We are nature, not machines: practical philosophies for possible futures

Go faster! Do more! How wise is it for humans to try and emulate machine innovation and how can philosophy try and help us generate innovation that can be adapted into everyday contexts?

Promises associated with technology and innovation are especially compelling at an historical moment full of circulating narratives of crisis – from climate breakdown to social alienation. Systems are broken, so the story goes, and an innovative response is to make things more efficient – to put in less effort and gain more rewards. In this story of the future,  innovation comprises what can be scaled or speeded up, suggesting that human innovation resembles machine innovation.

This talk proposes that we are nature, not machines. It opens out the ways that people generate innovation in everyday contexts, including primary school classrooms, community organisations, and antenatal health care services. These examples guide practical philosophies for a future where many kinds of innovation can fit.

Dr Alison Powell, London School of Economics