Weave - Artificial Intelligence

AI Systems Sharing at the MycoCosm - Thursday 2/15 @ 530pm

Welcome to the Weave. We are Woven Web, a community in active exploration around the intersectionality of technology, society, nature, and self; seeking to bring people together to engage in meaningful dialogue and foster genuine coherence in our community in Boulder and beyond.

In this Weave:

• Reflections on our technoogy inquiry

• Discussing AI & our next event

• Coming up in the community

Reflections on our technology inquiry (from Andrew)

On Thursday, February 8th, Woven Web hosted our second Inquiry evening: “How does technology impact our collective health?” Fourteen of us gathered to inquire into this topic, and the conversation was riveting throughout. We began the evening with a short set of improv games and then dove right in. During our initial large group discussion, we explored the importance of relationships to technology, the potential shifts in ego required moving forward, and the true meaning of 'natural.' Afterward, we split into small groups to delve more intimately into these themes. We concluded the evening by reconvening to discuss the insights gained in our smaller groups, focusing mainly on the concepts of consciousness, wisdom, and the hazards of rapid evolution.

Overall, it was a stimulating and insightful conversation that fostered many new Weaves (personal connections) among the participants. As we wrapped up, there was a palpable sense of excitement and curiosity to continue these discussions, further igniting our enthusiasm for the future of Inquiry.

Discussing AI & our next event

In discussing technology, there’s one technology that seems to be quite a topic of conversation these days, and last week was no exception, and that’s the topic of artificial intelligence. This is a technology that has been in discussion since the 50s and has been deeply intertwined with the computer revolution. Over the past few decades we’ve seen major advancements in this field, as computers advanced to the point where they could beat grandmasters in chess, go, starcraft and more; could discover the structure of proteins and new materials, revolutionizing many fields of science, and so much more. Recently, new breakthroughs that have enabled machines to generate realistic photos and even videos, as well as communicate with human language in a rather advanced way, have taken the world by storm and caused many to question if we are approaching some kind of artificial general intelligence or even the oft-predicted singularity moment.

Within Woven Web, it’s a deep interest for us to explore these new technologies and particularly to explore our relationship with them. With any sufficiently advanced technology, the potential for help and for harm becomes significantly amplified, which - in my mind at least - necessitates our active engagement in exploring these technologies and exploring what it is to use them well. In that spirit, we’re excited to be hosting a Systems Sharing event based around artificial intelligence. This will be a space for folks to come together and share ways they are using AI that they find to be beneficial. This could be as simple as showing us how you’re prompting midjourney or DALLE to generate interesting images (like our Woven Web banner up top…). Or perhaps you’re using AI to help you sense-make, write, develop, or whatever else. If you’ve got something that you think is interesting, especially if you think it’s helping you, society, and/or the planet, then we want to see it. And if you don’t have anything to share and you just want to be inspired and see what other people are doing with AI, we want you there too! See you at 530pm this Thursday (2/15) at the MycoCosm community home. RSVP for address.

Coming up in the community

Next Wednesday (2/21) at the Boulder Municipal Building, there will be a climate initiatives community meeting. This is a great place to learn more about what climate work our city is up to and how you can get involved.

Aso next Wednesday (2/21), there is another Boulder AI Builders meetup. It’s already full but if you join the waitlist there’s a chance some spots will open up.

Our next Woven Web Games & Improv night, coming together and playing board games, connection games, improv games, clowning games, and more; will be next Thursday (2/22) at 530pm, location TBD.

Thanks for tuning in. Reply to this email and let us know what you’re thinking and how you’d like to engage with community. And forward this email to someone who you’d like to participate more in community with!

See you in the web,

~ aaron gabriel & woven web