GENERAL SEMINAR SEASON 5

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GS Season 05 / Episode 01 wanders into a possible future in which Artificial Intelligence is as normal, ordinary, and everyday as televisions we command through conversation, and luggage with wheels.

But we want to make sense of what this world would be like to inhabit, and what kinds of AI worlds we'd prefer to inhabit.

Let's cut through the hype, the noise, the prognostications, and predictions — and ask ourselves, "Yeah. Okay. AI. But what's for breakfast in an AI future when it's all said and done? And how did we prepare it? What's 'work' in an AI future and what do I do, and how did I learn how to do it? What might it be like to vacuum a dirty rug or take the dog for a walk? How do we book a vacation or arrange for pickleball lessons? How might we make a dinner reservation — and get to the restaurant? Who's our date to that dinner and how did we meet?"

In General Seminar we deliberately move away from the speculation and hyperbole and try to use our imagination to construct worlds inhabited by humans with their typical cares, concerns, and basic human needs. Call it the Future Mundane, or the Normal, Ordinary, Everyday Futures, we want to avoid fetishizing the technology — if only for 90 minutes — to really immerse ourselves in the experience of what life and typical human experiences and user scenarios might be like.

Join me and about 24 others as we hop into the Near Future Laboratory's hand built time machine and workshop our way into a Possible AI Future.

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“For many, reality is broken, at least in the West. Rather than more futures, or end visions extrapolated from a faulty present, we need new starting points. New worldviews. And spaces to momentarily step outside existing realities, a ‘not here, not now’, in order to imagine new ways of seeing the world made tangible through the design of everyday things. Not as an escape, not as a vision of how things will or should be, but to shake off old habits, patterns and mindsets. Instead of more futures, maybe we need more superpositional, entangled, analogous, and parallel worlds (or realities) that challenge a Newtonian Imaginary currently shaping the “contours of the possible” limiting both collective and individual imagining.” - Anthony Dunne

If Extinction Rebellion and other efforts to avert existential calamity succeed, what does our everyday future feel like?

Can you imagine a future in which extinction has been averted?

Give it a shot.

IMAGINE

When we wake up, what are we thinking about? Do we still drink coffee in the morning and if so, where does it come from? If we decide to shower in the morning, how do we do that? What do we eat for breakfast and how do we prepare it? How do we learn about the world? What do we teach our children and where do they go to be taught, and by whom? How do we communicate across distances and by what contrivances? How do we get to “work” — and what is “work” anyway? Where do we go to relax? Are there still grocery stores and how do we exchange value for necessities like food? Are there still wall plugs and if so, what comes out of them and how makes it?

Not easy, is it?

Time to Imagine Harder.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

To be autonomous is to act according to one’s sense of righteousness and moral duty rather than one’s desire. Leastways, that’s what Emmanuel Kant says.

Nowadays if you do a Google Search (or just “Google”) for ‘Autonomous’ you’ll get books including a classic by Langdon Winner on Autonomous Technology, but mostly images of very blue-tinted vehicle control panels.

But let’s go beyond Autonomous Vehicles. Let’s really luxuriate in the warm bubble bath of Design Fiction and truly consider “what else??”

What is a world in which all the things are ‘Autonomous’ in an ordinary, normal, everyday, mundane way.

It won’t just be elevator doors, co-bots helping you at work, and cars the drive “themselves”, but refrigerators ordering your week’s groceries, books writing themselves, and shows scripting and producing all on their own. 🎥+🖥️

READ MORE ABOUT GENERAL SEMINAR 21 AUTONOMOUS WTF!?

Let’s get together and discuss Autonomous!

Wednesday May 4th at 10am PDT!

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Every single solitary General Seminar has completely sold out!

 
 

Metalabels are groups of people working under a common identity for a common purpose with a focus on releases — distinct public works that communicate and manifest their goals. Indie record labels, the Whole Earth Catalog, A24, and MSCHF are all examples of metalabels.

Metalabel is a growing universe of knowledge, resources, and tools for metalabels and other cultural collectives. We are a small egalitarian team scattered around the world. We are Anna Bulbrook, Lauren Dorman, Rob Kalin, Austin Robey, Yancey Strickler, and Ilya Yudanov.

Once upon a time people were born into communities and had to find their individuality. Today people are born individuals and have to find their communities. — K-Hole, “Youth Mode”

METALABELS WTF ARE THEY?

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🤔 LET'S DISCUSS 🤔

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METALABELS WTF ARE THEY? 〰️ 🤔 LET'S DISCUSS 🤔 〰️ CLICK HERE TO READ MORE! 〰️

 
 

General Seminar N°19 will be a discussion about “Design Fiction.”

SOLD OUT OVER NIGHT!

I’ve put together optional pre-reading/listening here!

Design Fiction — along with its cousins and siblings in the general space of ‘futures design’ creates material artifacts called diegetic prototypes — things that tell stories about the worlds from which they come.

Design Fiction helps teams and organizations make sense of the impacts of emerging trends, technologies, weak signals from cultural shifts and tendencies. In the past few years Design Fiction along with other approaches to futures design, have become increasingly normalized as teams in some of the world's largest companies, brands, and organizations have sought out more effective ways to make sense of rapid change.

Come discuss this approach to futures design, future studies, foresight, and world building. Limited to 16 participants. 90+ minutes on Zoom.

SORRY! ALL SOLD OUT!

 
 

General Seminar N°18 was a discussion on NFTs! What the heck is going on with this whole thing and what do you need to know in order to be culturally literate, comprehend all sides of the technology and its associated controversies and confusions.

16 of us had a 90 minute General Seminar to discuss NFTs in all of their multivalent weirdness. Digest coming soon!

General Seminar N°17 was a discussion on Solarpunk, an aesthetic-based movement that imagines possible futures in which we have solved (or at least averted) climate-based catastrophe.

16 of us had a 90 minute General Seminar to discuss Solarpunk in all of its multivalent characteristics — art, politics, design, storytelling, science-based action, architecture, etc.

 

General Seminar N°16 was a discussion of that curious creative character who never seems to be able to find a place to sit but provides uniquely unanticipated and unexpected insights, results, ways of seeing and action.

16 of us had a 90 minute General Seminar to discuss what it is to be a Generalist and reflect on how they bring immense value to functional teams of Specialists.


General Seminar is a platform for sense-making through discussion.

One-to-many “expert” platforms like podcasts, TED Talks, and Masterclasses serve a role in the dissemination of ideas and opinions of a small group of experts. By their nature these are largely one-way, where ideas flow to a mostly passive audience who still must make sense of the topic on their own.

General Seminar provides an alternative.

Each session consists of a focused, facilitated 90 minute discussion with a group of thoughtful, engaged and curious individuals. It is a place where meaning and insight are obtained through conversation and active contemplation. General Seminar is built on the principle that group discussion helps to activate the mind and invigorate the imagination in ways that watching, reading and comment threads cannot. Everyone has an opportunity to find their voice, express their insights, ask their questions and build their own understanding of the topic at hand.

Discussion and conversation are like exercise for our minds — General Seminar is the imagination’s gymnasium.

#DISCUSS!


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General Seminar Season One Has Concluded!

A season of 14 remarkable discussions and sense-making! What a way to get out of the pandemic blahs!

Stay Tuned for Season Two, Coming February 2022.

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