State

Every year, the sci-fi author Bruce Sterling, web developer Jon Lebkowsky, & invited guests convene a “State of the World” discussion on The WELL.

From the State of the World 2019, I was struck by this comment from James Bridle, author of the book New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future:

“If it’s getting dark in here, it’s because the whale oil lamp of entrenched power structures is guttering, and the networks of computational knowledge are browning out. The response should not be to set everything that remains on fire, but to let ones’ eyes adjust—and listen to those who’ve been outside.”