What is Ancient Future Technology?
Scientific practice is inseparable from the ways in which we choose to represent and understand the world. From indigenous land management that honors nature spirits, to Traditional Chinese Medicine which visualizes the body as an ecosystem, to Japanese robotics aimed at producing artificial companions — our diverse cultural identities, norms, and values intimately shape how science and technology is developed, applied and accepted. At a time when the quest for ethical standards has become a shared concern for many scientific communities, we believe it is important to challenge prevalent science-culture distinctions and develop a more holistic, intercultural perspective to redefine ethics and engineering philosophy for the age of global participation.
“Ancient Future Technology” is, all at once, a hypothesis, question (or many a question, really), and an ethos, touching upon themes as diverse as the importance of storytelling, gifts versus commodities, reciprocity with nature, and the changing meaning of the sacred in the present world. How do we, as designers, engineers, and researchers, realize or manifest values in society that are harmonious with nature? What will our future gardens be like? What world views, values, and ways of knowing drive the behaviors and technologies we see manifested today? And what kind of ancestors do we want to be?
Here at the MIT Media Lab’s Community Biotechnology Initiative, we’re kicking off our exploration of these themes and questions with a seminar, aptly titled: Ancient Future Technology. As part of this course, we’re inviting a series of distinguished professionals and researchers to speak on particular themes, which we will reflect upon here through thought pieces written by our students. Together, we will revisit the millennia of virtues and wisdom embedded in our own traditions, and reflect on how these might inform our growth as science-activists. Follow along here, or on Instagram @ancientfuturetech!
— The Teaching Team (David Sun Kong, Michelle Chang, Arunav Konwar, Bob Hendrikx, Andre Uhl, Prathima Muniyappa)
