Indy Johar | Civilizational Optioneering

Indy Johar argues that humanity's first view of Earth from space initiated "planetary self-awareness," urging us to reimagine civilization as a global endeavor. Facing climate instability and AI's transformative impact, he advocates for "civilizational optionality"—a buffer against cascading shocks. He suggests embracing our limited knowledge fosters curiosity, tenderness, and care.

Johar envisions human-machine systems enhancing our capacity for complex discourse, defining intelligence as a conversational field for collective sense-making. This talk, presented January 27, 02026, is part of the Long Now Talks series, which fosters long-term thinking. For more, see the episode notes, watch the livestream, or join The Long Now Foundation.