Call to Action: There’s an Invisible Thread Between Us

I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between privilege and duty. It’s difficult for me to think that speaking up at a time like this is a privilege. For me, speaking up for the rule of law, racial and climate justice are ethical imperatives ingrained in my way of being. I get so fired up when I see companies or celebrities with profound influence and followings–people whose financial or social status might let them ignore the injustice around them–using that power for the benefit of the commons not just because they can, but because they should. Like who? Bad Bunny’s Superbowl message of inclusion and joy; Netflix’s dedication to centering minority storylines and “disrupting the white American status quo;” Taylor Swift donating 6,000 books (and a gazillion other things).

This month, I’m inviting every reader of this blog to reflect on these questions:

• What does duty mean to you?
• How (or is it) connected to privilege?
• What roles do context and identity play in these reflections?
• And why might now, more than any other point in the past fifty to two hundred years, be the most important time to speak up?

If you’re reading this, you’re a part of my motivation to speak up; with no one on the receiving end, I’d still be writing, but my sense of urgency would wane and my connection to humanity could falter. But you’re here. I’m here. There’s an invisible thread between us and that actually matters. We are alive and breathing at the same time on this ever-changing planet and–quite honestly–that’s astounding. So, “what is it [we] plan to do with [our] one wild and precious li[ves]?” (Mary Oliver).

Ok—phew—breathe.

Anyone else want to pause for some laughter?

Here’s 47-year-old me sledding in the neighbor’s yard (they have the best hill):

Oh boy did that feel good!

Meantime, another thing I’ve been thinking about a lot is AI. I’ve already written about the concrete impacts that using AI has on climate change. As in—right now—that query someone just typed in, asking for the best restaurants in Charleston? Or, what are the natural consequences of backtalk for a four-year-old? Yeah, that harms the planet. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg (for the whole iceberg, read this.) I’ve also shared a petition folks can sign if they want to hold corporations accountable to their promise to source AI using renewable energy. (Spoiler: They’re not keeping their promise.) But I just can’t stop talking about this because it’s everywhere, and last month, one of the largest corporations in the world updated its default settings, turning on a new AI feature for more than 4 billion Chrome, Drive, and Gmail users.

Did anyone else notice their Gmail inbox looking very different? That’s AI, specifically, Google’s “Gemini,” and it’s reading the contents of your emails and burning fossil fuels to do so. Not interested? Turn off those features right now. Not sure? Proton Mail breaks it down in full in that previous link, but here’s the TLDR:

“Under the guise of an easier workday and increased productivity, Gmail’s new AI inbox filters provide a suggested to-do list and collect topics it assumes you need to catch up on…By acknowledging that keeping up with the amount of correspondence and topic-switching we all need to do at work is difficult, the company assumes that it can tempt you into trading your privacy and security for convenience. But there are so many reasons to avoid Google and its AI assistant. While Google asserts that it won’t use your data to train its model, the company hasn’t proven to be reliable in the past. Multiple privacy-washing campaigns have seen Google attempt to claim that you have control over privacy settings and can opt out of features you’re not interested in; however, Google also knows that 95% of us don’t change the default settings on our phones and computers. In 2024, Google’s parent company Alphabet was fined nearly $2.9 billion dollars for tax evasion, monopolistic practices, failing to comply with regulators, and illegally favoring its own digital advertising services. We can’t trust Google to do something it promises not to do, which is why we don’t recommend trusting Gemini with the contents of your inbox.”

From privilege and duty to the very tangible threats of AI. From sledding down a mountain to watching Bad Bunny lift up the Latin American experience to an audience of millions. We are in this together, and by working together and sharing our knowledge, our privilege, and our duties, we can make an impact—whether it is diminishing AI’s impact on the world (if even just a little bit) or simply sharing a laugh and lifting spirits, every little bit counts.

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