Long Now

Stefan Sagmeister, a provocative designer-artist who turns long-term data into striking visual art. He examines how zooming out reveals slow human progress, visualizes declines in child mortality and violence, and explores design that turns data into objects and public installations. He argues positivity should motivate action while acknowledging limits like war and climate.

Indy Johar, architect and systems thinker advocating civilizational optioneering, argues for keeping futures open amid climate, ecological, and technological cascades. He discusses planetary self-awareness, machine-assisted collective sense-making, regenerating soils and water, bioregional stewardship, and new multi-actor institutions to coordinate large-scale resilience.

In this engaging discussion, Kate Crawford, a leading AI scholar and artist, delves into the historical connections between technology and imperial power. She explores how AI shifts representational authority from humans to machines and reveals the ecological consequences of our tech-driven economies. A fascinating highlight is her 'Calculating Empires' project, which maps 500 years of exploitation. Crawford also addresses the urgent need for responsible AI practices that inspire democratic and regenerative approaches to technology.

Dr. Lynn J. Rothschild, a distinguished NASA astrobiologist, reveals how nature can inspire innovative solutions for Earth's challenges and beyond. She discusses life as a self-repairing technology and the potential of biomaterials like cellulose and silk. From engineering microbes for manufacturing to creating mycelium structures for habitats on other planets, Rothschild highlights cutting-edge applications. She also delves into on-demand medicines, extraterrestrial food production, and the future of sustainable living, urging collaboration in the quest for a better future.

Blaise Agüera y Arcas, VP at Google and founder of Paradigms of Intelligence, explores the essence of intelligence and its connection to symbiogenesis. He discusses how life and computation intertwine, challenging traditional views of technology and humanity's separation. The conversation dives into biological computing, showcasing how DNA embodies computational principles. Agüera y Arcas also highlights the role of collective human intelligence in shaping our world and advocates for a cooperative approach to AI rather than one centered on dominance.

Kim Carson, a creative technologist and futurist, challenges the narrative that AI will replace humanity. Instead, she argues that AI can serve as a mirror, inspiring us to unlock our creative potential. Carson shares her personal journey of integrating roles while reflecting on human emotion versus AI limitations. She emphasizes that true creativity flourishes through love and vulnerability, advocating for empathy in tech design. The conversation also touches on the importance of community in the underground AI scene and envisioning a unified future through collaborative education.

Sara Imari Walker, an esteemed astrobiologist and leader in assembly theory, joins Benjamin Bratton to discuss the intricate question: What is life? They delve into assembly theory's implications, revealing how life creates complex structures and how this complexity is rare in the universe. The conversation spans the intersection of time, space, and technology, proposing that time can be visualized as a physical entity. They also explore new frameworks to understand life’s origins and the potential of extraterrestrial existence.

Ezra Klein, a journalist and New York Times columnist, joins Derek Thompson from The Atlantic and author Michael Pollan for a thought-provoking dialogue. They explore the shift from a scarcity to an abundance mindset in politics, particularly after Trump's election. The trio advocates for rediscovering speed in governance to improve efficiency and accountability. They also tackle the housing crisis, urging a balance between community needs and individual interests, while scrutinizing the influence of power on societal progress.

Stephen Heintz and Kim Stanley Robinson say we live in an “Age of Turbulence.” Looking around our geopolitical situation, it’s easy to see what they mean. Faced with the ever-growing threat of climate change, the looming potential breakdown of the post-01945 international order, and the ambiguous prospects of rapid technological changes in fields like AI, biotechnology, and geoengineering, it is clear that we need new answers to new challenges. Stephen Heintz, a Public policy expert and president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), and Kim Stanley Robinson, one of the most acclaimed science fiction authors writing today, work in very different fields. But each of them in his own way has sketched out a vision of what we must do to face down the intersecting crises of our time: While their methods may differ, they align on their conclusions. In their Long Now Talk, Heintz and Robinson propose what they refer to as _A Logic For The Future_ — a new path for international relations in the face of the chaos of our current age. Over the course of their conversation, Stephen and Stan drew on a wide variety of historical examples to contextualize our seemingly unprecedented geopolitical moment. In all of these case studies — from the writing of the Atlantic Charter in the darkest days of World War II to the fraught deal-making and relationship-building that allowed for the signing of the Iran Nuclear deal in 02015 — the two focused on the power of human-driven, almost utopian visions of the future as tools for building a better world. Now, in a moment of geopolitical uncertainty and internal democratic crisis, Stephen and Stan see space for the kinds of utopian imagination and creativity that were so solely missed in prior moments of flux and chaos. Long-term thinking is key to this kind utopian thinking. In Stan’s words, the “optimistic” possibilities of long-term thinking are not just useful in dreaming up a better future. They’re “reinvigorating in how we address the problems we face on a day-to-day basis.”

K Allado-McDowell, an artist and technologist, dives deep into the realm of Neural Media, exploring how AI challenges our creativity and self-perception. They discuss the evolution of AI-generated art and its implications for identity, referencing the viral 'trippysquirrel.jpg.' Allado-McDowell also highlights the optimism found in the chaos of low-quality AI outputs, suggesting that these new tools can deepen our understanding of ourselves and our interconnected world, blurring the lines between art and technology in transformative ways.