Resilient Futures - Seminar Recap
On May 16th, 2024 the OHPA hosted a lecture by Dr. Orit Halpern, Full Professor and Chair of Digital Cultures at Technische Universität Dresden. The topic of her talk was “Resilient Futures” and traced a history of resilience in ecology, cybernetics, and economics to ask how models of nature as constantly volatile and crisis ridden are shaping technology, habitat, and life in our present and future.
At the outset, Dr. Halpern presented some of the contradictions inherent in our collective attempt to achieve sustainable economic development, lifestyle and nature conservation simultaneously. This was the example of sustainable urban planning and its latest main idea, the smart city. It is the symbiotic relationship between smart buildings and the high-tech economy that represents one of the contemporary challenges to ecology. Our primary focus should be on understanding how the environment, infrastructure, economy and technology interact and how we might improve this interaction
As Dr. Halpern observed, the present era has witnessed the merging of numerous catastrophic events, including pandemics, climate change, armed conflict, political instability, and other forms of global crises. The current situation can be briefly described in two words: banality and ambiguity. Furthermore, she highlighted the emergence of the "new normal" in the wake of the pandemic. This concept, which includes the theme of resilience, has been extended to encompass not only individuals and communities but also the global political, economic, and environmental spheres. The challenges to democracy and globalisation are further compounded by the rapid technological change, as well as climate change and the overall balkanisation of the world. This is precisely why digital resilience and new forms of flexibility management are currently in focus, which in itself securitises new, different problems from previous generations. It is the unceasing technical innovations that give rise to a continuously transforming environment, thereby engendering novel challenges and risks. This results in the ongoing evolution of the very concept of resilience.
Furthermore, Dr. Halpern traced the evolution of the concept of evolution in our understanding of ecology. The advent of the nuclear bomb changed our view and relationship with nature and resources. Following the conclusion of the Second World War, the prevailing concept was that of maintaining the balance of the system - if a tree was cut down, it was necessary to plant another in its place. This leads to the hypothesis that nature and our influence over it, as well as vice versa, can be modelled. Furthermore, the advent of ever-increasing computer technology has also played a role. Computer scientists created models of ecosystems and the human impact on them, with the intention of achieving this state of balance. This combination of management and the desire for sustainability was the underlying rationale for the growing activism in this direction.
However, many held opposing views, contending that the fundamental objective of this approach was to maintain the status quo. However, this approach is not optimal for the Global South, where human influence has had a significant impact on development. It is also not possible to go back to a less damaged planet because nature evolves and does not revert. For them, it was not possible to control and construct nature in such a way as to facilitate economic development. This required a shift in the model, moving away from simple animal counting and towards an emphasis on understanding their relationships and behaviour within the system. This, in turn, has led to the evolution of the concept of resilience, economic development and ecology.
Finally, Dr. Halpern pointed out the main differences between ecologists and economists on how to manage the ecosystem. This leads to a clash of views that we should do our best to prevent crises or simply accept their inevitability and learn how to get through them with as little damage as possible. She also pointed to the changing language of resilience, especially after 9/11. The concept is now central to our politics and is spread across a variety of areas, including technological, environmental, economic, etc.
The full talk as well as the subsequent discussion is available to view on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/ULqMK7CEPuA