Growing Technology, Boulder and Beyond

A thriving tech ecosystem depends on new hubs prioritizing balance and connection

Technology is not what we think it is. It’s not this isolated entity that is inherently separate from us. Technology emerges from our human aliveness and relates with and influences our human aliveness. We can’t escape from technology anymore than we can escape from consciousness. If we isolate it and other it, demonizing it and idolizing it, then we fail to understand it and it may destroy us. But if we can truly embrace it and recognize it as part of who we are, it has the capacity to tremendously enrich our experience.

A more integral understanding of technology and our relationship to it is more vital now than ever, as technology changes and evolves at an increasingly accelerated pace. We also need new technology systems that reflect this understanding and that support our humanity and our aliveness. In order for this understanding to take root and these new tech solutions to emerge, a more integral technology ecosystem is needed, and we need hubs where that ecosystem can effectively thrive.

In this essay I will attempt to articulate elements that I think are necessary for a new vision of technology and for an ecosystem which can grow that vision. Further I will explore how Boulder can become a vital hub for this ecosystem, how this ecosystem is already growing and thriving here, and how we can effectively participate in its growth.

Finding myself in the web

Let me start by sharing a bit about myself.

I was born to hippie parents, Joe and Becky, who have both now passed on from cancer. My mom studied math in college and sometimes substitute taught math at school, and my dad was a carpenter, coming from a long line of builders. My love for math and logic, my love for computers and technology, and my love for building and creation, nurtured by my parents, all grew into me studying computer science at Case Western and starting my career off through interning at Google and then joining as an early engineer at a Y-Combinator startup, Framed Data.

My dad’s passing when I graduated college led to a fork in the road for me, and I left the tech world behind for a while and chose to travel for several years, getting to know the world, getting to know different communities and getting to know myself. I eventually found my way back into technology, building some software for a few startups, including leading development for a gratitude journal social network, and returning to Google for a time as a developer relations engineer.

Along the way, I returned to school and received an MA in Ecopsychology from Naropa University here in Boulder, with a focus on understanding how social systems can reorganize themselves through an understanding of what it means to be alive. In 2023, I made a foray into politics and made a run for city council in Boulder, with a focus on collaboration, regenerative systems, and fostering a culture of inclusion and innovation in Boulder.

At present, I am back in school again, studying for an MS in creative technology & design at the ATLAS Institute in CU Boulder. ATLAS is serving as an incredibly supportive context for growing as a builder again while also deepening my relationships with other tech builders in Boulder. I am also serving as Executive Director for Woven Web, an early-stage non-profit startup company, through which we are working on creating more connective tissue to support our technology and our society being more well connected to help networks thrive, here in Boulder and beyond.

Weaving in the elements

So what are the elements of a more integral vision for technology and a more integral ecosystem in which to grow this vision?

Technology is evolving and changing across many dimensions at the same time. Technology in this internet and information age has continually had an underlying theme of connectivity and networks, a biomimetic reflection of life and the universe, which we are increasingly understanding to be fundamentally rooted in relationships.

Quantum physics tells us that the universe is not made up of distinct blocks as much as it is an inter-woven fabric, with each bit intimately connected to every other bit. Living systems theory tells us that life is an interconnected web with each living system as both a whole thing and part of a greater whole. Cognitive science demonstrates to us that we think, know, and navigate the world in terms of relationships, associations, and connectivity. The movement in modern science is reflecting an ancient and fundamental understanding that we are truly all in this together and we are far more connected than we could have ever imagined.

Technology, as an application of science, is beginning to reflect this understanding as well. Quantum computing is creating a possibility to revolutionize the way we process and share information. The internet has enabled us to share information nearly instantaneously - to anywhere in the globe, enabling us to start thinking and communicating as one people in a way that wasn’t possible before. Artificial intelligence and technologies such as neural networks & large language models are helping us organize and access information in a radically new way. Meanwhile, distributed and decentralized technologies such as blockchains are opening the door for us to share information and resources in a way that can support individual agency and collective harmony.

Bringing forward a more integral technology ecosystem will involve deepening in our understanding of what it means to be alive, connecting together in community that is rooting deeply into our shared existence, and participating in the use and development of technology that reflects this understanding. Through rooting into a deep inquiry around understanding who and what we are, we can come to see how technology can best support our shared existence and we can learn to leverage technology to respond to our ever-emerging needs as a human society and as life on earth.

Rooting out the distortions

While there is this growing move towards connectivity pervading throughout our technology, it’s vital that we also understand the distortions which are entangled with the development of much modern technology. This is evidenced through the many examples of technology being used to destroy our environment and amplify our misunderstandings and divisions. The internet, the advent of social media, and recent advancements in artificial intelligence are all great examples of this. We are able to connect with other people and information at a rapidly growing rate, and at the same time, we seem to be using these technologies to spread false facts, isolate ourselves, and perpetuate divisive us vs them thinking.

Growing a more integral technological ecosystem and a more balanced relationship with technology will involve understanding these distortions and rooting them out of our thinking process. It’s vital that we understand our conditioned tendencies towards divisive and exploitive thinking. This way of thinking is rooted deeply in our psyches and has been reinforced by both religious and scientific thinking which has led us to believe that we as humans, and often as the specific group of humans we identify with, are superior to other life forms and are here to dominate the earth and reap its harvests.

If we are able to see clearly the distortions that this divisive thinking has created, and how it has pervaded the development and use of technology, then it will be far more possible for us to discover a new relationship to technology and in so doing, bring forward new technological systems that are rooted in balance and connection and which can truly help address the many issues we are facing on earth right now. Success in this will be largely dependent on having new hubs where a more connected way of thinking can integrate more fully with the advancement of technology.

New hubs for a thriving ecosystem

Most of the technological progress of the last 50 years has come from one singular tech hub; San Francisco and the larger Silicon Valley/Bay Area. This has been driven by research institutions such as Stanford and Berkeley, which have helped give birth to many major technology companies, bringing increasing funding and resources, and catalyzing a very powerful feedback loop. It is a pretty popular view these days that if you want to be at the leading edge of technology development, silicon valley is the place to be.

While silicon valley is an important hub, ecosystems thrive through diversity. The lack of other substantial hubs that can effectively challenge and dialogue with the bay area has led our conversation around tech to become limited. One of the distortions that is prevalent in our society right now is that bigger is always better, and that the ideal pattern for society is unrestrained growth. This way of thinking has become deeply embedded within the silicon valley tech culture and through that, has become the dominant way of thinking in tech in general; as demonstrated by the e/acc movement, which proposes that we should just focus on accelerating the development of technology so that technology can solve all of our problems. I find this way of thinking to often miss out on many unintended consequences that come through this unrestrained growth, as we’re seeing all around our planet as we continue to push beyond our planetary boundaries.

Bringing balance to the wider tech ecosystem will involve growing new technology hubs that can more effectively explore different ways of thinking about technology; to help contribute to the wider conversation. The goal is not to replace silicon valley, but rather to grow hubs that can relate with it, fostering a more diverse conversation around technology that can support the kind of understanding and development that will truly support our society and our planet. There are many new hubs growing which can play a role in this ecosystem. The Austin, Texas area is one that is worth noting, as it has a thriving creative culture and a growing community of technologists, with increasing amounts of money and energy flowing there, particularly in the light of Elon Musk’s recent moves. There is also another hub that I find to be less talked about, but which will play a growing role in the future of technology and society; and that is Boulder, Colorado and the larger front range region.

Inclusive Innovation in Boulder

What is it that makes Boulder so incredibly Boulder? What is it that could lead one to say that Boulder could become such an important technology hub in this next wave of technological advances?

Boulder has all of the components needed. We have a tremendous research university in CU Boulder which gives an amazing talent pool. We have a government aligned with innovation, particularly when we consider that the governor of Colorado Jared Polis founded TechStars in Boulder, which is now one of the leading startup accelerators in the world. There is funding, with a substantial base of venture capital and angel investors. We have a thriving startup ecosystem already, with companies leading the way in software, biotech, quantum computing, renewable energy and more. We are well connected, with the Denver airport becoming one of the largest airport in the nation. And there is a tremendous quality of life in Boulder, with access to nature and a city that is incredibly walkable and bike-able. When we look at the traditional requirements for a technology hub, Boulder meets them all.

But what makes Boulder uniquely poised to play a leading role in the conversation around technology goes beyond this. It goes towards having a culture in this city that is rooted deeply in nature, in community, in connection and creativity. I would credit a lot of this to some of Boulder’s early influences, including many alternative thinkers and spiritual leaders landing here in the 60s and 70s and with the presence of institutions such as Naropa, which has continued fostering a culture of thinking differently and valuing relationships and connectivity.

This new era of technology is rooted deeply in understanding and participating in our interconnectivity. Community is essential. Meetups such as Boulder AI Builders and Rocky Mountain AI Interest Group are meeting monthly and bringing hundreds of people together who are stoked to learn and build together. EthDenver is bringing over 10,000 people together in the blockchain space every year, with community gatherings meeting throughout the Denver and Boulder area. Multiple quantum computing labs have launched in the area with a tremendous amount of funding pouring in. All the pieces are here.

The potential is more present than ever for Boulder to become one of the leading technology hubs of the 21st century; to lead the way in bringing a level of coherence to our technology and understand how all of these new pieces can come together to truly benefit this interconnected world we live in. If we can look to include and we can look to innovate, then we can play a meaningful role in whatever is emerging. As technology grows and changes, the barriers to entry are becoming smaller, so that each of us, whether we have a degree in engineering or not, can play a part.

Join and help

If you call Boulder home and you consider yourself a technologist in some form of the other, I implore you to hear this call. Join a movement towards a more balanced and connected world and help bring about the technology that can support that. Dive deep into what your relationship with technology is and start dialogues with your friends. If you’re a builder, enter conversations and start collaborating. Move beyond just what you are building and look into what we all might be creating together. Balancing agency with collaboration is essential.

If you don’t live in Boulder, but you are interested in these ideas, I encourage you to consider whether Boulder might be a place you want to move to; or whether you might have a calling to foster this kind of technology hub and conversation where you are. It’s vital to look at where we can be to make the most meaningful impact but it’s also vital to understand how we can make an impact where we are. This movement is both local and universal.

Whoever you are and wherever you are, I encourage you to be in dialogue, to look to understand what it means to be alive, to get curious about our relationships with each other and with our technology, and to discover for yourself what it means for you to meaningfully participate in the continued unfolding of community, technology, humanity and of life on this planet.

Reach out, connect and let’s continue the conversation. I look forward to knowing you.