The Great Decoupling: Why Minimizing Humanity’s Dependence on the Environment May Not Be Cause for Celebration

Shockley, Kenneth

doi:10.1007/s10806-018-9736-5

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The flourishing of humankind over the last 10,000 years in the Holocene is a consequence of the planet's beneficial conditions, that is, the perfect climate and ecosystem [60]. As such, investigating the ways in which AI can help establish conditions in which humans and the planet can thrive in the Anthropocene has been the subject of much recent scholarly work [61].…”

Section: The Green Ai Approach For the Flourishing Of Humans And The Planetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green Artificial Intelligence: Towards an Efficient, Sustainable and Equitable Technology for Smart Cities and Futures

2021

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Smart cities and artificial intelligence (AI) are among the most popular discourses in urban policy circles. Most attempts at using AI to improve efficiencies in cities have nevertheless either struggled or failed to accomplish the smart city transformation. This is mainly due to short-sighted, technologically determined and reductionist AI approaches being applied to complex urbanization problems. Besides this, as smart cities are underpinned by our ability to engage with our environments, analyze them, and make efficient, sustainable and equitable decisions, the need for a green AI approach is intensified. This perspective paper, reflecting authors’ opinions and interpretations, concentrates on the “green AI” concept as an enabler of the smart city transformation, as it offers the opportunity to move away from purely technocentric efficiency solutions towards efficient, sustainable and equitable solutions capable of realizing the desired urban futures. The aim of this perspective paper is two-fold: first, to highlight the fundamental shortfalls in mainstream AI system conceptualization and practice, and second, to advocate the need for a consolidated AI approach—i.e., green AI—to further support smart city transformation. The methodological approach includes a thorough appraisal of the current AI and smart city literatures, practices, developments, trends and applications. The paper informs authorities and planners on the importance of the adoption and deployment of AI systems that address efficiency, sustainability and equity issues in cities.

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Section: The Green Ai Approach For the Flourishing Of Humans And The Planetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Green Artificial Intelligence: Towards an Efficient, Sustainable and Equitable Technology for Smart Cities and Futures

2021

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“…Dissociation, whether between people and the systems on which they depend or between various systems (say, ecological systems and economic systems), generates vulnerabilities. This disconnect generates severe difficulties not only in the obvious sense that under such conditions it is harder to find food, water, and shelter, but in the more subtle yet no less important sense that one is unable to recognize what choices and options are available (Shockley, 2018). One paradigmatic way that vulnerabilities of populations are increased is through displacement, typically forced migration.…”

Section: Dissociation: Making the Two Faces Apparentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two faces of vulnerability: Distinguishing susceptibility to harm and system resilience in climate adaptation

Shockley

2023

WIREs Climate Change

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In the climate adaptation literature, we can distinguish two seemingly distinct frameworks for the concept of vulnerability. We might think of vulnerability in terms of susceptibility to harm. Some discussions of vulnerability accordingly focus on the risk posed to well‐being. Alternatively, we might think of vulnerability in terms of a system's responsiveness to adverse conditions, often spelled out in terms of resilience. This article highlights and distinguishes these frameworks through a brief survey of climate adaptation literature. Understanding the relationship between these two frameworks is vital not only for conceptual clarity, but also for developing adaptation strategies that respond to the different sorts of vulnerabilities posed by climate change. Mitigating the vulnerability of an individual at risk of harm might well complicate efforts at mitigating the vulnerabilities of systems in which that individual is embedded. Humans are clearly at risk of harm from a changing climate, and changing climate challenges the resilience of systems on which humans depend. The paper concludes with a brief consideration of the vulnerabilities that arise from the dissociation of people from their environments. Dissociation, whether through the migration of people or through changes to environmental background conditions not only makes clear the dual nature of vulnerabilities, but also serves as a lens through which we might consider the prospects for integrating a more cohesive account of vulnerability into successful climate adaptation strategies.This article is categorized under: Climate, Nature, and Ethics > Ethics and Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Values‐Based Approach to Vulnerability and Adaptation

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“…First, because valuing is an expression of a particular identity (or group of identities), adapting values and valued environmental goods (Holland 2008;Holland 2012), while the UN Development Programme explores the extent to which particular societies and their institutions meet benchmarks for achievement (United Nations Development Programme n.d.). In this same vein, Kenneth Shockley discusses how climate change (and the Anthropocene more broadly) impacts our capacity to achieve certain capabilities, while remaining agnostic about what such flourishing might involve (Shockley 2018). 6.…”

Section: Values and Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Valuing out of Context

Gendreau¹

2022

Environmental Values

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While many aspects of human life are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, values related to selfhood and community are among the most challenging to preserve. In what follows, I focus on the importance of values and valuing in climate change adaptation. To do so, I will first discuss two alternate approaches to valuing, both of which fail to recognise the loss of valued objects and practices that both of which help to generate a sense of self and deserve to be respected and mourned. Ultimately, I argue that an approach to valuing that is responsive to change and open to loss will enable humans to be more resilient in the face of anthropogenic climate change, in order that we may move forward and construct selves that fit the context in which we live.

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The Great Decoupling: Why Minimizing Humanity’s Dependence on the Environment May Not Be Cause for Celebration

Cited by 8 publications

References 23 publications

Green Artificial Intelligence: Towards an Efficient, Sustainable and Equitable Technology for Smart Cities and Futures

Green Artificial Intelligence: Towards an Efficient, Sustainable and Equitable Technology for Smart Cities and Futures

Two faces of vulnerability: Distinguishing susceptibility to harm and system resilience in climate adaptation

Valuing out of Context

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