About

I'm Jules Lewis, an independent researcher and writer with a wide range of interests. These include politics, climate change, and artificial intelligence.

I have recently been focused on two of the most significant forces shaping our immediate future: climate change and artificial intelligence. 

One of my key concerns is that our collective attention is being dangerously diverted. While we face irreversible climate tipping points that demand immediate focus, I see a ‘brain drain’ towards AI development that I believe represents a staggering opportunity cost. There is so much to do to address the numerous planetary boundaries we are overstepping, yet we are chasing the next shiny technological bauble, burning up the planet as we do so.

Offline, I am working to help build community cohesion and resilience in my adopted homeland of Cornwall. If societal upheaval is coming, and I believe it’s inevitable, we need to be preparing for the changes ahead by strengthening our foundations at a local level.

The name of the site comes from the great Fahrenheit 451. Granger, the leader of a group of exiles, talks about building a mirror factory so mankind can look at itself. I anticipate some introspection from time to time, but will try to resist outright navel gazing.

[S]ome day we'll remember so much that we'll build the biggest goddamn steam-shovel in history and dig the biggest grave of all time and shove war in and cover it up. Come on now, we're going to go build a mirror-factory first and put out nothing but mirrors for the next year and take a long look in them.