We were taught to take the emotion out of decisions. The machine was built that way—which is why committing is still ours. Every real decision still ends in a person.
Grounding her work in the problem of causation, Alicia Juarrero challenges previously held beliefs that only forceful impacts are causes. Constraints, she claims, bring about effects as well, and they enable the emergence of coherence.
Grounding her work in the problem of causation, Alicia Juarrero challenges previously held beliefs that only forceful impacts are causes. Constraints, she claims, bring about effects as well, and they enable the emergence of coherence.
Alicia is the author of multiple books, most recently Context Changes Everything: How Constraints Create Coherence. Helen says in this interview that it feels like this book is from the future. It’s about using the tools of complexity science to understand identity, hierarchy, and top-down causation, and in so doing, presents a new way of thinking about the natural world but also the artificial world. In this interview, we discuss how to use concepts from complexity—including the important role of constraints—to enlighten our perspectives on the community of humans and machines.
Dave Edwards is a Co-Founder of Artificiality. He previously co-founded Intelligentsia.ai (acquired by Atlantic Media) and worked at Apple, CRV, Macromedia, Morgan Stanley, Quartz, and ThinkEquity. Contact at dave@artificialityinstitute.org.
Helen Edwards is a Co-Founder of Artificiality. She previously co-founded Intelligentsia.ai (acquired by Atlantic Media) and worked at Meridian Energy, Pacific Gas & Electric, Quartz, and Transpower. Contact at helen@artificialityinstitute.org.
