design and sustainability

Sustainability is an essential attribute of desirable change in people’s lives. Change and sustainability are intractably intertwined. People do not want to live ‘naturally’. The want to live healthier, safer and more full lives than would be given to them ‘naturally’. Humans inevitably bring change to the world but such change can be either sustainable or unsustainable depending on how it is designed. Stopping humans from being human and desiring a better life is not a sustainable strategy. Thoughtless or self-centered change is equally not sustainable. On the other hand, change brought about by careful and responsible designing is sustainable. Good design depends on the exercise of several necessary competencies—of which one is ‘sustainability’. Sustainability cannot be exercised without being systemically integrated with all of the other design competencies at the same time—which is the only way design can be sustainable and sustainability can be sustained.

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human husbandry design

Human Husbandry I saw the announcement that Sam Altman and John Ives are teaming up to create a new AI technology. As I was looking into what they were planning to do I came across the concept of ‘ambient AI’ — a process of harvesting the products of human interaction 24/7. I knew the activity but did not know the name. I grew up in an agricultural region in the Rocky Mountains and have been, in the past, a participant in what is called ‘animal husbandry’. Ambient AI sounded like ‘human husbandry’ — humans being harvested for their ubiquitous social fabrications while living out their daily lives. The harvesting is essentially unobtrusive as I understand it —similar to the harvesting of products from livestock. Cattle, sheep and other domesticated animals remain passive or indifferent while their wool, milk and other commodities are being harvested. A lot of people seem passive or even pleased about being harvested for their products as well. The idea of the ‘Human Use of Huma...

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