If you were to chart our society’s collective anxiety alongside the rate of technological change, I imagine that the two would not only be very closely correlated but that it would be one hell of an upward curve. A lot of us feel trapped in an accelerating culture in which everything is happening now, resulting in a condition that Douglas Rushkoff refers to as “present shock.” Most of the dominant narratives are collapsing. The World-of-Us, the world we built for ourselves, is taking on a level of overwhelming complexity. We are haunted by a past which we try to ignore but which tends to resurface from the depths like some unpleasant memory, leading to regressive behaviors and strife on all sides. The future, often painted in apocalyptic fantasies, can appear as some mysterious Other which applies its own distinct pressure. And we are always suspended somewhere in the center.
So what role does Embermine, Inc. play in this spectrum? Sure, there is the platform, but what are the intentions of the company? Profit? Relentless growth? Marveling at our own success? Let’s start with a more constructivist perspective of the previous paragraph:
The past is an incredible, multifaceted object that we can peer into for guidance, a reflection of our histories, accounts, and records of our brightest and darkest moments. Worthy of contemplation and consultation.
The future is not some unknown territory on a map which we warn ourselves, “Here be dragons,” but rather our greatest trading partner here and now. We can decide how this relationship goes.
The flagship project of Embermine is the Embermine Platform, which brings the revolutionary, infrastructural technology of blockchain within grasp of everyday people to help them conduct their creative and business endeavors, giving them agency and sustainability along the curve. We believe that blockchain will play a critical role in the design and redesign of our systems, not only giving people more efficiency but also efficacy.
The emphasis here is people.Our goal is to bring people closer to the future that is already here. Like the classic William Gibson quote: “The future is already here. It’s just not evenly distributed.” If we can bring people closer to these complex technologies, then we can help alleviate the “present shock” of the twenty-first century as we live harmoniously with our designs and move away from our despondent condition and apocalyptic fixation.
Blockchain. Smart contracts. AI. VR/AR, Mixed Reality. Sustainable energy. Internet of Things. Autonomous transport. Robotics…
All of these technologies are seeds of a future worth living for if we provide the right conditions to cultivate their growth.Who knows? Maybe the Embermine platform will be what people use to turn these seeds into forests.