SZwanglos – Following Feed

Hard truth for those building in the AI space: This is nothing compared to the calls for Butlerian Jihad coming down the pike. The options will amount to geopolitically intolerable capitulation or hard repression (stick) sweetened with some form of CBDC-mediated UBI (carrot). China has made its choice. Now the West will likely follow suit (with all the face-saving narratives about Our AI-Enabled Democracy that entails), or at least try. Unfortunate that the incentives point toward this, and perhaps there exist off-ramps presently unforeseeable, but this is now the base case expectation.

Former Goldman Sachs executive: Knowledge is now worth zero with AI.

In this episode, I’m joined by biologist and farmer Jason Bradford, to discuss his ‘Farming Club,’ which offers hands-on learning for ecologically based agriculture, where members also get to take home food and build a relationship with the land. https://thegreatsimplification.com/episode/211-jason-bradford

Unfortunately this now exists in the probability distribution. (A small but decent sized wedge).

What Craig said:

This week’s Frankly marks a new recurring segment on this platform: Uncomfortable Questions in Unstable Times. In this edition, I explore what would change if societies shifted their primary goal from growth to stability. https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/125-uncomfortable-questions-in-unstable-times

“Do you know how hard it is to stop mammals from reproducing?” Connor (and Gaya) dropping truth bombs

In this episode, I'm joined by science journalist @PeterBrannen1, who reframes CO2 from an industrial pollutant to a miraculous substance whose critical role within the carbon cycle makes Earth habitable. https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/210-peter-brannen

This…feels accurate

Today’s edition of Wide Boundary News features reflections on a new peak in crude oil production, the growth of non-dispatchable electricity, and a report recently released by the World Economic Forum assessing global risks. https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/124-wide-boundary-news

This week’s Frankly unpacks humans’ current identification with the label “consumer.” Consumption is something much deeper and more nuanced than shopping or spending. https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/123-the-consumption-pyramid

Today, I'm joined by Balázs Matics, author of the popular Substack blog The Honest Sorcerer, to explore the systemic reasons behind civilization's potential collapse, the importance of energy security, and the growing effects of geopolitical instability. https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/209-balasz-matics

R to @NJHagens: Full episode with @xiyebastida: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/208-xiye-bastida

How could a closer connection to the land help us cultivate a more sustained inner fire in order to continue moving in the direction of better futures – even if we don’t yet know the exact destination?

The Superorganism hath many tentacles and hella incentive to maintain itself

In this Frankly, I reflect on a recent seminal essay posted by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, likening Artificial Intelligence as a "rite of passage" for the human species rather than just a narrow technological breakthrough. https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/122-a-country-of-geniuses

Japan, silver, Venezuela, and more - the biophysical phase shift cometh. This week’s Frankly inaugurates a new category on The Great Simplification, Wide Boundary News, in which I view the constant churn of headlines through a wider-boundary lens. https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/121-wide-boundary-news

In this episode, I’m joined by Indigenous environmental justice activist @xiyebastida to discuss how her heritage and leadership in the youth climate movement have helped guide her to continue her work toward a more ecologically attuned world. https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/208-xiye-bastida