“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds…” - Aldo Leopold
Talking about AI and all the other runaway technologies can induce a kind of powerlessness in the speaker. Social media’s grip and algorithmic bias in culture are massive problems usually under review by those in positions of power. It is both a feature and a bug of our digital age that we have to (get to) grapple with them. Ordinary people are bombarded by a twenty-four hour news cycle detailing the unfolding story of our epoch’s worst casualties. Sustained attention results in susceptible minds.
We all need to take a moment to remember our place. No one can solve all the world’s problems (I write this for myself more than any one else). No technology, policy, breaking news, cultural shift will right the wrongs that have gone on. As much as we may want it, the restoration of all things requires the patient and intentional work of starting with our own minds and hearts.
“Anyone who practices the art of cultural criticism must endure being asked, what is the solution to the problems you describe?” - Neil Postman
Sometimes there is no answer. Sometimes the answer is insufficient. Sometimes the best thing we can do is log off, disengage, and go for a walk among trees…
