The surprising thing A.I. engineers will tell you if you let them

by Ezra Klein, The New York Times…This is an example of “alignment risk,” the danger that what we want the systems to do and what they will actually do could diverge, and perhaps do so violently. Curbing alignment risk requires curbing the systems themselves, not just the ways we permit people to use them.

This changes everything

This changes everything

In a 2022 survey, A.I. experts were asked, “What probability do you put on human inability to control future advanced A.I. systems causing human extinction or similarly permanent and severe disempowerment of the human species?”

Climate, fiction, and the future

Artists have a long history of channeling social change into their works, shaping our cultures, societies, and institutions. When informed by science, this becomes a powerful tool for action.

Let’s imagine we knew exactly how the pandemic started

In a March Guardian editorial that similarly treated the matter of origin as an arcane sideshow, the paper emphasized expanding disease surveillance, protecting natural habitats, reforming factory farming and ramping up lab safety — and concluded that all “this, rather than the blame game, is what politicians should prioritize.”

The Long View Vol 22

The Long View Vol 22

Since the Long View started as a newsletter almost 2 years ago, our aim has been to curate the highest quality polycrisis news, research, and analysis to support this growing learning community. As this polycrisis work has gone global, so has the volume of content, debate over its relevance, and evolving language. Here are this month’s top picks of polycrisis news, curated by Omega Program Director Stanley Wu. It was quite a month, worldwide. These selections were chosen to help foster thinking about these times and how we consider resilience in light of the global polycrisis.

Q&A with Noam Chomsky about the future of our world for the SXSW23 Wonder House

Q&A with Noam Chomsky about the Future of our world.

We asked Noam Chomsky about the future of our world, our systems of government and power and our need to come together to address the challenges of our time. The laureate professor and public intellectual shared his thoughts with UArizona College of Social & Behavioral Sciences Dean Lori Poloni-Staudinger.

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Jul 06 2023

Global polycrisis: The causal mechanisms of crisis entanglement

by Dr. Michael Lawrence at The Cascade Institute….. In this framework, a global crisis arises when one or more fast-moving trigger events combines with...
May 14 2025

From polycrisis to metacrisis: a short introduction

by Rufus Pollock and Rosie Bell in Life Itself.org…Our new white paper on the polycrisis and metacrisis: what they are, how they are distinct, how they are...
May 09 2025

The planetary politics of everyday life

by Nils Gilman in Small Precautions…In conclusion, the analysis provided by La Fabrique Écologique powerfully argues that the ecological transition in France, and...
May 02 2025

Casual Loop Diagrams handbook

by Michael Lawrence…Like many other forms of systems diagrams (and network diagrams), CLDs are composed of elements and connections. But unlike many others, CLDs...
May 01 2025

“Putting America First” — Undermining health for populations at home and abroad

by Christopher P. Duggan, M.D., M.P.H., et al. in The New England Journal of Medicine…In the initial months of the Trump administration, numerous executive orders...
May 01 2025

Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer

by Damian Carrington in The Guardian…Action urgently needed to save the conditions under which markets – and civilisation itself – can operate, says senior...
Apr 30 2025

Bioregionalism in practice: Weaving local solutions in a global context

Webinar hosted by Regenerosity…This webinar kicks off a new series of bioregional conversations, designed to deepen understanding, improve practice, and expand...
Apr 29 2025

If you want peace, prepare for war—an ancient lesson Canada must remember

by Thomas Homer-Dixon at The Cascade Institute…If you want peace, prepare for war. This ancient Roman aphorism is starkly relevant to Canada’s situation today, no...
Apr 28 2025

Welcome to the chaoscene

by Rupert Read in aeon.com…The climate crisis is here. In order to thrive in these dangerous and precarious times, we must build resilient communities.

Apr 25 2025

Bioregioning: the defining practice of regenerative cultures

by Daniel Wahl in Medium…..Bioregions define the appropriate scale for regional self-reliance, responsible environmental action and human participation in the...
Apr 24 2025

Systems Thinking For Social Change

A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to...