Tech
Earth.net presented by Vitalik Buterin and Christopher Kulendran Thomas at the ICA in London, 2022
I’m fascinated by technology and possible future worlds. I find the ethics of technology, finance, and information particularly interesting.
I’m hopeful that new tech can help us prevent the worst of hypercapitalism, techno-feudalism, wealth plutocracy and democratic collapse.
WEB3
Working in web3, I’m most inrigued by the political-economic models decentralized tech may bring to life and its social implications.
What if instead of cryptolibertarianism the tech fuels a regime where monetary production is collectively owned, i.e. cryptocommunism?
I’m not necessarily for either, but I am pro cooperative economies, collective intelligence, and co-organized community.
AI + RESPONSIBLE TECH
Ethics in AI interests me as well – I’m familiar with key issues from my involvement with an “ethics and technology” reading group and All Tech is Human’s Responsible Tech community.
In 2023 I met a fellow RT member filming a documentary about attention. You might see me featured if my interview makes the cut! I
Nature
I grew up visiting farms, taking long country walks, and riding horses whenever I could. I’m deeply interested in the effects of nature on our psychology, from TCM’s ‘five seasons’ to the neuroscience behind human–animal interaction.
Reading Bill Plotkin’s Nature and the Human Soul and hand-feeding Bactrian camels at the zoo inspired me to find ways to re-center nature recently.
WILDYA
I’m a founding member of the ‘eco-allies’ community and doing user research for Wildya, a tech platform for helping users with eco-anxiety while using a percentage of revenue to ‘pay nature’ via donations to re-wilding initiatives.
SNOW LEOPARDS
In August 2024 I will be joining a snow leopard conservation expedition in Kyrgyzstan. We will track and observe the elusive ‘ghost of the mountains’ through the Tien Shan range, where their status and distribution remain relatively unknown.
Psychology & health
My master’s dissertation in philosophy of psychology evaluated theories on ‘mirror neurons’ as the neurophysiological basis of empathy.
My undergraduate philosophy degree also had a psychological leaning, with my dissertation focusing on what ancient philosophers had to say about happiness amid uncertainty, misfortune, and fear of death.
OTHER QUALIFICATIONS
I am certified in Mental Health First Aid. I’m also certified in teaching restorative yoga, a practice I use in my daily life for its mental health benefits.
I’ve taken a class on the neuroscience of mindfulness at University of Toronto and am highly interested in somatic practices. I plan to become a psychotherapist and a death doula in the second half of life.
Writing
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I love storytelling and always have twenty ideas for future projects in my head. :)
CREATIVE WRITING
I’m enrolled in the Certificate Program in Creative Writing at the University of Toronto and am experimenting with my first novel draft.
PERSONAL ESSAYS
My personal essays have been published in print and online magazines, with commissioned work also appearing in marketing materials.
Volunteering
Volunteering is important to me as a practice of seva or selfless service.
COMMUNITY
I was a crisis line responder with the Distress Centre of Greater Toronto in 2021 and a peer mentor with Youth Assisting Youth in 2022.
I regularly participate in an annual fundraising event combatting ‘period poverty’ in indigenous communities in Canada’s North.
ANIMAL WELFARE
I’ve been involved in rescue work for street cats since 2016. My involvement mostly involves fostering cats and kittens, socializing feral cats, and participating in fundraising and awareness campaigns. I currently volunteer for Annex Cat Rescue.
Jewelry
My Etsy shop began as an attempt to recoup costs for jewelry-making supplies.
I’m now intent on closing my shop, however it remains open for the time being.
JEWELRY AS LUXURY, NOT NECESSITY
The jewelry industry inherits a legacy of violence, exploitation, and environmental harm that I wish to minimize my participation in. Plenty of products exist already!
MY FINAL COLLECTION
Using the hundreds of beads and findings in my possession, I am slowly preparing a final collection. It will be environmentally-minded with re-usable packaging and any profit (revenue – operational expenses) donated to nature-related causes.
Philosophy
I obtained my undergradate degree in joint honours philosophy and political science from McGill University and my master’s in philosophy of psychology from King’s College London in the United Kingdom.
PUBLICATIONS
Essays of mine have been published in academic journals by universities including McGill University, UC Berkeley, and Brigham Young.
PUBLIC PHILOSOPHY
Through the Philosophy Foundation I gained training in teaching philosophy to children in primary schools. I was also briefly involved with a non-profit running philosophy workshops for youth but parted ways due to ideological difference.
I’m mostly interested in philosophy as a therapeutic tool or as a way to improve public life (in AI ethics, for example). I’m not interested in a philosophical pursuit that models itself after formal education or ignores psychology.
WITH GRATITUDE TO THE FOLLOWING
My family / Prof. Martijn Dekker at the University of Amsterdam / Prof. Silvio Bär at the University of Oslo / Prof. Carlos Fraenkel at McGill University / Nathalie Mathias from the Quiet Studio / Devin O’Neill and Connie Yang from EY Law LLP / Sheila Lam / The Down to Earth team in London, UK / The Philosophy Foundation / Prof. James Stazicker at King’s College London / L. Lew. / G. Vukets and the DCOGT coordinators / Alina P. / Pat Harada Linfoot and Darcie Ladd from Octopus Garden / Seonaid L. / Laura Lush, writing teacher at the University of Toronto / Karina W. / My writing pals / Storied / East Room Lunch Club / The Reset community / Oliver Duaert /All those who’ve read my work and those who will in the future...