Everything Is Broken, Now What?

What if responding to the problems created by technology does not always mean finding another technological solution?

As AI and digital systems expand into more areas of social and environmental life, much of the debate focuses on how to make them safer, greener, fairer, or more efficient. But this framing can leave untouched the more fundamental assumption that technological expansion is inevitable and that our task is simply to manage its consequences. What if responding sometimes means building something new, but at other times means stopping or limiting something, repairing what already exists, redistributing power, doing things differently, telling other stories, or deciding that certain things should not be done at all?

The second event in the What On Earth..? series explores what becomes possible when we shift our focus from solutions to responses. We look at three kinds of response: resisting, by challenging technologies, infrastructures, and narratives that should not simply be accepted; rethinking, by questioning how problems have been defined and whether technology is addressing the right ones; and reimagining, by making room for different relationships between technology, people, and the planet. Rather than accepting narratives that present the technological future as already decided, these approaches open it back up to debate, negotiation, and choice.

Bringing together thinkers and practitioners from different fields, we ask what we can do in response to dominant narratives, what other kinds of narratives are available to us, and what could change if we adopted them. Ultimately, how might we move beyond simply adapting to the future we are being offered, and instead recover and create better narratives to build it with?

Hosted by Stephanie Hankey and Marek Tuszynski (Tactical Tech).

The panelists will be announced shortly.

What on Earth...? is a collaboration between Spore Initiative, Tactical Tech, and Adrienne Russell of the University of Washington.