>“February is the uncertain month, neither black nor white but all shades between by turns. Nothing is sure.” — Gladys Hasty Carroll Like the quote above by Carroll, nothing has been sure this month. It’s been a month of chaos and aching bones. I’ve been busy overhauling my miniscule office, filing taxes, building a desk, taking the dogs to the vet, and shoveling so much snow at one point that I gave in and let winter swallow my world for a while. It’s been a time of flux but also a time of immense growth as I begin to learn about Data Analytics and the role it has to play in social justice and climate collapse. I’ve also been studying about AI and as you know, I’m not a fan. I don’t want to vere off topic too much, but like many I see AI more as a statistical engine than true intelligence. But it does make me wonder… If we saw it for what it is, would our applications of it change? The speculative futurist in me also wonders about the cross application of geometrodynamics and cybernetic intelligence (if such a thing ever occurrs). The privacy-centric me, wonders what we can do to stop the infiltration and tracking of every moment of our lives. And the eco-philosopher in me wonders what kind of ethics we should follow with the emergence of new technologies. I have another yet one more important question to ask… How do we, who live in two very different sets of ethics (one personal and one societal) reckon with the tension between the two? With the rise of the reclamation and the ever present threat of climate collapse we are stuck at a major tension point between the destruction of our world and of the self and business as usual. Capitalism has hit its limits and is rapidly colonizing the last remnants of existence from the last drop of water and the very air we breathe to human creativity. Technology is trying to sell those in power the idea that all life is irrelevant and without value. We cannot give in to such terraphthoric beliefs and yet we are caught within systems that actively promote and reward such behavior. So what can we do? We do what humans do best… We get creative. To dream of optimistic futures is to help bring about their existence. But we also need a firm bedrock of ethics and our own tools. Where capitalist systems give us AI slop and massive data centers we need data analytics and nimble offline systems that help solve real local problems. Data should be protected by default. Technology should be repairable. And access to an education should be free and widely spread. We have to do this for each other and for all the species we share our world with because the alternative is unspeakable and unconsciouable destruction. So that’s where I am right now, I’m studying to build a more optimistic future for all species and for myself. I hope that I can end up working at a non-profit in the social justice or climate change sectors, while also continuing my studies in clinical herbalism and eco-chaplaincy. I want to finish my book, to create some amazing courses on dendric dreams and hyphaeographies. I want to utilize technology to build connections between us, to build our autonomy, and to dream new and better futures into being. ## Links - [What a Librarian is Reading in Times of Moral Nausea and Psychological Despair](https://cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/what-a-librarian-is-reading-in-times) - [They're Coming for Our Daughters](https://jessica.substack.com/p/theyre-coming-for-our-daughters) - [How to Study Like a Peak Human: The Neuroscience of Learning](https://ixcarus.substack.com/p/how-to-study-like-a-peak-human-the) - [Acting ethically in an imperfect world](https://tante.cc/2026/02/20/acting-ethical-in-an-imperfect-world/) ## Reads - ‘Becoming A Data Head’ Alex Gutman & Jordan Goldmeier - ‘Code Dependent: Living In The Shadow of AI’ Madhumita Murgia - ‘Data Feminism’ Catherine D’Ignazio & Lauren F. Klein