Trent Larson: Today’s Technology—Net Negative?
Chapter: Provo
In his presentation titled "Today's Technology - Net Negative - Trent Larson," speaker Trent Larson examines the spiritual and relational costs of modern digital dependency, arguing that while technology provides massive scale and open-source learning, its primary benefits have been extracted by centralized corporations rather than our direct human communities. Larson frames the core problem as our drift toward highly mediated, algorithmic, and institutional ways of living—from invasive social media ad-models to the fiat structures of statutory law and centralized banking—which systemically alienate us from those around us. To reverse this net-negative extraction of human agency, Larson proposes reclaiming local human connections and "right-sizing" technology through peer-to-peer software architectures and decentralized networks, exemplified by his project giftyconomies.org, which aims to systematically prioritize local, unmediated generosity and mutual support.
Timeline
00:00 [Technology and Interpersonal Connection]
02:15 [Centralized Extraction of Tech's Benefits]
04:30 [The Algorithm of Institutional Governance]
11:15 [Peer-to-Peer Alternatives and Gift Economies]
14:38 [Transhumanism, Post-humanism, and Superhumanity]
20:36 [Language and Religion as Social Technologies]
45:10 [The Ethics of Centralization and Decentralization]
55:12 [Local Human Stewardship vs. Theoretical Ideas]
Trent Larson, computer scientist and blockchain engineer
Although technology supplies powerful tools, is the approach fundamentally immoral? Ignoring corrupting influencers who peddle destructive opinions and entertainment, is the underlying approach of communication via devices an approach that inherently tends to separate us and stunt our growth?
Trent Larson got a computer science PhD in 2002, then went to write software for industry. In 2014, he helped establish Medici Ventures, creating the first SEC-approved cryptocurrency-based stock exchange; he then worked for Medici Land Governance, documenting land rights with blockchain and securing identities with cryptography. His not-for-profit work on the side involves GiftEconomies.org supported by the app at TimeSafari.org, with the goal to allow fully peer-to-peer operations; he is also on the board of BridgeFoundation.community for affordable construction and agriculture at the Riverbed Ranch.