Attended the Greener Mind Summit in the Redwoods of Northern California. Met some amazing people. Nearly all opted into sustainability either as a career or as a way of life. The unconference format made it participant-driven and with activities that ranged from hands-on workshops to musical performances. Nothing boring on the agenda!
AI was a major topic amongst attendees. The K-shaped economy has taken full effect during the AI boom. It was sobering to hear from folks in this new paradigm. Sustainability remains top of mind. The environmental narrative is no longer prioritized by the tech and federal sectors which are overseeing an unfettered rollout of AI.
The individual vs. institutional approach became the focus of one of the conversations. Institutional change is really hard and is dependent on election cycles. However, we can control what we do everyday towards lowering our carbon footprint and environmental safeguarding. The Serenity Prayer beckons in times like these.
Those shaped by environmental values seem to be most vulnerable to the oncoming freight train and its AI payload. The new AI-backed economy is poorly designed for the environment. Difficult conversations happened at the summit and a solution mindset prevailed.
Here’s an email summary by one of the organizers sharing ways to become a change agent.
[edited for privacy]
———- Forwarded message ———
There’s some good stuff being shared on the listserv for only GMS’26 attendees that I wanted to cross-post here to the full Greenermind list.
1) AI BILL OF RIGHTS
What is it? A short list of our demands for AI companies. Whether or not you actively use generative AI, AI is all around us. What does fair treatment look like to you?
Why? Peers at OpenAI & Anthropic have said: tell us what you want and we will do it. We’re taking them up on their offer with this bill of rights. Let’s see if they can stand by their word.
More detail: Overall vision
2) EDUCATIONAL AI WEBSITES FOR CAUSES
AI for Political Action Live Tutorial
3) AUDIO ART
4) REPAIR LOCAL RESOURCES
bit.ly/Sustainable-Fashion-Tips
5) CONTRIBUTE TECH & DESIGN SKILLS TO CAMPAIGNS
https://www.techforcampaigns.org/
6) CLIMATELINK MEETUP
customersuccessforgood.com 