Holy Fuck. Firstly. Glad I’ll be dead by the future. I don’t want a bar of it. Secondly. Starting to ponder the point of being an artist and wondering if it serves any valid purpose at all. Thirdly. How easy is it to create actual super-humans without basic man/woman reproduction. Do woman have some “power” still in this regard and if so, isn’t it about time we started using it.
Fuck Sarah. I don’t know. This is a crap start to Thursday but I love you and thank you for being you x
I don't really have anything pithy to comment with, other than that this gives me a really disconcerting feeling right behind the breastbone. I'd not heard of much of this before.
It seems this proportion of humanity is so preoccupied with how to engineer the human experience that they forget that truly living it, in all its messy connectedness to the world at large and other creatures in it, is the whole point.
Ultimately it's probably an extreme response to the Fears, that everything is going wrong and getting out of hand, but...
It's almost like the human race has started noticing that our status at the top of the food chain is not saving us from any of the Really Big Shit that's going down in terms of climate, viral pandemics, food insecurity, natural disasters etc and is just doubling down as hard as possible like a 2 year old stamping their foot and saying "No! I'm the boss!" and trying to re-assert our 'superiority'. It's a separateness from the natural world, again.
Good morning from sunny central Queensland. I enjoy reading your views and i certainly trust your writing more than most of what i read.
I see all these views as puzzling to say the least.
My personal view is that we will save the planet - our world from the ground up. Hope for me comes from connectedness to the earth through food and function and the community around us.
Bless you in your travels. I hope you enjoy your adventures as vicariously i will to.
Does anyone else ponder whether all this AI is really neccessary? Humans were doing a pretty good job at surviving and living lightly on the earth in times past. Using wind, stars and currents to travel on enormous ships. Living without anything plastic or distructively disposible junk. Growing and trading what we ate and needed. It worked. And yes, if you were ill you probably died - But that now can be helped with what has been discovered over the past 100 years or so. Anyhow, what I am trying to get at is, what if we turned off and put away the mobile phones, tv's, ipads, it would be a more connected world as connection would need to be sought out in real life. Every convienience given to us by the "rich in control people" has had more of a devistating effect on our species than beneficial. Look at supermarkets, disposible nappies, wifi.... i cannot finish, my toddler needs some attention, but i hope someone gets my drift! Have a lovely day all
Hipster Eugenics? This is so gross. I shared this with my husband and his response summed it up pretty well: “I mean, do we hope the future generations are smarter, happier, healthier...? Sure. But to say that genetics will solve the problem and not social/cultural/economic/political change & responsibility, is just a way of masking a misguided notion that ‘if everyone would just be like me and do what I do, everything would be fine because I'm inherently better than others’.” I’d add it also perpetuates ableism, sexism, anti fatness, neurotypical bias, etc etc. Just so many issues with this.
I don’t know much about the other topics. I grew up in mining country, my dad working at one owned by Warren Buffett, so I got to see how he treated the people who were making money for him. I feel I got a glimpse into his ethics and found him wanting. He’s often heralded in the US for his savvy business practices and philanthropy. The only way to hoard that level of wealth is through exploitation. Needless to say I’ve questioned billionaire philanthropy since I was a teenager. It’s just another way for the super rich to stay rich and often become even richer. I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows at effective altruism. It feels like more distraction. People can’t keep trying to convince the rich to “save us”, believe they will, and trust that they actually know the fuck. They don’t hold the answers or keys that are lost on the rest of humanity. They are who/what are hurting us! Policy changes - we need to regulate their businesses and tax them.
First up, that cover photo of the couple is terrifying, its straight off of a horror movie poster. Aka Get Out :) Cute glasses though. Secondly you summed it up pretty well Sarah, at the core of the problem is our disconnection to ourselves and everything around us. At least that is what I can feel in myself. Which is creating all of this unproductive behaviour which I see playing out in the larger community. I often wish for some guidance in recognising this disconnection in myself, so that I am able to quickly come back when that anxious hamster wheel starts spinning in the mind. Or better still, ways to create a lifestyle and daily expereince which promotes self connection and connection to community. (Maybe I should read first we make it beautiful). From this connected place, I don't think we will have any problem with making good choices, and creating good relationships. Reconnecting to each other and forgiving the past, while cocreating a bright future will set us right. And from there, babies and saving the planet will be a natural and pleasurable next step.
republicans is code word for what? in this context? nazi? why not just say rich white people? does not matter an iota what their religion or politics is. they are rich and white. period. name another class of people on the planet who believes money can buy them first class seats on the most heavily advertised apocalypse?🙄
Person to talk to recommendation: Chris Cooper, Head of Purpose Asia Pac, he is in London right now too. They work on counteracting digital threats to democracy. So I am sure he would have much to say about the tech bros. https://www.thefoil.ai/episodes/episode-19-regulationdefendingdemocracy
All this stuff in this stack is just so so creepy yuck!! But thankyou to you & Siobhan for flagging!!
May 11, 2023·edited May 11, 2023Liked by Sarah Wilson
Sarah - what a post! You've really summarized so many complex things that are going on in a digestible fashion. The whole thing is immensely disturbing / scary / terrifying / revolting with no end in sight.
What on earth can be done to try to stop all this? Maybe we need to focus on the people who are trying to champion more grounded, here and now, just connect with the earth and each other type solutions - if there is such a group. Or maybe because all their wealth and power comes from the technology we're all reliant on (addicted to in some cases) maybe we need to pull back on this when we can? Would love to hear suggestions from people!
Hi Sarah. This one is tough. I think if I was able to use technology to understand if my future kids would get to live beyond 70 (most of my family have died before 70), then yes I would want to find out the genetic answer to that problem.
However I would also want my kids to grow up in the now. Connect to nature. Learn about the world. See and understand the world from different perspectives, because that will ground them in life and experience for the future.
These futuristic kids will be bubble wrapped because their role in life is seen as important in the future not the now, and I think that’s kinda missing the point of the journey of life.
I've been on the road for the past few days and am just catching up with this now. but I'm SO thrilled to see where you've landed with all this, Sarah. I've been feeling deeply concerned over the past year or so by how the media has been reporting on all of these issues and failing to join the dots between them all.
I hope you'll have a chance to interview some of the people who are offering really important critiques of things like AI, longtermism, effective altruism, transhumanism etc etc – people like Timnit Gebru, Emile P. Torres, Emily Bender, and Nathan J. Robinson.
Have you come across the TESCREAL acronym yet? Here's a brief explainer. Again, I think it's something that needs platforming by anyone who's able to do so:
Holy Fuck. Firstly. Glad I’ll be dead by the future. I don’t want a bar of it. Secondly. Starting to ponder the point of being an artist and wondering if it serves any valid purpose at all. Thirdly. How easy is it to create actual super-humans without basic man/woman reproduction. Do woman have some “power” still in this regard and if so, isn’t it about time we started using it.
Fuck Sarah. I don’t know. This is a crap start to Thursday but I love you and thank you for being you x
I don't really have anything pithy to comment with, other than that this gives me a really disconcerting feeling right behind the breastbone. I'd not heard of much of this before.
It seems this proportion of humanity is so preoccupied with how to engineer the human experience that they forget that truly living it, in all its messy connectedness to the world at large and other creatures in it, is the whole point.
Ultimately it's probably an extreme response to the Fears, that everything is going wrong and getting out of hand, but...
Unhappy shivers over here.
It's almost like the human race has started noticing that our status at the top of the food chain is not saving us from any of the Really Big Shit that's going down in terms of climate, viral pandemics, food insecurity, natural disasters etc and is just doubling down as hard as possible like a 2 year old stamping their foot and saying "No! I'm the boss!" and trying to re-assert our 'superiority'. It's a separateness from the natural world, again.
Ha Sarah, yes indeed - up early to milk my beautiful house cow.
Book recommendation relating to this article:
Klara and the Sun by Ishiguro
begs the question, if we have the option to genetically modify our kids and make them smarter, do we have moral obligation to do so?
Well that certainly dropped my optimism of humankind a few points.
Malcom and Simone...oh dear.
"I do not think humanity is in a great situation right now. And I think if somebody doesn't fix the problem, we could be gone"
When a man thinks solving humanities problem is to combine equal parts Gattaca and Hand Maids Tale, it is indeed a grim outlook.
To purposely eliminate the imperfect in people of the world, is still eliminating people.
What a terribly boring world it would be if we were all perfect.
How do either of them even get aroused when one would say "lets go to bed and superbreed".
Spreadsheets and superbreeding... wow, how erotic, I'm clearing the kitchen table now to get it on!!
Where the hell is the spontaneity in love making with that mindset.
Then times that mindset into three future generations of them both. Emotionless real life chatbots.
I think I'll be off then to live on a little Sumatran Island I know.
Dear Sarah
Good morning from sunny central Queensland. I enjoy reading your views and i certainly trust your writing more than most of what i read.
I see all these views as puzzling to say the least.
My personal view is that we will save the planet - our world from the ground up. Hope for me comes from connectedness to the earth through food and function and the community around us.
Bless you in your travels. I hope you enjoy your adventures as vicariously i will to.
Bill
Does anyone else ponder whether all this AI is really neccessary? Humans were doing a pretty good job at surviving and living lightly on the earth in times past. Using wind, stars and currents to travel on enormous ships. Living without anything plastic or distructively disposible junk. Growing and trading what we ate and needed. It worked. And yes, if you were ill you probably died - But that now can be helped with what has been discovered over the past 100 years or so. Anyhow, what I am trying to get at is, what if we turned off and put away the mobile phones, tv's, ipads, it would be a more connected world as connection would need to be sought out in real life. Every convienience given to us by the "rich in control people" has had more of a devistating effect on our species than beneficial. Look at supermarkets, disposible nappies, wifi.... i cannot finish, my toddler needs some attention, but i hope someone gets my drift! Have a lovely day all
Hipster Eugenics? This is so gross. I shared this with my husband and his response summed it up pretty well: “I mean, do we hope the future generations are smarter, happier, healthier...? Sure. But to say that genetics will solve the problem and not social/cultural/economic/political change & responsibility, is just a way of masking a misguided notion that ‘if everyone would just be like me and do what I do, everything would be fine because I'm inherently better than others’.” I’d add it also perpetuates ableism, sexism, anti fatness, neurotypical bias, etc etc. Just so many issues with this.
I don’t know much about the other topics. I grew up in mining country, my dad working at one owned by Warren Buffett, so I got to see how he treated the people who were making money for him. I feel I got a glimpse into his ethics and found him wanting. He’s often heralded in the US for his savvy business practices and philanthropy. The only way to hoard that level of wealth is through exploitation. Needless to say I’ve questioned billionaire philanthropy since I was a teenager. It’s just another way for the super rich to stay rich and often become even richer. I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows at effective altruism. It feels like more distraction. People can’t keep trying to convince the rich to “save us”, believe they will, and trust that they actually know the fuck. They don’t hold the answers or keys that are lost on the rest of humanity. They are who/what are hurting us! Policy changes - we need to regulate their businesses and tax them.
First up, that cover photo of the couple is terrifying, its straight off of a horror movie poster. Aka Get Out :) Cute glasses though. Secondly you summed it up pretty well Sarah, at the core of the problem is our disconnection to ourselves and everything around us. At least that is what I can feel in myself. Which is creating all of this unproductive behaviour which I see playing out in the larger community. I often wish for some guidance in recognising this disconnection in myself, so that I am able to quickly come back when that anxious hamster wheel starts spinning in the mind. Or better still, ways to create a lifestyle and daily expereince which promotes self connection and connection to community. (Maybe I should read first we make it beautiful). From this connected place, I don't think we will have any problem with making good choices, and creating good relationships. Reconnecting to each other and forgiving the past, while cocreating a bright future will set us right. And from there, babies and saving the planet will be a natural and pleasurable next step.
republicans is code word for what? in this context? nazi? why not just say rich white people? does not matter an iota what their religion or politics is. they are rich and white. period. name another class of people on the planet who believes money can buy them first class seats on the most heavily advertised apocalypse?🙄
Person to talk to recommendation: Chris Cooper, Head of Purpose Asia Pac, he is in London right now too. They work on counteracting digital threats to democracy. So I am sure he would have much to say about the tech bros. https://www.thefoil.ai/episodes/episode-19-regulationdefendingdemocracy
All this stuff in this stack is just so so creepy yuck!! But thankyou to you & Siobhan for flagging!!
Sarah - what a post! You've really summarized so many complex things that are going on in a digestible fashion. The whole thing is immensely disturbing / scary / terrifying / revolting with no end in sight.
What on earth can be done to try to stop all this? Maybe we need to focus on the people who are trying to champion more grounded, here and now, just connect with the earth and each other type solutions - if there is such a group. Or maybe because all their wealth and power comes from the technology we're all reliant on (addicted to in some cases) maybe we need to pull back on this when we can? Would love to hear suggestions from people!
Hi Sarah. This one is tough. I think if I was able to use technology to understand if my future kids would get to live beyond 70 (most of my family have died before 70), then yes I would want to find out the genetic answer to that problem.
However I would also want my kids to grow up in the now. Connect to nature. Learn about the world. See and understand the world from different perspectives, because that will ground them in life and experience for the future.
These futuristic kids will be bubble wrapped because their role in life is seen as important in the future not the now, and I think that’s kinda missing the point of the journey of life.
I saw the word hoo-ha in your post and wondered if it was the same hoo-ha I was thinking of?
I've been on the road for the past few days and am just catching up with this now. but I'm SO thrilled to see where you've landed with all this, Sarah. I've been feeling deeply concerned over the past year or so by how the media has been reporting on all of these issues and failing to join the dots between them all.
I hope you'll have a chance to interview some of the people who are offering really important critiques of things like AI, longtermism, effective altruism, transhumanism etc etc – people like Timnit Gebru, Emile P. Torres, Emily Bender, and Nathan J. Robinson.
Have you come across the TESCREAL acronym yet? Here's a brief explainer. Again, I think it's something that needs platforming by anyone who's able to do so:
https://twitter.com/xriskology/status/1635313838508883968