| John Hopkins on Tue, 15 Oct 2019 05:28:39 +0200 (CEST) |
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| Re: <nettime> Social robotics, cognitive bomb |
Olivier --For a model of what our down-side-of-the-Hubbert-curve global situation might look like, and practices that might well be embraced for this inevitable de-industrialization process that cannot be stopped by any technological implementations, only slightly slowed through radical human behavior shifts:
Greer, John Michael. The Long Descent: A User’s Guide to the End of the Industrial Age. Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers, 2008.
If anyone would like a pdf, ping me off list...It, as you can see, was published in 2008, but the premise, the draining of the very finite reserves of hydrocarbons, globally, and social trajectories that it imposes are the same as now, except we are a bit further along on the way down. The arrival of intensive fracking for natural gas only slowed the drain slightly, and as fracked gas resources are depleted on average far faster than conventional wells, this slow-down of the demise will be short-lived... It will be the lack of available energy that will more-or-less slowly constrict our lives from the present of excess to lives of far less in every way. Greer argues against the apocalyptic collapse that is envisioned; but also against any technological 'silver bullet' that might, against all thermodynamic laws, generate infinite energy for all to consume at will. It's a good read for understanding where/how things will likely happen (and are already happening) -- especially in terms of your transforming 'social profile' idea. Because the structure and operation of the social is deeply intertwined with the availability of usable energy sources...
JH On 14/Oct/19 05:47, olivier auber wrote:
Thanks César As you have understood, I am speaking from a perspective borrowed from the cognitive sciences, particularly the social signal theory. Other aspects are also developed in my book. - Executives who fly for a yes or no, do so to send social signals. - People locked in their homes and stuck on social networks do it to send social signals. - Eating beef is a social signal. - Have children too! My hypothesis is that the social profile of our species is likely to change. We will certainly not stop sending social signals, otherwise we would turn into stones. It is the shape of the profile that could evolve. It could move from the S-shaped comprising two non-competitive classes C1 and C3 and a single competitive class C2, to a z-shaped where C1 and C3 would become competitive while C2 would become less so. In my book I put forward some arguments that suggest that this transformation is underway and why we should encourage it. The consequences are enormous, including in terms of energy and the environment, because signal production is extremely energy-consuming.
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