benjamin on terraforming ness
benjamin bratton on terraforming ness
adding page this day [https://x.com/bratton/status/2014069719784112473?s=20]:
I have spend the last month deep in the revised version of The Terraforming, an essay first published in 2019 and now out of print, as I turn it into a 100k word proper book for the Antikythera series with MIT Press.
The arguments hold up well and the core thesis around the “paradox of intelligence” works better today than then.
It is, however, painful to revisit ideas from so long ago. I feel as though I have years of “idea debt” (provisionally articulated but not properly published concepts) to pay down.
To those of you who know the essay, what aspects do you think are most important to foreground in the new version?
haven’t read it.. but when i put terraform into site got:
benjamin on planetary computation page.. so responded with this: haven’t read essay..but liked this in your mar 2025 talk: ‘what are preconditions..what would have to happen by which that long term capability would be possible..there’s diff/bigger ways to do this & diff questions..a lot of it is right in front of us’
his reply @bratton: that’s for another book, also in the works!
also from that page at 13 min – implication for us.. locates humans in diff position than blue marble does.. ‘if blue marble implied global village by putting apex creationists in charge of a mythical garden.. black hole demands diff planetary regime.. by rendering humans a s privileged mediating residue that sets in motion further generalized cognition.. the two worlds could not be more diff.. this is a new profile for us and one that will take some getting used to’ – the terraforming (book)
then put terraform into google and got:
The Terraforming by Benjamin H. Bratton is a concise manifesto that argues humanity must embrace anthropogenic artificiality and planetary-scale design to ensure the long-term survival of complex life on Earth, rather than attempting to restore a pristine “natural” state.
Summary
The book posits that climate change and the rise of automation are two sides of the same coin, both stemming from human activity on a planetary scale. Bratton challenges the idea of a simple “return to nature,” suggesting instead a deliberate, comprehensive project to “terraform” the Earth itself—fundamentally transforming its cities, technologies, and ecosystems through intentional design and governance. The approach emphasizes:
as long as we do it via legit emergence.. ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition
- Embracing the Artificial: The book reclaims the concept of “the artificial” not as “fake” but as “designed,” linking the mitigation of climate change to the geopolitics of automation.
- Planetary Scale: It advocates for thinking and intervening at a planetary scale, moving beyond traditional nation-state boundaries and anthropocentric perspectives.
- Agency and Governance: Instead of viewing technologies like geoengineering and global software systems merely as threats, Bratton argues they must be harnessed as societal resources for new forms of governance, knowledge infrastructure, and direct intervention.
- Design-based Solutions: The work is presented as a design brief, a framework for how design and urban planning research should approach and intervene in our current global crises.
to me.. nothing to date has gotten to the root of problem.. so nothing to date has been that longevity ness at global scale ness..
legit freedom will only happen if it’s all of us.. and in order to be all of us.. has to be sans any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do
the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]
there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..
again.. ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition
otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness.. of part\ial ness.. [again].. for (blank)’s sake..
Critiques of Benjamin H. Bratton’s
The Terraforming primarily focus on its perceived political naivety, technological solutionism, and highly abstract theoretical approach.
Key criticisms include:
- Political Naivety and Depoliticization: Critics argue that the book downplays the complex realities of geopolitics and existing power structures. Bratton’s vision for a unified, planetary-scale planning regime is seen by some as an “oddly depoliticised aesthetic imaginary” that fails to adequately address how such a system could be implemented amidst conflicting national interests (e.g., in the age of leaders like Trump, Putin, and Xi Jinping). One critique suggests he argues for building the infrastructure first and “sorting out” the politics later, which is considered impractical.
impractical? or just the thing not yet tried..
- Technological Solutionism: The emphasis on “geoengineering” and “Negative Emissions Technologies” is sometimes framed as a form of technological solutionism that avoids the need for fundamental systemic and economic changes against capitalism, which is largely blamed for the climate crisis. Critics suggest this approach risks pigeonholing complex social interventions into purely technical fields where only “experts” have a say, rather than allowing for broader civil society input.
the thing we need tech for.. is its ability for nonjudgmental expo labeling.. to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..
tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness
- Abstraction and Inaccessibility: The book’s dense, “viscous and sometimes truculent prose” and high level of abstraction can make it difficult for a general audience to engage with. This potentially limits its effectiveness as a practical “tool” for intervention, running the risk of becoming a “tome to own and display, rather than a tool to use”.
but if we have a book (whatever) as a tool/guide.. we won’t end up with something legit diff.. we won’t end up with something that lasts.. something that is for everyone from the get go..
- “Reactionary” Leanings: Some critics, particularly those from a Marxist or traditional academic perspective, view the proposed “terraforming” project as a “politically reactionary return to Cartesian mechanism and the Promethean-productivist political economies of modernity,” which they argue are the very ideologies that created the current crisis.
there has been that in everything we’ve tried/seen to date..
the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness.. no rule book.. no whalespeak.. no perpetuations of sea world
- Downplaying Social Factors: By prioritizing technological shifts as the primary catalyst for change, some reviewers argue that Bratton “de-emphasize[s] the influence and power of geopolitics and economics” in driving massive societal shifts. This perspective is seen as underestimating the social and behavioral changes required to live with the proposed technologies (e.g., nuclear waste storage).
sounds like takes a lot of work ness.. which to me is a huge red flag we’re doing it/life wrong..
ie: focus on behavior ness is killing us.. keeping us from us.. again.. need to try the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
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be you. 