Working on this year's issue of Pace Layers has given me a welcome dose of perspective during uncertain times. I hope it'll do the same for you.

For those of us raised on science fiction, having AI become part of everyday life feels like the breakthrough we’ve been expecting. Yet some critics insist that no matter what these models do, they're not truly intelligent—just clever simulacra.

Are modern AI models conscious? In a new essay for @longnow.org, @blaiseaguera.bsky.social, CTO of Technology & Society at Google, makes the case that the answer is yes. longnow.org/ideas/life-i...

The Geography of Loneliness Navigating Japan’s emptied countryside.

Beyond the tourist sites that lure millions to #Japan—the temples, dazzling city cores, & national parks—sprawls a world few outsiders see: a rural landscape stripped of people & steeped in loneliness. An @outofedenwalk dispatch from a Japanese ghostlands. https://t.co/hFnCWu0yz7

Is God a Mushroom? - Longreads "New research into the role of psychedelics upends our understanding of spirituality—and with it, our vision of the cosmos."

"If it could be proven that the church was built on the foundation of holy fungi, not only would figures like Allegro be vindicated — psychedelics, too, could no longer be considered so taboo."

@johnwlast.bsky.social for @longnow.org:

Is God a Mushroom? New research into the role of psychedelics upends our understanding of spirituality — and with it, our vision of the cosmos.

I got personal about my deeply felt fear that mushrooms are, in fact, a higher life form, slowly bending us to their will. For
@longnow.org: longnow.org/ideas/is-god...

Am I Slop? Am I Agentic? Am I Earth? Identity in the Age of Neural Media

Those interested in avoiding becoming bots, becoming mid, or becoming slop would do well to read @kalladomcdowell.bsky.social's latest essay on artificial intelligence for @longnow.org: longnow.org/ideas/identi...

Rebecca Lendl and Patrick Dowd seated at The Interval, in greyscale. Photo by Christopher Michel.

The Long Now Foundation was founded more than 25 years ago to be a home for long-term thinking.

At the dawn of our second quarter century, we’re thrilled to announce our next generation of leadership: Rebecca Lendl as Executive Director & Patrick Dowd as Board President.

Mabrook! So glad this is happening. Can’t wait to read.

I’ve been known to have too many sweet memories of Cebu come deadline time

Probably my all time favorite Reed thesis.

Thank you also to our talented contributors, designer Alvaro Villanueva, and copy editor Darren Loucaides; Alexander Rose and Nicholas Paul for believing in this project in its embryonic stages; and Jonathon Keats and @richardfisher.bsky.social for their invaluable advice.

It is immensely gratifying to see a notion in your head become a beautiful object you can hold in your hands, and there are so many responsible for making it so. Chief among them are Rebecca Lendl, @jameshome.com, @kuppermann.xyz, Casey Cripe, and the amazing Long Now team.

But what a thrill to wake up to such an enthusiastic reception! (Tbh I actually woke up to my 9-month-old crying his head off, but setting that aside.)

One of the occasionally frustrating things about living in Europe is you sleep through important stuff happening stateside: you know, sporting events, presidential debates, the launch of the magazine you've been working on for four years...

Hello!

We're The Long Now Foundation. When we were founded in 01996 it was in response to a great sense of acceleration — what our founders saw as a shortening attention span and shrinking time horizon.

We saw the need for a counterbalance.

So nice to see our buddy @med.bsky.social of the Long Now Foundation, fellow traveller in Beat/Zen/Deadheadland and more. Ahmed and his wife Rachel live in Barcelona now, where Keith and I are going in October, so his tips will be invaluable!

@simonestolzoff.bsky.social

Welcome, Jill!