“The Reckoning of Hands and Heart: Essays on Agriculture, Faith, and the Fight for Rural America” #1
I have been writing these blogs for a while now and after a year I definitely see a trend in what I write and as such I am going to formalize them with an official title and logo.
“The Reckoning of Hands and Heart: Essays on Agriculture, Faith, and the Fight for Rural America”
Let me know what you think and please share it with others.
With that said strap in. Because my mind can be as untamed as the wild west at times, those of you that know me best are smiling right now.
Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
(Jeremiah 6:16 ESV)
In today’s sociopolitical climate (where “clicks” are king), it is painfully obvious that we don't pay attention to the most complex intelligence networks in the universe: soil biomes, mycelium, coral reefs; and yet we're pretending we can "design" AI.
I know some of you are thinking, wait, what does a farmer know about AI? Well, I can’t speak for them all, but this farmer has over 25 years in the experience in the tech industry. I’m no expert by any means, but I’m not ignorant either.
And here is the thing, at this point we're not designing anything. AI is designing itself.
Not because it's malicious “by nature”, but because... like every “system” before it... it's evolving in ways we naively believe we understand. It grows and evolves by way of what we feed it…. let that sink in. Every search, every question you ask it, etc., it is learning and evolving.
We've always been that way though, if we are honest. We homosapiens can be ignorant and to our detriment sometimes… well, most of the time. You know it’s true.
When we picture AI today, it's the same structure as industrial agriculture: giant, centralized systems, pulling in resources from everywhere, promising efficiency and independence while quietly building fragility and fostering dependance.
Cognitive offloading is an issue: the more we lean on AI, the less we keep ourselves sharp.
Ironically, when newspapers came out, people worried about mental strain and cognitive overload. I miss newspapers.
Unrelated side note: I think I am one of the few left that still prefers the tangible qualities of a good book in my hands rather than the glow of a Kindle or smart device.
But nature and process rarely evolve the way we'd like them to. Guys, nature doesn't work like that. Neither does intelligence.
Both signify the insistence of Divine Creation, by a Divine Creator. Something mankind can’t and for the most part, is unwilling to grasp, however painfully we may try.
The most resilient systems like healthy soils, thriving rangelands, functioning ecosystems; are a different intelligence, they are of Divine Substance if you will. They're made of countless independent nodes, each adding their information and energy to the network, exchanging their contribution—taking what they need and distributing the abundance.
The global mycelium network is an awesome example of computational horsepower on a planetary scale.
Mycelium?? Ah yes, I didn’t stop to think, but there are probably many out there who are asking: What is mycelium?
Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a network of thread-like structures called hyphae. It's often described as the "root" system of fungi, responsible for nutrient absorption and growth. Mycelium plays a vital role in ecosystems, decomposing organic matter and forming symbiotic relationships with plants. It's also gaining attention for its potential in sustainable materials and food production. These networks play a crucial role in ecosystems, acting as a communication and resource-sharing system for plants and other organisms.
In other words, mycelium is pretty dog gone amazing!
Why I say Mycelium Makes the Internet Look Small.
1) The Ability to Scale: The total length of fungal mycelium in the top 10 cm of soil globally is estimated at over 450 quadrillion kilometers, which is equivalent to nearly half the width of the Milky Way galaxy. Mycelial networks, composed of branching threads called hyphae, are described as Earth's natural internet and the "Wood Wide Web", highlighting their interconnectedness and importance in nutrient exchange and communication between plants. These networks are involved in storing an estimated 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, accounting for 75% of all terrestrial CO2, making them one of the planet's largest carbon sinks.
2) Throughput: Sends electrical, hydraulic, chemical, and structural signals in parallel, possibly 10–100+ petabits/sec (guys that is one quadrillion bits!).
3) Ability to network: The comparison to the internet is apt because these networks function as decentralized systems with built-in redundancies, allowing them to adapt and reroute resources as needed. The number of nodes or junctions within these networks are vast, and according to some sources, the complexity of mycelial networks could be billions of times greater than the number of devices connected to the internet. While slower than the internet in signal speed, but 100–1,000× bigger in total information capacity, it’s literally a living planetary supercomputer.
Is AI evolving more like the Mycelium Network?
Instead of massive, energy-hungry data centers, imagine a network of small, independent AI "nodes." Each with its own memory, its own power source, its own local intelligence (think your phone). They talk to each other when needed (STARLINK-like systems create untethered reach) but aren't dependent on a single point of failure.
It's not science fiction; it's the same way a functioning ecosystem stays resilient because resources and roles are spread out. Not perfect, not without conflict, but able to take hits without collapsing. It's the opposite of today's "bigger data center, more computers, fewer operators" model that centralizes flow—Decentralization is smarter, more adaptable, and more elegant. Better at ethical uncoordinated management of resources.
However in contrast reliance on ecosystem trades control for resilience.
It's a timeless question in both worlds:
Do we keep chasing scale until the system collapses under its own weight… or do we learn from the oldest, most resilient bedrock networks in existence?
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
(Genesis 1:11-12 ESV)
In many way’s I feel like we are at a tipping point, ready to cross over into the unknown. What exactly does that look like? I don’t know. But as for me and my family, we will continue to look for “The Good way and walk in it!”
Until next time, stay strong in your faith, love your family, and support your local community farmers!
Kevin
