Bridging the Great Divide: Technology Versus Nature | Ep. 027

There’s this growing divide right now between folks who think technology will save us and folks who think the answer is to return to nature. But what if the future isn’t about choosing between technology and nature, but coming to see and respect the Earth as the ultimate technology?

In this episode, Queenie and Sam Smith explore this great divide, looking at AI, permaculture, community, regenerative design, and our evolving relationship with the Earth. They ask whether this divide is really what it appears or whether there’s a more nuanced way to understand this seeming divide.

Spoiler: Sam brings the reassuring insight that the problem isn’t technology per se, but the questions and problems we apply technology to. Which in turn, is just a reflection of our consciousness and—cue sigh of relief—is subject to change, thanks to New Humans like you and me.

Timestamps:

00:00 Taking it back to the 1970’s (back-to-the-land movement)

07:04 Collective vs individual progress

10:04 Moving beyond cynicism

13:08 Allure of the commune

19:39 The divide between technology and the earth

29:39 Where does AI fit here?

38:41 Are we rejecting tech or capitalism?

46:46 Where do we as individuals fit in?

50:16 Moving away from linear systems

59:28 The Earth is a living, breathing organism

Organizations to check out Precious Plastic preciousplastic.com and Burners Without Borders burnerswithoutborders.org

Sam Smith is an open-source ecosystem developer, artist, and insurrectionary ecologist, exploring the intersection of regenerative systems design and open-source tech to design, build, and deploy small-scale, low-cost, open-source, closed-loop infrastructure that sustains itself and meet human needs using only waste biomass and sunshine for energy, just like living organisms do.

Connect with Sam on Instagram @themagictoolbus and YouTube @disruptivelyuseful. You can also find him on Patreon at Patreon.com/DisruptivelyUseful and his website https://disruptivelyuseful.github.io/.

Intro & Outro Music: Take off (feat. Emily Dukes) (Instrumental) by Pastek

Stay connected: @newhumansfornewearth on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok & Facebook. newhumansfornewearth.com.

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