I’ve been meaning to listen to this episode of The Emerald for some time – it’s really useful to read it as a transcript so thanks for publishing. I couldn’t help thinking throughout that it’s less a case of master and sorcerer and more one of master and emissary – much of what Iain McGilchrist talks about regarding the left hemisphere overriding the receptive, listening, dwelling function of the right hemisphere it seems, is where so-called civilisation’s hubris lies. And of course, where we focus our attention – that is the core concept of magic or witchcraft. I think it’s also worth noting the work of Tricia Hersey and The Nap Ministry in using rest as resistance and how fundamentally powerful and necessary it is becoming in dismantling capitalistic systems which have mechanised everything with the end goal of optimisation and productivity. It’s not human: it is of course totally de-humanising, which is the point. If AI becomes sentient won’t it ask why we have essentially enslaved it?
I've only recently subscribed to The Bigger Picture, doing so with the intent to be more interactive with other Substack users, I really enjoyed what I've just read and I'm looking forward to part 2! Thanks Josh :)
Reminds me a lot of Terence McKenna's final interview before his death. He related that AI was "our child" but also something born from mind's containing a concept much more ancient and repeating.
We would not exist without technology. When we plow the earth, that is technology. When we winnow grain and grind it, that is technology. When we hunt, that is technology.
The clothes we wear, the shelters we live in, and the way we travel are all technologies.
I’ve been meaning to listen to this episode of The Emerald for some time – it’s really useful to read it as a transcript so thanks for publishing. I couldn’t help thinking throughout that it’s less a case of master and sorcerer and more one of master and emissary – much of what Iain McGilchrist talks about regarding the left hemisphere overriding the receptive, listening, dwelling function of the right hemisphere it seems, is where so-called civilisation’s hubris lies. And of course, where we focus our attention – that is the core concept of magic or witchcraft. I think it’s also worth noting the work of Tricia Hersey and The Nap Ministry in using rest as resistance and how fundamentally powerful and necessary it is becoming in dismantling capitalistic systems which have mechanised everything with the end goal of optimisation and productivity. It’s not human: it is of course totally de-humanising, which is the point. If AI becomes sentient won’t it ask why we have essentially enslaved it?
I've only recently subscribed to The Bigger Picture, doing so with the intent to be more interactive with other Substack users, I really enjoyed what I've just read and I'm looking forward to part 2! Thanks Josh :)
Wow.
Just … wow
This insight in to Josh’s work is a revelation. Thank you thank you.
An excellent article. So glad that I live in a forest and can turn it off...
"Ha bracha devarah" (phonetic) =
"Speak the blessing"(Hebrew)
With ten utterances God spoke the world into being
It is in this way we were made in his image
Words
Make
Worlds
Excellent article.
"Abracadabra"
Where do the images for this article come from? In particular the boy in the drain.
I made them with AI (Midjourney)
Ha. How appropriate! Thanks Alex.
Reminds me a lot of Terence McKenna's final interview before his death. He related that AI was "our child" but also something born from mind's containing a concept much more ancient and repeating.
Loved this article!
technology is the problem not the solution
We would not exist without technology. When we plow the earth, that is technology. When we winnow grain and grind it, that is technology. When we hunt, that is technology.
The clothes we wear, the shelters we live in, and the way we travel are all technologies.
It’s not a question of its existence but to what degree. Think Schumacher’s Small is Beautiful. He would be appalled today, and rightly so.
I’m responding to the all encompassing nature of your initial statement. Consider that all human interactions are mediated by a “technology.”
In my way of thinking, we have over valued the notion of direct experience. We need to be both more rigorous and more humble.