Ancient Future Technology | MAS.068 Fall 2021

Scientific practice is inseparable from the ways in which we choose to represent the world. From indigenous land management that honors spirits in nature, over traditional Chinese medicine that visualizes the body as an ecosystem, to Japanese robotics design that produces artificial companions—our diverse cultural identities, norms and values intimately shape how science and technology is developed, applied and accepted. 

At a time where the quest for ethical standards has become a shared concern of many scientific communities, we want to challenge prevalent science-culture distinctions and develop a more holistic, inter-cultural perspective to redefine ethics for the age of global participation. This peer-to-peer co-learning course offers a unique opportunity to join a diverse cohort of students and researchers to collectively explore the cultural and spiritual dimensions of scientific practice. We will revisit the millennia of virtues and wisdom embedded in our own traditions and reflect together on how these can inform our growth as science-activists who lead the change we wish to see. 

A multidisciplinary array of distinguished professionals will serve as visiting lecturers and mentors, offering presentations and skill-building workshops. Through these activities we will explore together how ancient cultural and scientific practice might harmonize with cutting edge technologies like synthetic biology and artificial intelligence.

Deep gratitude and thanks to Andre Uhl and Prathima Muniyappa, who were co-instructors and co-developers of the Ancient Modern Technology course, which was first taught in 2019 at the MIT Media Lab.

Venue & Time: E15-359 | Tuesdays 4-6pm

Units: 9

Grading

• 66% class attendance and participation

• 33% final project

Class Size: No more than 25 participants with preference given to Media Lab students 

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor.

Schedule

• Week 1 (9/14/21): Introduction (community agreements; spiritual autobiography: 10 min per person: formative life experiences, significant communities, influential traditions, continuities, turning points, questions, challenges, dreams, aspirations).

• Week 2 (9/21/21): Science Activist Lab: Introduction to Public Narrative: The Story of Self.

• Week 3 (9/28/21): Securing Indigenous Guardianship of Vital Ecosystems. Guest Speakers: Margarita Mora (Nia Tero) & Jean-Luc Pierite (North American Indian Center of Boston) .

• Week 4 (10/5/21): Natural Collective Intelligence: Mycelium Networking the Living World. Guest Speakers: Giuliana Furci (Fungi Foundation) & Bob Hendrikx (Loop Biotech).

• Week 5 (10/12/21): Revive & Restore: Synthetic Biology for Bio Diversity. Guest: Bridget Baumgartner .

• Week 6 (10/19/21): Axiology of Ancient-Modern Technology. Guest: Gunther Weil.

• Week 7 (10/26/21): Guest: Katie Zacharian (Earth Species Project).

• Week 8 (11/2/21): Final project feedback session #1.

• Week 9 (11/9/21):  AI/ML. Guest: Andre Uhl.

• Week 10 (11/16/21):  Visions for an Ecosystemic AI. Guest: Bogdana Rakova (Accenture).

• Week 11 (11/23/21): Guests: Cyrus Clarke, Monika Seyfried (Grow Your Own Cloud).

• Week 12 (11/30/21): Scared Technology. Guest: Sultan Sarygulov. Translator: Maria Azhunova.

• Week 13 (12/7/21): Student presentations of final projects.