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What is planetary computation, and why does it matter? Are humans and AI truly separate, or are we actually co-evolving? And how did we end up building a megastructure that's quietly reshaping governance, knowledge, and power on a planetary scale?
Here to shed light on our evolving technological reality is Benjamin Bratton, philosopher of technology and professor at UCSD. Benjamin is the Director of Antikythera, a research program at the Berggruen Institute focused on the future of planetary computation. The program explores five core areas: planetary computation, synthetic intelligence, recursive simulations, hemispherical stacks, and planetary sapience. He is also the author of The Stack, a groundbreaking book that introduced the term "planetary computation" and mapped its political, social, and philosophical implications.
In our wide-ranging conversation, Benjamin explains how computation has evolved far beyond servers and algorithms to become an organizing force of the planet itself. We also dive into the future of AGI, the ethics of machine valence, terraforming Earth as a philosophical imperative, non-biological life, and how speculative design and planetary sapience might reframe humanity's role in the cosmos.
Key Takeaways:
00:00 Intro
01:02 Antikythera and planetary computation
07:50 AI and the limits of computation
18:04 Terraforming and the future of humanity
19:55 The role of language in AI
31:01 Planetary data centers and future energy needs
34:00 Techno signatures
39:10 Science and philosophy
41:09 The Stack: On Software and Sovereignty
45:52 Outro
Additional resources:
➡️ Learn more about Ben Bratton:
💻 Website: https://bratton.info/
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benjaminbratton
✖️ X: https://x.com/bratton
📚 The Stack: https://amzn.eu/d/j80ENZW
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