AI: Animate Intelligence
As we entered the forest, our unofficial naturalist and guide, Jim, offered us a prompt: log in to AI by touching a tree and tuning in. The “AI” he coined as “animate intelligence” — a delightful reminder that vast and ancient intelligence is already at work in these forests. We hiked in silence each morning with all our senses wide open, input streaming in from every direction: the varying textures of the ground underfoot, birdsong, the murmur of gentle streams and waterfalls, the charred trunks of trees beneath my palms, cool air brushing my skin. I felt cradled by nature, as if it were whispering, “I’ve got you.”