Tom Chi: "Net Positive for the Planet – from Beavers to Bionics”
Apr 24, 2024
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Inventor and investor Tom Chi discusses shifting innovation principles to be biophysically aligned, integrating technology with nature for a sustainable future. Topics include maximizing economic value through sustainable material productivity, ecosystem restoration for financial gains, and transitioning to sustainable agriculture with robotics. Chi explores natural solutions like beavers for climate change and harnessing carbon sinks for regenerative technologies. The conversation emphasizes investing in ecological projects with venture capital, speciation in Homo Sapiens on Mars, and shifting perspectives for sustainable global solutions.
Shift towards ecologically centered technology for synergy with biodiverse life on Earth.
Enhance economic performance by shifting focus from extraction to efficiency in resource usage.
Leverage ecosystem restoration to drive economic advantages while promoting environmental well-being.
Optimize diverse nutrient flows for sustainable economic and environmental outcomes.
Invest in technologies like autonomous electric tractors for regenerative agriculture and ecosystem restoration.
Deep dives
Epochs of Economic Transformation in a Sustainable Future
In the podcast, Nate Haganz and Tom Chi discuss the concept of epochs shaping our future. The discussion focuses on three distinct epochs that drive economic evolution towards sustainability. In the first epoch, the podcast highlights the importance of material productivity, where investments are made to maximize economic benefits while minimizing pollution through optimizing resource usage. Tom Chi explains the pivotal role of supporting verbs over nouns in this phase to enhance economic performance. By shifting the focus from extraction to efficiency, businesses can achieve significant financial gains while benefiting the environment.
Enhancing Ecosystem Metabolic Processes for Economic Gains
The conversation delves into epoch two, emphasizing the enrichment of ecosystem metabolic processes. Tom Chi underscores the significance of viewing resources not merely as static entities but as dynamic systems that foster sustainable productivity. The example of enhancing ecosystem restoration showcases how leveraging ecosystem health can drive economic advantages while promoting environmental well-being. By investing in the healthy metabolic functions of ecosystems, businesses can achieve substantial financial leverage and ecological benefits concurrently.
Unlocking the Potential of Diverse Nutrient Flows in Epoch Three
Epoch three, termed 'maximization of diverse nutrient flows,' represents the pinnacle of economic evolution towards sustainability. Tom Chi introduces the concept of optimizing the utilization of resources in the transitional phase between arrival and re-radiation back to space. By maximizing the benefits derived within this timeframe, businesses can significantly enhance economic and environmental outcomes. The podcast highlights the profound implications of savoring every resource in the middle phase to drive diverse nutrient flows, paving the way for a more sustainable and efficient economic model.
Optimizing Economic Strategies for Long-Term Sustainability
The podcast conversation sheds light on the long-term vision of transforming economic strategies to align with sustainable practices. Through the discussion of different epochs, the importance of integrating sustainability into economic frameworks becomes evident. By embracing innovative approaches that prioritize resource efficiency and ecosystem health, businesses can drive positive economic impacts while contributing to environmental conservation. The dialogue underscores the transformative potential of epoch-based economic transitions in shaping a more sustainable future.
The Macro Arc of Life on Earth
Life on Earth has undergone a macro arc spanning various time eras and stages of development. From the Hadeon era with molten conditions to the Arkan era seeing a proliferation of single-celled organisms, diversity of life has increased over billions of years. The goal of life is to maximize diverse nutrient flows by creating new species occupying different ecological niches, utilizing various energy sources.
Economic Systems in Alignment with Life
While discussions focus on economic directions like de-growth, aligning with the algorithm of life on Earth suggests expanding life's diversity. Earth's evolutionary process emphasizes creating more life forms and diversity, even after setbacks like mass extinctions. Building an economy aligned with maximizing the benefit of organisms can lead to sustainable development and lasting civilizations.
Utilizing Keystone Species for Ecological Balance
There is potential in becoming the keystone species that supports and protects other keystone species, fostering a healthier planet. Projects like reintroducing beavers can impact ecosystems positively by sequestering carbon and creating resilient landscapes. Investing in technologies like autonomous electric tractors and regenerative agriculture can further enhance sustainable practices.
Personal Transformation and Holistic Connections
A profound personal experience of nearing death led to a shift in worldview and understanding of interconnectedness. Immersed in ventures leveraging sustainable projects, the journey unfolded with a realization of being interconnected with life's ongoing cycles and the importance of holistic approaches in ecological restoration.
The Immortality of Patterns
Our existence is essentially composed of patterns inherited from ancient history, making us a momentary intersection of pattern intelligence within immortal elements. The patterns within us have had extensive runs over billions of years on Earth. Even after death, we return to the universal field, with our atoms forming new configurations, participating in various forms of life including plants, animals, and humans.
Future Human Colonization of Planets and Species Evolution
The concept of humans becoming a multi-planetary species poses challenges as settling on other planets for extended periods may lead to human speciation in as few as 20 generations. Factors like gravity differences between planets can accelerate species divergence. While colonization of other planets may occur, it is more likely for future descendants to populate these new worlds in evolved human forms, rather than the current Homo sapiens staying unchanged.
On this episode, Nate is joined by inventor and investor Tom Chi to take a broad look at the principles guiding innovation and capital - and how we might shift these to be more biophysically aligned in the future. For the past few centuries, our global industrial system has been dominated by growth-based economics without awareness of its dependence on the biosphere - or the waste that it leaves behind. What would it mean for our technology to be ecologically centered, working in service of and in synergy with complex, biodiverse life on Earth? How can we work within our current financial and governance systems to create initiatives that benefit both ecosystems and economies? More broadly, what cultural shifts could we imagine that move beyond seeing ourselves as simply dependent on ecological systems - but rather as a part of the entangled whole?
About Tom Chi
Tom Chi is the founding partner of At One Ventures, which backs early-stage (Seed, Series A) companies using disruptive deep tech to upend the unit economics of established industries while dramatically reducing their planetary footprint. Previously, Tom was a founding member of Google X where he led the teams that created self-driving cars, deep learning artificial intelligence, wearable augmented reality and internet connectivity expansion.
