"The governing -isms are broken". So futurist Adah Parris is opening up a network—called *-ism*—to urgently invite (and invent) some new ones
Why “-ism”?
A few weeks ago, it was a delight to have “cyborg-shamanist” Adah Parris speak in our The Elephant Meets… series, and bring her rich combination of technological futurism and perennial, non-Western wisdom to the challenges of the moment - climate change, Coronavirus, the wars of identity and polarisation.
We’re very happy to announce Adah’s new and ambitious project, titled -ism. Why this? Adah first quotes from Wikipedia
The suffix "-ism" is neutral and therefore bears no connotations associated with any of the many ideologies it identifies; such determinations can only be informed by public opinion regarding specific ideologies… The concept of an -ism may resemble that of a grand narrative.
And then answers directly, below:
The governing -isms are broken.
We are pattern seekers and recognise that the world, our countries, our communities, our lives are in interconnected states of flux.
We see technology as tools and not the solution to the problem.
This is nothing new but we have become self-referential and this has impacted our view of our place in the world, our approach to solving problems and telling stories.
From -ism
We believe that ‘the othered’, their knowledge, wisdom and stories need to be at the heart of the innovation process.
-ism is the home for curious humans empathetically subverting the status quo.
We are a global network of trans-disciplinary, ancient and indigenous wisdom, traditional ecological knowledge, algorithmic, quantum, consciousness, and legacy building humans.
The last paragraph may need some anchoring in Adah’s definition of cyborg shamanism, also given on the site:
Cyborg Shamanism = Ancient wisdom with new thinking for future innovations for future humans
Our manifesto begins and ends with the same two questions.
What kind of ancestors do WE want to be?
And, what could WE be capable of?
Rather than focus on the aesthetics of what we label ourselves, artist, scientist, entrepreneur, activist, innovator, shaman, we choose to focus on the ethics of how we co-exist, live, work, co-create and thrive together.
The word ‘cyborg’ is used as a deliberate provocation and calls for us to think about what it means to be human, the ethics, power, responsibility, boundaries and possibilities of what is possible AND what we are capable of.
The word ‘shamanism’ is used as a call to actively seek and find other perspectives, other ways of knowing because they need to be heard and included if we are to truly be successful and sustainable on a systems level.
Cyborg shamanism provides a new approach for the work we do in the on- and offline world and enables us to solve problems as equal and inclusive partners.
On an individual level, it will challenge each of us to question our own relationship with various technologies (the past, present and future).
Adah explains further in her Medium blog. There is an invitation to join the -ism network and a starting list of “humans”.
We are here for this project, as it spans some of the poles of interest A/UK has had from the start. We’ve wanted to explore whatever might spark new forms of power and action, to fill up the gap left by a broken official politics.
So we have been certainly been interested in both cyborgs, ways that technology can amplify human capacities, as well as shamanism (or at least spirituality). We might even have a new -ism - relationalism - to add to Adah’s list.
The times are hugely fluid and emergent, and we should allow some boundary-crossing utopianism in our lives, just to ensure the “new normal” doesn’t just become the “great dismal”. We’ll be watching -ism’s growth with great interest, and look forward to collaborating.