18th Jun 2024 Gemini 1.5 Pro
Stephen Reid, a transdisciplinary technologist, highlights the concept of the Metacrisis, suggesting that interconnected global challenges like the climate crisis and social inequality share common drivers known as "generator functions." One such function is the "multipolar trap," exemplified by arms races or the tragedy of the commons, where individuals or groups, even with good intentions, are compelled to make detrimental choices due to systemic pressures. Reid invokes the idea of Moloch, a metaphorical entity representing this impersonal force driving destructive behaviors despite individual desires for a different outcome.
Reid further elaborates on the concept of Wetiko, a term originating from indigenous North American cultures, which refers to a spiritual and psychological affliction characterized by greed, selfishness, and a destructive hunger for consumption. He draws parallels between Wetiko and the Metacrisis, suggesting that this "mind virus" contributes to the ecological destruction we witness, as individuals and societies driven by insatiable consumption ultimately consume themselves and the environment that sustains them.
It's kind of linked to all that we've been speaking about so far. Like, I at this point at least you've been doing a lot of loving kindness meditations yeah right well that's kind of the link you know like at this point at least it is still human beings designing these systems if the human beings themselves you know can be coming from a place of you know of genuinely good intentions of loving kindness of compassion of a desire to truly improve life for a on this planet for all beings, then why shouldn't AI be a very useful tool towards those goals?
The conversation shifts to the rapid advancements in Artificial intelligence (AI) and the potential risks associated with its unchecked development. Reid acknowledges the potential benefits of AI, but also recognizes the concerns surrounding AI alignment, where the challenge lies in effectively encoding human values and desires into these complex systems. He draws a parallel between the unchecked nature of capitalism and AI, suggesting that both can be viewed as powerful forces operating without adequate alignment with human values and ecological well-being.
Reid discusses the calls for a moratorium on AI development, recognizing the need for careful consideration of the potential consequences. While acknowledging the potential benefits of a pause, he questions the practicality of containing a technology that's already widely accessible. This leads to a discussion about the role of open-source AI and the importance of ensuring that this technology doesn't remain solely in the hands of a few powerful corporations.
I don't think it's useful to just sit or enter this domain in fear. I think it's important to stay open to the possibility that this could be great.
Reid delves into the ethical considerations surrounding the massive datasets used to train AI, noting that much of this data was collected without explicit consent, particularly in the context of social media. He acknowledges the discomfort many people feel about their data being used to fuel corporate profits and shape the development of these powerful technologies.
The conversation explores the potential for regulatory frameworks that address data ethics and empower individuals to have more control over how their information is used in the development and deployment of AI systems. Reid proposes the need for standardized ways to tag creative output online, enabling individuals to specify whether or not they consent to their work being used for AI training.
Do there need to be easier, more standardized ways of like kind of tagging creative output in the digital realm to market as something that, you know, we're okay to feature as part of these systems or not? It's not an area that I've thought deeply about, but I see it as an important topic.
Despite the challenges posed by AI, Reid maintains a sense of cautious optimism. He finds hope in movements like Solarpunk, which envision a future where technology and ecology coexist harmoniously, with technology serving the needs of a regenerative and sustainable society.
Reid introduces the idea of "bioregional AI," exploring the potential for AI models trained on localized data sets, such as indigenous knowledge systems, to serve the specific needs of communities and bioregions. He envisions a future where AI empowers diverse communities to leverage their unique knowledge and resources for collective well-being.
So what would a bioregional AI look like? I mean, I guess it's really about the data question, it's the training. So could we... Let's think about indigenous peoples. So what would it look like to train an AI solely on the indigenous wisdom of the Shipibo, which is a community in the preview in Amazon that I've worked with a little bit.
The conversation concludes with a reflection on the role of Web3 and decentralized technologies in reshaping our economic systems. Reid critiques the current economic paradigm, highlighting its emphasis on abstraction, extraction, and accumulation. He draws on Daniel Schmachtenberger's framework, which proposes instantiation, contextualization, and distribution as antidotes to these systemic flaws.
Reid sees potential in Web3 to empower communities to design their own economic systems, fostering economic localization and challenging the dominance of centralized financial institutions. He explores concepts like demurrage, where money gradually loses value over time, as a way to incentivize circulation and discourage hoarding.
And the antidote to accumulation, Daniel suggests, is distribution. And so we could think about in the distribution of money itself. The most interesting idea I see in that context is one of the most interesting ideas is demurrage, is like money that decays, which, of course, everything in nature decays.
Airtable