The process of decolonizing education, design, science and engineering really has only just begun. Exciting times ahead.
Technology is a form of culture
Plugging’s around the globe. (source) #Ideas #Technology
"Interspecies collaboration and communication" is truly one of the most fascinating topics ever. So much latent potential, very exciting!
A primary question to ask when designing automation technology is: "Can this task be accomplished by collaborating with nature (Animals, Insects, Plants, Bacteria, etc.) instead of machines?"
It is extremely comedic that a large and well funded industry is trying to create "human level intelligence in silicon" (AGI), while we have not even remotely "understood" more "simple" life-forms like Worms, which are essential for life on earth.
Presidents used to boast with how many military machines they built (some idiots still do) - gradually they are shifting towards boasting with how many trees they planted. Great developments!
"Ethiopia has planted more than 200 million trees in a day, officials say, in what they believe is a world record": https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-africa-49151523
Pakistan plans to plant 10 billion trees to combat decades of deforestation: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-trees-planting-billions-forests-deforestation-imran-khan-environment-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-a8584241.html
"Every Tree in the City, Mapped": https://www.citylab.com/environment/2018/12/urban-tree-canopy-maps-artificial-intelligence-descartes-labs/578701/ "Researchers at Descartes Labs are using artificial intelligence to make a better map of the urban tree canopy." https://medium.com/descarteslabs-team/descartes-labs-urban-trees-tree-canopy-mapping-3b6c85c5c9cc
Mapping every tree on earth with satellites and machine learning (as was just done) is fascinating and impressive. Let's just not forgot that "AI is the triumph of the past over the future" and this easily can lead to "smashing the territory with the map". Perspective matters.
Question: Why bother playing with generative systems (computer simulations, fractals, etc.) if you can play with regenerative systems (flora, fauna) instead - which are far more beautiful than any simulation, often delicious to eat and critical for life on earth.
Green AI: “We want to shift the balance towards the Green AI option — to ensure that any inspired undergraduate with a laptop has the opportunity to write high-quality papers that could be accepted at premier research conferences.” https://arxiv.org/abs/1907.10597
The greenest form of "AI" is "No AI". Let's ask ourselves earnestly, does this task really need to be computerized & automated - or is it possibly healthier & saner for humans, flora & fauna to do the task? There is no free lunch - every augmentation leads to amputation.
WANT: "Post-Internet Regenerative Infrastructure Politics and the Seven Dwarfs" - A book for children of all ages.
Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning. A 54-page paper consisting of 12 articles written by @david_rolnick and many other collaborators on this important topic:
https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.05433 #ML #FFHCI #ClimateChange #Ideas
Finally. Next up, papers that explore the intersection of Machine learning /technology and mass species extinction / life (animals, plants, etc)? Arguably, a much harder but more essential challenge.
Climate Change Is a Symptom. Consumer Culture Is a Symptom. The death of God (community & values) and it's replacement with Science & Technology (total materialism, reductionism & individualism) is the Disease.
Climate Change Is the Symptom. Consumer Culture Is the Disease: https://newrepublic.com/article/154147/climate-change-symptom-consumer-culture-disease
Making music specifically for plants/insects is a fantastic idea. I'm convinced that using (ML-based) Generative Music, coupled with plant/soil bio-sensor feedback loops is a highly effective component in new systems that will replace chemical fertilisers/pest control.
Mort Garson - Ode To An African Violet
going forward, my standard answer to 95% of questions:
i have no clue or strong believes - you seem to have both, so you tell me.
“There is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening.” – Marshall McLuhan
“Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime.” - W. E. B. Du Bois