Chiara is the author of the book “The Science of Can and Can’t”, where she writes about the concept of counterfactuals and constructor theory.

This is a new and different approach to physics where the idea is that the physics most of us are familiar with is mirrored in a way that is very limited. There is a large class of things that science has neglected, and according to this theory, there are questions of what is and isn’t possible, which could provide scientific explanations to many questions in the long run. Those unwilling to bring this concept to science prevent us from making progress on certain fundamental problems.

In this interview Chiara talks about (among other things):

• Constructor theory 
• Her vision of existential hope for the long-term future 
• Risks for the long-term future 
• The best piece of advice she ever received

See the artwork in it’s full animated version here. 

This artwork is inspired by Chiara Marletto’s vision of Existential Hope:

Humans can think in ways that allow endless creativity. This is what creates resilience for humanity and its survival.

If we could achieve a state in which all people are able to think freely and not need to worry about day-to-day problems that have to do with survival, like being hungry or trying to pay rent, we could achieve an ideal situation (similar to what Plato had): Time to think freely, to be creative, and to consider various problems. 

Scientists try to create this in their lives, time and space where they can just think about problems freely and in peace. But it’s currently too narrowly present in humanity. 

It’s a very utopian scenario but there might be a way to get there. Consisting of two elements: 

1. We know that technology is supporting us in ways that bring people beyond the subsistence level where they can actually just be creative.

2. This event should be coupled with one in which people growing up as kids are encouraged to think in creative ways and have an instilled love for knowledge and creativity.

Today it’s hard to get people into this creative thinking and often schools don’t do a good job at getting them into knowledge. So by putting these two elements together we could have a lot more people who are into problem solving than now and this would help our chances of survival enormously.

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See the full animation of the NFT depicting Annas’s eucatastrophe scenario here to get inspired! 

The proceeds from the NFT sale will support scientific research.