Celebration of the Commons
And this is true of all common goods. It is only the crazy logic of a capitalist market that wrenches any benefit out of waste. Short-term gain is never a real gain.
Eliza Daley
John Robb: “Networked Tribalism, AI, and Asteroids”
On this episode, Nate is joined by author and technology analyst John Robb to discuss how geopolitics, information warfare, and technology are shaping how we understand the world and interact with each other.
Watching Work
All work involves, to some degree, both body and mind. This plays a major role in the degree to which AI can or cannot effectively replace human labour. Yet even if AI can not succeed in taking away your job, it might succeed in taking away a big chunk of your paycheque.
Sperm Whales Have Culture Too: Strong Evidence That Clans, Culture, and Dialects Are Not Unique to Humans
The facts about sperm whales rival in some ways the extreme capacities and behaviors that until recently we thought were uniquely human.
From citizens of nations to citizens of cities
As philosopher Cornelius Castoriadis underlines, the equality among citizens of Ancient Athens was not based on the granting of equal passive ‘rights’, but active general participation in public affairs.
Redesigning Business for Sustainability
We need to reform businesses so they adopt environmental protection goals on their own. This means encouraging new legal forms of business: ones that allow the purpose, governance, and role of profit to align with the steady-state goal.
On this Social Network, Sea Ice, Traditional Foods, and Wildlife Are Always Trending
Using an app developed by Inuit in Nunavut, Indigenous communities from Alaska to Greenland are harnessing data to make their own decisions.
How Do You Love What You Keep?
Limits are a necessary part of bringing about the life I long for, and of caring for the people, places, and futures we’ve all been entrusted to keep.
Inexhaustible Flows?
It should not be surprising that we have not yet been—and may never be—able to engineer long-term-sustainable modernity (i.e., high-tech). I strongly suspect that’s not even a thing. Why on Earth would we just assume that it’s possible?
Pakistan bucks global trend with 30-year mangrove expansion
Many in Pakistan are looking to mangroves to bolster precious fish stocks and defend against the effects of climate change — even as threats to mangroves, such as wood harvesting and camel grazing, continue with no end in sight.
The ‘vast uncertainty’ of AI and jobs
Autor is clear that the advent of AI has created greater uncertainty about the future of the labour market, and he isn’t necessarily optimistic. But it is right to underline the uncertainty. And, as he observes, a lot of these issues aren’t about technology. They’re about policy and politics.
Dam, Dam, Dam!: Is There a Place for Hydropower in a Warming World?
Hydropower won’t help solve the climate crisis, but new dam projects may lead to war over one thing key to our survival — access to fresh, clean water.
