Discussions on sustainability are increasingly turning to notions of limits, restrictions, downsizing, decentralization, ‘degrowth,’ and so on—in short, toward sufficiency. There are strong arguments that a sufficiency-based strategy may be needed to achieve long-term environmental goals and to keep human consumption and production within established planetary boundaries. For many, this objective relies upon an essentially techno-optimist stance: that improving technology (newer, more efficient, ‘cleaner’) will allow us to move toward a sufficiency economy with minimal pain or disruption. However, others argue that this is misguided—that technology, in fact, inevitably moves us away from a sufficiency economy by inducing further production, further consumption, and further energy use. Advanced technology seems intrinsically growth-oriented.

Of special interest is the question of food production and of the skills required to do so, in line with a sufficiency perspective. Even simple food technologies, like the plow and shovel, require considerable technical skill (metal-working, tool construction, usage technics). Contemporary famers routinely use computers and GPS. In the near future, AI tools will certainly be deployed in agriculture. What skill sets will be needed, and appropriate, in the coming future?  Which are key to sustainable change?  Will these help, or hinder, a sufficiency society?

This workshop will examine the role of technology, positive and negative, in the quest for a sufficiency society. We will consider the full range of human technologies, from simple food-producing tools like the plow, to the most advanced AI systems of today. By inaugurating agriculture, the simple plow was arguably “the worst mistake in the history of the human race” (Jared Diamond). Today, we are faced with potent new AI systems, which threaten to rewrite established norms in computer technology, and potentially, in the worst case, begin to exceed our ability to comprehend and control complex systems. AI could potentially become the new “worst mistake” of humanity.

The proposed workshop will examine the pros and cons of technology in light of the contemporary need for a sufficiency economy and a sufficiency society. The lead organizers will present short papers, and all participants will engage in interactive dialogue.