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Daniel Schmachtenberger l An introduction to the Metacrisis l Stockholm Impact/Week 2023

Norrsken Foundation・39 minutes read

Daniel Schmachtenberger discusses the Meta crisis and the urgent need for comprehensive solutions to address global challenges, emphasizing the importance of collective action and responsibility. The discussion also covers the impact of advancing technology on ecological crises and the need to shift the financial system away from growth obligations to align with planetary well-being and human values.

Insights

  • The Consilience Project, led by Daniel Schmachtenberger and moderated by Nicholas Adelbert, aims to address global challenges by supporting impact entrepreneurs focusing on sustainability and societal impact.
  • The discussion emphasizes the urgent need for comprehensive solutions to the interconnected global challenges, warning about the risks posed by advanced technologies like AI and synthetic biology in the wrong hands and highlighting the importance of individual actions towards making life regenerative and aligning with positive values.

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Recent questions

  • What is the Consilience Project?

    A project focusing on global challenges and sustainability.

  • How does the Norskin Foundation support impact entrepreneurs?

    By focusing on sustainability and societal impact.

  • What is the Meta crisis concept?

    Addressing interconnected global challenges and solutions.

  • What are the risks associated with advanced technology?

    Including catastrophic capabilities in the wrong hands.

  • How does the monetary system conflict with planetary boundaries?

    The embedded growth obligation conflicts with sustainability.

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Summary

00:00

"Global Challenges and Collective Responsibility"

  • Daniel Schmachtenberger is a founding member of the Consilience Project, moderated by Nicholas Adelbert, founder of Norskin Foundation.
  • Nicholas shares his journey of achieving financial independence through his company Kilona, which led to a sense of emptiness despite material success.
  • The Norskin Foundation aims to support impact entrepreneurs addressing global challenges, focusing on sustainability and societal impact.
  • The discussion highlights the conflict between achieving high valuations in startups and the negative impact on society and the environment.
  • Sweden has a significant number of impact startups, emphasizing the importance of supporting ventures that prioritize positive change.
  • The conversation with Daniel delves into the concept of the Meta crisis, addressing the interconnected global challenges and the need for comprehensive solutions.
  • Advanced technology, such as AI and synthetic biology, poses significant risks, including catastrophic capabilities in the wrong hands.
  • The discussion touches on the challenges of regulating advanced technology and the potential dangers of public-private partnerships in this context.
  • Daniel expresses a sense of urgency regarding the current state of civilization, suggesting that humanity is at a critical juncture in defining its future.
  • The conversation concludes with reflections on historical complicity in allowing societal evils to persist, emphasizing the need for collective action and responsibility.

18:25

"Humanity's Regenerative Focus: Understanding Market Evolution"

  • The speaker emphasizes the need for individuals to focus on making their own lives regenerative rather than just Sweden, considering the entire arc of humanity.
  • The importance of understanding the driving forces behind humanity's trajectory is highlighted, with a warning that the end of meaningful human activities is near if not addressed.
  • The role of war throughout history is discussed, with a focus on how markets and war are co-evolutionary structures that empower populations but also lead to conflict.
  • The impact of World War II on population growth and resource consumption is detailed, highlighting the shift from half a billion people to 8 billion since then.
  • The post-World War II globalization solution aimed to prevent direct kinetic war between superpowers by connecting the global system, leading to complex and fragile supply chains.
  • The exponential growth in resource consumption per capita post-World War II due to globalization and technological advancements is noted, leading to planetary boundary issues.
  • The challenge of degrowth is discussed, with concerns that it may lead to conflict due to the growth equation preventing kinetic world wars.
  • The speaker delves into the role of advancing technology in exacerbating ecological crises, emphasizing the need to understand the underlying drivers of human actions.
  • The scale of the global market, with a daily exchange of around a hundred trillion dollars, is highlighted, along with its reliance on energy, extraction, and central banks.
  • The market is described as a decentralized incentive system that drives innovation and optimization, acting as a misaligned superintelligence that is incompatible with planetary well-being and human values.

36:23

"Financial System Growth Conflict: Urgent Action Needed"

  • Interest or rent seeking is the increased gain from productivity, leading to the need for the monetary system to grow due to population growth and technological advancements.
  • The monetary system's embedded growth obligation conflicts with planetary boundaries, necessitating a change in financial services to eliminate this obligation.
  • Immediate action is required due to crossing planetary boundaries, such as addressing pollutants like fluorinated surfactants found globally in rainwater.
  • Lobbying efforts are needed to redirect subsidies from toxic agriculture practices to regenerative agriculture for market viability.
  • Triage involves urgent changes in various sectors, transitioning existing systems to be less harmful, like monitoring externalities and changing fiduciary responsibilities.
  • Long-term work involves rethinking civilization to steward power from technologies like synthetic biology and artificial intelligence safely.
  • Depression from recognizing environmental destruction is a sign of caring for life's sacredness, prompting action to address issues.
  • Practical advice includes curating information feeds to focus on meaningful truths, surrounding oneself with individuals who align with these values, and taking action to influence consciousness positively.
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