. This was a quietly courageous piece.
Ways of Being really makes the view of all this more complex/sophisticated/scary, in its notion that these (artificial) intelligences are joining the fray of life on Earth: animal/human, vegetable, corporate. The future is being shaped by the relationship between them, particularly those with the most power to shape the others. We're so hungry for gods that we seem intent on building them.
Thank you, so very much to think about; I will be re-reading your essay often.
I'm attaching some apropos quotes from links I think relate to your theme:
"Close to $7 trillion is invested globally each year in activities that have a direct negative impact on nature from both public and private sector sources—equivalent to roughly 7% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP)…. In 2022, investments in nature-based solutions totaled approximately $200 billion, but finance flows to activities directly harming nature were more than 30 times larger.
“Nature-based solutions are dramatically underfunded," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. Government spending on environmentally harmful subsidies in four sectors—agriculture, fossil fuels, fishery, and forestry—is estimated at $1.7 trillion in 2022."
Thanks very much for these, Patrick. Among my notes for future essays is a collection of stuff on the madness of destructive subsidies. I'll add your info. Much appreciated.
That's an interesting dynamic to think about, re: lobbyists vs. Indigenous representatives. Not just at the COPs, but in general. What's the comparable total population of people tied to the fossil fuel industry vs. Indigenous populations globally? One group represents the greatest threat to planetary health and the other is protecting the lion's share of the Earth's biodiverse land.
Jason - I continue to think of your essay, and I feel my response here yesterday, in a pique of frustration at unrelated work absurdities, took me directly to statements that did not acknowledge what you had seriously and beautifully addressed.
Your words continue to reverberate this morning and help me to realize that it’s time for me to deeply consider what my personal role in peace and justice can and ought to be. I thank you.
Thank you for writing this necessary acknowledgement that AI has existed for a long time in organizations, well before digital was even conceived - governments, religious organizations - as Michael notes. It is something that I had a sense of and had noted in a notebook at one time: 'corporations = AI'
One of my concerns is how the AI mind has infiltrated environmental groups and is pumping out the same old same old... trying to entice change by hanging out a carrot or shaming or guilting people - a value-return approach, rather than inspiring change to arise from a deep place of love. I saw this happen with a the Lock the Gate protests here in Australia -- when it started it was a bunch of farmers and locals deeply committed through love of their land to stop fossil fuel companies getting on their land to survey it... they camped at the access gates for years until the companies gave up (for now I suspect). When it was just good local people the newsletters and calls for help were heartfelt and real but then it changed and professional activists took over and the AI-ish quality of their communications grew (let alone the need to pay their wages - the comfort aspect I suspect) and my heart disconnected not longer feeling any sense of connection to the cause, even though the cause is just as important as ever. I find this AI aspect is rife in so many environmental groups, a desperation (which I understand) which leads to very pushy communications... the human element seems lost...
Asa consequence I find myself shifting as much as I can into very local interactions: buying from local organic growers, community gardens, local gift/swop economies (from clothes to food and more). I sense the 'global' aspect of environmental groups brings in an AI-ish element as well as an unknown about what they are really doing. Locally I know the people, I see the benefits in the people around me... smile to smile - person to person - human to human... with deep and complex simple and contextual human needs being met... locally.
As to ecology of technology - In response to comments such as 'someone will work it out' (ie someone will come up with some technological solution) I note that the most powerful technology to restore our earth is out there right now - it has only taken 3 billion years to arise so is well tested: nature. We just have to learn to interact with restraint and humility - to step back to allow ourselves to hear the whispers of the earth telling us what needs doing... be it through formal science, general observation, on-the-ground experience, indigenous thinking...
Thank you, Greer, for the deep comment. I like your notion here that the mass marketing that environmental groups have embraced is an early form of AI. Certainly it's a predecessor of what's coming, with ChatGPT-like algorithms cranking out meaningless promotional stuff at an ever-faster rate. More importantly, though, I take your point about these groups losing touch with the daily reality of the natural world and of the daily work necessary to heal it. Your conclusion here is spot-on. The "think globally, act locally" mantra can be a problem when the communication for local activism has a global blah-ness to it.
Yee gads! Between your post and B Frank’s this morning I’m unable to focus on my corporate worker bee tasks at hand, righteous and noble though they may (theoretically) be.
Bridle’s quote intertwined with Arne Naess’s / Bill Devall’s words from Deep Ecology make me want to shut down my computer right this minute, open a dark beer and head up the mountains in search of snow and a deep understanding of the ecology of Nordic technology!
“...we must find ways to reconcile our technological prowess and sense of human uniqueness with an earthy sensibility and an attentiveness to the interconnectiveness of all things. We must learn to live with the world, rather than seek to dominate it. In short, we must discover an ecology of technology.”
Beautifully written, Jason. I remember reading about rudimentary AI systems the US used in Obama’s targeted killing campaign. People were marked and then eventually droned not because they were IDed as a terrorist, but because they engaged in behaviors that the AI saw as worthy of assassination (moving in large groups of military-aged men). Unsurprisingly, this AI identified wedding parties/funerals/celebrations as targets, with disastrous consequences.
I hadn't heard that, Jacob, but am not surprised. These programs will amplify our mistakes unless coded very specifically not to. No AI should enter the world unless it's been run past empathy-checking squads of ethicists and fourth-graders.
Maybe your longest essay yet. Certainly one of the bravest, most eloquent, truest essays I've read in a very long time. This could be published anywhere and should be. I worry about some of the dominant world religions as corporate entities in themselves with similar legal protections and who don't seem to care a fig about any life other than human life and not even human life if it is not in the ranks of their believers..
Longer because I glommed on the new intro after hearing that disturbing NPR story. Interesting point about religious entities; like AIs or corporations, they have an organized power that can be used to serve self or other. Thanks for the kind words, Michael.
Thanks for re-visiting these ongoing - seemingly intractable - aspects of human nature. I’m now an old man, and am no longer surprised by the technologies and atrocities invented/employed/ignored by humans consumed by greed for wealth, power, and a sense of security. As always, it is disheartening, but it’s incumbent on those who oppose the actions to speak out as possible, and to seek and then practice alternative life paths.
I just read some ending lines from the Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer that resonate in these - as in all - times of horror, a poem with the title, “If I must die.” It is written with the hope that a child who survives,
“... sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale.”
According to today’s news reports, Mr. Alareer and members of his family were recently killed, in their home, in Palestine.
Jason, your eloquence is deeply appreciated, and can create ripples far beyond what we can see in the moment.
My apologies for the delayed response, B. Too much stuff, digital and otherwise... Thank you very much for the wisdom and for the lines of poetry. I had also seen those lines going around in the wake of Alareer's death. I'm glad you thought to add them here.
To your point: It is hard to be surprised by the foolishness and waste of people wielding or trying to wield power, isn't it? If you want to surprise me, fix the intractable. Fortunately, those surprises are trickling in almost daily too. Those are the surprises that bring hope and good tales.
Thank you for the kind words.
I learned about two new things from this essay: “The Gospel” and “Ways of Being.” Both are food for thought, with intermingled horror, sadness, anger, joy, wonder, and discovery (with of course the horror and anger skewed heavily in the direction of a smart-bomb AI). Just like life, I guess. This was a quietly courageous piece.
Ways of Being really makes the view of all this more complex/sophisticated/scary, in its notion that these (artificial) intelligences are joining the fray of life on Earth: animal/human, vegetable, corporate. The future is being shaped by the relationship between them, particularly those with the most power to shape the others. We're so hungry for gods that we seem intent on building them.
This puts me in mind of Paul Kingnorth's Machine work over the past couple of years. I think you are picking up on some deep truths with this.
Received the book today. It's at the top of the stack.
I haven't read Kingsnorth yet, though thanks to your reminder I just signed up for his substack. I should probably dive into his Machine posts too.
Enjoy Ways of Being...
Jason,
Thank you, so very much to think about; I will be re-reading your essay often.
I'm attaching some apropos quotes from links I think relate to your theme:
"Close to $7 trillion is invested globally each year in activities that have a direct negative impact on nature from both public and private sector sources—equivalent to roughly 7% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP)…. In 2022, investments in nature-based solutions totaled approximately $200 billion, but finance flows to activities directly harming nature were more than 30 times larger.
“Nature-based solutions are dramatically underfunded," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. Government spending on environmentally harmful subsidies in four sectors—agriculture, fossil fuels, fishery, and forestry—is estimated at $1.7 trillion in 2022."
From <https://daandelman.substack.com/p/twtw-the-world-this-week-episode-e6e?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=414036&post_id=139649981&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=8nxwh&utm_medium=email>
"Fossil fuel lobbyists also outnumber official Indigenous representatives (316) by seven to one.
From <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/05/record-number-of-fossil-fuel-lobbyists-get-access-to-cop28-climate-talks?utm_term=656f0ec19281a69484ad99a709554c68&utm_campaign=USMorningBriefing&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=usbriefing_email>
Thank you again for all your remarkable work, I'm grateful for and encouraged by your efforts.
Thanks very much for these, Patrick. Among my notes for future essays is a collection of stuff on the madness of destructive subsidies. I'll add your info. Much appreciated.
That's an interesting dynamic to think about, re: lobbyists vs. Indigenous representatives. Not just at the COPs, but in general. What's the comparable total population of people tied to the fossil fuel industry vs. Indigenous populations globally? One group represents the greatest threat to planetary health and the other is protecting the lion's share of the Earth's biodiverse land.
Jason - I continue to think of your essay, and I feel my response here yesterday, in a pique of frustration at unrelated work absurdities, took me directly to statements that did not acknowledge what you had seriously and beautifully addressed.
Your words continue to reverberate this morning and help me to realize that it’s time for me to deeply consider what my personal role in peace and justice can and ought to be. I thank you.
Your response was great, Laura. No worries. Again, thank you for the good work and kind words. Be well.
Thank you for writing this necessary acknowledgement that AI has existed for a long time in organizations, well before digital was even conceived - governments, religious organizations - as Michael notes. It is something that I had a sense of and had noted in a notebook at one time: 'corporations = AI'
One of my concerns is how the AI mind has infiltrated environmental groups and is pumping out the same old same old... trying to entice change by hanging out a carrot or shaming or guilting people - a value-return approach, rather than inspiring change to arise from a deep place of love. I saw this happen with a the Lock the Gate protests here in Australia -- when it started it was a bunch of farmers and locals deeply committed through love of their land to stop fossil fuel companies getting on their land to survey it... they camped at the access gates for years until the companies gave up (for now I suspect). When it was just good local people the newsletters and calls for help were heartfelt and real but then it changed and professional activists took over and the AI-ish quality of their communications grew (let alone the need to pay their wages - the comfort aspect I suspect) and my heart disconnected not longer feeling any sense of connection to the cause, even though the cause is just as important as ever. I find this AI aspect is rife in so many environmental groups, a desperation (which I understand) which leads to very pushy communications... the human element seems lost...
Asa consequence I find myself shifting as much as I can into very local interactions: buying from local organic growers, community gardens, local gift/swop economies (from clothes to food and more). I sense the 'global' aspect of environmental groups brings in an AI-ish element as well as an unknown about what they are really doing. Locally I know the people, I see the benefits in the people around me... smile to smile - person to person - human to human... with deep and complex simple and contextual human needs being met... locally.
As to ecology of technology - In response to comments such as 'someone will work it out' (ie someone will come up with some technological solution) I note that the most powerful technology to restore our earth is out there right now - it has only taken 3 billion years to arise so is well tested: nature. We just have to learn to interact with restraint and humility - to step back to allow ourselves to hear the whispers of the earth telling us what needs doing... be it through formal science, general observation, on-the-ground experience, indigenous thinking...
Thank you, Greer, for the deep comment. I like your notion here that the mass marketing that environmental groups have embraced is an early form of AI. Certainly it's a predecessor of what's coming, with ChatGPT-like algorithms cranking out meaningless promotional stuff at an ever-faster rate. More importantly, though, I take your point about these groups losing touch with the daily reality of the natural world and of the daily work necessary to heal it. Your conclusion here is spot-on. The "think globally, act locally" mantra can be a problem when the communication for local activism has a global blah-ness to it.
Yee gads! Between your post and B Frank’s this morning I’m unable to focus on my corporate worker bee tasks at hand, righteous and noble though they may (theoretically) be.
Bridle’s quote intertwined with Arne Naess’s / Bill Devall’s words from Deep Ecology make me want to shut down my computer right this minute, open a dark beer and head up the mountains in search of snow and a deep understanding of the ecology of Nordic technology!
“...we must find ways to reconcile our technological prowess and sense of human uniqueness with an earthy sensibility and an attentiveness to the interconnectiveness of all things. We must learn to live with the world, rather than seek to dominate it. In short, we must discover an ecology of technology.”
Best wishes ❄️,
Laura
You had me at "dark beer," Laura. I'm glad my words and B's are worming their way into the hive... Thanks for the good work and good thoughts.
Beautifully written, Jason. I remember reading about rudimentary AI systems the US used in Obama’s targeted killing campaign. People were marked and then eventually droned not because they were IDed as a terrorist, but because they engaged in behaviors that the AI saw as worthy of assassination (moving in large groups of military-aged men). Unsurprisingly, this AI identified wedding parties/funerals/celebrations as targets, with disastrous consequences.
I hadn't heard that, Jacob, but am not surprised. These programs will amplify our mistakes unless coded very specifically not to. No AI should enter the world unless it's been run past empathy-checking squads of ethicists and fourth-graders.
Maybe your longest essay yet. Certainly one of the bravest, most eloquent, truest essays I've read in a very long time. This could be published anywhere and should be. I worry about some of the dominant world religions as corporate entities in themselves with similar legal protections and who don't seem to care a fig about any life other than human life and not even human life if it is not in the ranks of their believers..
Longer because I glommed on the new intro after hearing that disturbing NPR story. Interesting point about religious entities; like AIs or corporations, they have an organized power that can be used to serve self or other. Thanks for the kind words, Michael.