A growing curation of recommended essays, books & multimedia content contextualising our work at Arkology Studio. Main themes include understanding the metacrisis (i.e. the drivers of social and ecological breakdown), commoning (as an evolutionary capacity) and our relationship to technology (both opportunities and risks).
<aside> 💡 Feel free to suggest other content relevant to the above inquiries
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**Technology is Not Values Neutral: Ending the Reign of Nihilistic Design** - The Conscilience Project
The essay highlights the significant, often unexpected effects of technology on society and psychology, advocating for "axiological design" that incorporates ethical and value considerations to address technology's impact on human thoughts, behaviours, and societal dynamics.
Anatomy of an AI System - Kate Crawford & Vladan Joler
The Amazon Echo as an anatomical map of human labor, data and planetary resources. A visual and written exploration.
**Rethinking the Commons as an Evolutionary Capacity** - Culture Hack Labs
The essay discusses the commons from an evolutionary perspective, highlighting the role of symbolic thought and cooperation in cultural evolution. It suggests that viewing the commons through this lens is crucial for transition work.
**Seeing Wetico** - Alnoor Ladhor & Martin Kirk
The essay explores the concept of wetiko, a term from First Nation traditions describing a cannibalistic spirit symbolizing greed and selfish consumption. It discusses the idea's historical and cultural roots, including its relation to memetics, the spread of ideas, and its manifestation in modern capitalism. The essay advocates for a shift towards values of altruism, empathy, and interconnectedness to combat the destructive influence of wetiko.
**Unenclosable Carriers and the Future of Communication: The Power of Peer-to-Peer (Part 1)** - Arthur Brock & Josh Zemel
Critiques the centralization and enclosability in current communication and monetary systems, including blockchain technologies, and proposes a shift towards unenclosable, scalable systems like Holochain, which enable true peer-to-peer interaction and data control.