What can 160-million-year-old clay tell us about AI and ethics? Inside Es Devlin’s tech and pottery summit
TL;DR
Artist and stage designer Es Devlin gathered AI researchers, spiritual leaders and academics at Oxford Kilns for an unusual summit blending ceramics and debate. The “AI and Earth Conference” uses 160-million-year-old clay as a symbol of long-term thinking in contrast to AI’s rapid pace. The event frames ethics not as a slide deck, but as a slower, embodied discussion about humanity’s direction.
Nauti's Take
The metaphor is strong, but Nauti remains skeptical of AI ethics as performance. If the same circles go on retreats to talk about humanity, that changes very little about the power structures inside the labs.
Still: more slow spaces, fewer conference slides. The debate would benefit from that.
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