It’s a DOGE Eat DOG World
The old bromide goes: If you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog. In today’s Washington, the joke would be to buy a DOGE.
Joel Stronberg
The Great Escape
Rather than retreating into the world of brains and their fancy constructs—responsible for initiating a sixth mass extinction that would wipe us out, too—we ought to break free of their grip.
As China and the U.S. race toward A.I. Armageddon, does it matter who wins?
As both China and the U.S. go hurtling ever faster toward Armageddon in the race to dominate in AI, they have both bought into techno-utopian ideologies, lock, stock and barrel. We should all take a deep breath and ask the question: Is accessible, open-source AI really a good thing for anyone?
Trump’s Second Act: Power, Resistance, and the Limits of Governance
In my 2021 book, Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival, I traced how social power arose among humans and how it has been used in societies large and small, ancient and modern. Whatever insights that book contains, now is a good time to put them to the test.
The Gauntlet. Where is Thrutopia?
One conceptualisation of this new narrative is as a ‘Thrutopia’. This is the middle passage between utopia and dystopia. The hour is too late to avoid reaping the destruction we have sown, but neither is complex human civilisation beyond hope.
Peter Turchin: “The ‘Decline’ of Nations: How Elite Surplus and Inequality Lead to Societal Upheaval”
In this episode, Nate is joined by complexity scientist, Peter Turchin, to discuss his work modeling the key factors that drive patterns of peace, turmoil, and revolution in nations throughout history – and how those connect to the situation in the United States today.
To the lifehouse, Part 2
This focus on resilient agrarianism underlines the point that ‘taking care of ourselves in a world on fire’ – to invoke the subtitle of Adam’s book – is going to be a heavily rural affair.
Escaping the system
So rather than take from the world, take yourself out of this system and go responsively and responsibly contribute to living. Go live your whole and healthy life in the edge spaces. And pretty soon there will be no center. (Because we all know it can’t hold…)
Genetic Engineering and Generative AI: An Explosive Mix
Is it smart to intentionally give up control over the release of modern GM plants at the very moment when AI technology will transform this technology to the extent that human intelligence may no longer be in the driving seat?
Listening to Earth: A Reflection on John Francis and My Journey to Jamaica
There are moments in life when we are called to listen—not just to words, but to the silence beneath them. To listen not just with our ears, but with our whole being.
Heat pumps have a cosiness problem
The best way to sell the low-carbon heating transition is locally, where the kinds of attachments and allegiances to heat that we have uncovered are best appreciated and understood. Local authorities are typically best placed to do that.
How We Distribute Power Will Influence Our Future
As we head into a future shaped by climate change, we must find ways to stabilize societies and reduce conflict. Solutions may lie in the archaeological record.