Charles Goldman

“focused on informing and organizing the public around societal-scale risks and harms of AI, and countering industry narratives of AI inevitability and acceleration!”

"In an unprecedented move, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Donald Trump presses Qatar to mediate deal to end US government shutdown."

A conversation with Claude: is AI harmless, or should we be terrified? Reasons to believe AI is an existential risk to human civilization, and what to "tell" your grandchildren

Yes, and charliesc.substack.com/p/a-conversa...

Facing reality takes courage. I believe feeling helpless (or not) is a personal choice. I suggest you read Pema Chodron about charnel ground practice. Also, Albert Camus’ writings inspire me to practice stubborn optimism. And definitely follow David Krueger’s blog!

Don’t look up!

You Don’t Have To Mourn Charlie Kirk In its quest for empathy, the Left has lost its moral clarity

Thought provoking.
open.substack.com/pub/planetcr...

I believe we humans need to expand our view in the direction of protecting all life on earth, beyond focus on a specific industry or even a certain category of wildlife. It is all connected and our narrow boundary, linear thinking is what got us into this mess.

A conversation with Claude: is AI harmless, or should we be terrified? Reasons to believe AI is an existential risk to human civilization, and what to "tell" your grandchildren

AI and the polycrisis - my conversation with Claude. #collapse #polycrisis #AI

open.substack.com/pub/charlies...

You don’t become a “Doomer” because you are pathologically drawn to catastrophe. You are one because you have a heightened sense of empathy: for nature, humans, and everything that lives and “is”

I think you were a bit optimistic here; it’s not quiet.
“The second Trump administration will proceed much like the first, in the sense that superficial changes will happen very fast while the broader crisis of corruption — a transnational crisis — will quietly deepen and become more dangerous.”

Linear, narrow boundary thinking is the default mode for most people. It is the standard in politics. Sawin does an excellent job of making it accessible. Do you think you’ll read it? Not to get personal, but I’m curious about your interest.

I think systems thinking is essential for solving real world problems. Sawin’s book is an excellent primer on the kind of systems thinking I’m referring to, with clear examples of applying it to actual problems. Thanks for asking.

This is why I voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 (in a red state where my vote didn’t count). “Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.” Or, in current terminology, a duopoly. Yes, one party is overtly less evil, but no more wise re the future of humanity (not looking good).

Am I missing something? All he says is gpt5 is disappointing. Then, he suggests ways to overcome speed bumps. Yeah, a simplistic effort to just go bigger is dumb. Seems like a classic straw man argument.

Krill fishery in Antarctica shut down after record catch triggers unprecedented early closure Officials have shut down the krill fishery near Antarctica early after exceeding the seasonal catch limit for the first time.

“In the absence of a deal, industrial trawlers were allowed this season to essentially fish anywhere at any time, including in smaller habitats preferred by whales, penguins and seals.”

apnews.com/article/whal...

“After that water is put to human use, it escapes into the ocean where, the study found, it has contributed more to sea level rise than the melting of the Greenland ice sheet.”

YouTube video by LeonardCohenVEVO Leonard Cohen - The Future (Official Live in London 2008)

Here’s an old man version of personal doomer update:

youtu.be/8WlbQRoz3o4?...

Perhaps similar to what we’re doing to the oceans with “fishing” or rain forests with feeding cattle or wildlife with golf courses and lawns, …

Extrapolating in 8 or more steps is also nonsensical. Linear thinking is a problem, leading to irrelevant “conclusions.” Systems thinking is required and cannot predict the future, but can help us make better decisions in the short term (which our society as structured can’t do).

I get triggered by people assuming climate change is the biggest ecological problem, ignoring planetary boundaries, overshoot in general, and technology as major accelerating threats.

“There is no nice way of putting it: humanity is a global criminal network of planetary-scale ecological fraud.”

Not much hopium and the problems described are horrendous, especially shrimp industry. This is but one episode in a series. Watch it and judge for yourself.

Human Footprint | Shelf Life | Season 2 | Episode 1 Shane goes on a global journey to discover how supermarkets have reshaped our lives and our planet.

Here’s an example of truth we refuse to see, except in shows like this: pbs.org/video/shelf-...

I went through a climate activism phase - advocating carbon tax, fighting against single use plastic, finally converting lawns into wildlife habitats. Talk led to thinking, connecting with others, revising. It led me to you and other post-doomers. It can also lead to compassion as we collapse.

Ecological overshoot is a more meaningful concept, to me, than simply overpopulation. www.austriaca.at/0xc1aa5576%2...

I agree we are Racing to Extinction. I also respect Hayhoe and what she is trying to do — bridge the gap between denial and waking up to the seriousness of our predicament. She wants people to talk about it, which isn’t so bad. Her message, while full of hopium, is more nuanced than you imply.

Actually, “successful” sociopaths are very good at empathy, unless there is a circular definition of empathy which excludes using it for harm. Ted Bundy, for example.

YouTube video by Nate Hagens Why AI Development Is Not What You Think with Connor Leahy | TGS 184

AI is a bigger short term existential threat than climate change, war, etc. It is a direct result of oligarchic power and billionaire sociopaths who could also stop it.
Good news is there are smart, caring people who are actively pro-social (like the 2 below):
#collapse
youtu.be/7Y_1_RmCJmA?...

Once many of us realize climate change is but one of nine planetary boundaries and most are heading in the wrong direction, we have strong feelings. Finding others with similar feelings helps us cope and be pro-socially active. And that’s not even talking about the dangers of AI, war, etc.

Yes, hard to accept.