Long Now Foundation

Challenges that feel impossible to tackle within a single human lifetime become conceivable when you have a longer timescale to work with. Today is a day to take the long view. Join our community of long-term thinking, 02026 is going to be a good one. na2.hubs.ly/H02frJ50

We are thrilled to see Long Now Council member @lisakaysolomon featured in the new book "Leading for Tomorrow," offering her expertise on future-centered leadership. She joins an incredible cohort in this collection, including Long Now speaker alumni @ChipConley and @JonHaidt, and heavy-hitting thought leaders like @jnovogratz and @AmyCEdmondson.  Congrats all! Order it here: na2.hubs.ly/H06B7Kh0

Historians have used AI to restore lost verses of Gilgamesh, decipher carbonized papyrus scrolls sealed for millennia, and fill in gaps in 2,000-year-old Greek inscriptions. What ancient languages will AI decode next? @grescoe reports on the quantum leaps in ancient language decipherment, and which codes AI can’t crack (yet) -> longnow.org/ideas/the-code…

Earlier this month, @FuturelibraryNO held their annual handover ceremony in a quiet forest in Norway. Conceived by artist and Long Now Council member Katie Paterson, Future Library invites writers to contribute manuscripts to a collection that won't open until next century. This year Tommy Orange and @GhoshAmitav presented their new manuscripts among trees that will provide paper for their books—which won't be printed until the year 02114. Long Now’s Danielle Engelman traveled to Oslo for the event. Stay tuned for a full report in our annual print journal Pace Layers.  In the meantime, read more about Future Library here: na2.hubs.ly/H06xY5q0 na2.hubs.ly/H06x-wR0

Fantastic reporting on the recent Future Library handoff ceremony, including great context on the landscape of long-term art projects around the world from @VOGUEIndia

[BOSTON] You’re invited to step out of sync with standard time into the deeper, slower rhythm of arboreal time, with artist-philosopher Jonathon Keats. He’ll be in-person for a conversation about his monumental installation Centuries of the Bristlecone and the science of measuring time with trees, plus a screening of the award-winning making-of documentary about the project. Arboreal Time: A Screening and Conversation with Artist Jonathon Keats Friday, July 10 · 3:00–4:00 pm MIT Museum, Cambridge Free with museum admission Details: na2.hubs.ly/H06m3yy0

Instead of acting out of rigidity and division, Bayo Akomolafe says, we can make the biggest difference on the world's largest problems by gathering intergenerational knowledge. Watch his full Long Now Talk here: na2.hubs.ly/H06m58m0

Our knowledge of the past is inherently imperfect. But how imperfect? @Jacobkupp reports on Long Now Ideas: na2.hubs.ly/H06nfpH0

Blaise Agüera y Arcas | What is Intelligence? | @longnow youtu.be/KhSJuqDUJME?si… also what is life, what is AI, life is assembling, collaboration, synbiosis, more than competition. Our AIs are already symbiotic, our future is eucariotes with AI? worth hearing !!

The U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a resolution recognizing TODAY, June 30, as Asteroid Day. Asteroid Day was cofounded by Long Now board member and @b612foundation President, Danica Remy, and introduced by AZ Senator and retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, alongside Senator Moran (R-KS) and Cornyn (R-TX). Danica has worked tirelessly to build an international coalition for research, analysis, and systems to detect and protect Earth from asteroids. Asteroid Day is a huge triumph, years in the making. Congratulations to everyone who made this possible! Learn more about the @astroidday initiative here: asteroidday.org

Why a liberal arts education will soon be more valuable than ever. A great read from Long Now Council member and @noemamag editor Nils Gilman: na2.hubs.ly/H068vnJ0

Our long-time friend, Brewster Kahle, founder of the @InternetArchive, was named a 02026 @ComputerHistory Museum Fellow, honoring his pioneering work in digital preservation and open access to knowledge. So deserved. Congratulations, Brewster. computerhistory.org/2026-fellow-aw…

“Slop” aka the low-effort, high-volume AI-generated content, asks an urgent question: what happens when human expression can be reproduced at scale? @kalladomcdowell investigates on Long Now Ideas: na2.hubs.ly/H06fc2N0

First cultivated in the Himalayan foothills over 3,000 years ago, the cucumber has been on the move both biologically and geographically for millennia.  A fascinating history of a very unassuming vegetable: na2.hubs.ly/H068tSf0

Tomorrow is the deadline to apply for scholarships and enroll in this summer’s online intensive courses! Explore 3 courses designed for artists, musicians, creative technologists, and curious beginners looking to build new skills through hands-on experimentation: ✶ 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬: 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢-𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐎-𝟖 with Tonz Beglari Tuesdays, July 7 – August 11 Create a small, playable game that communicates a feeling, memory, or idea. Over six weeks, participants will explore game design through PICO-8, learning interaction design, animation, sound, and playtesting through the creative constraints of a retro-inspired platform. ✶ 𝐇𝐲𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 with Roxanne Harris Wednesdays, July 8 – September 9 Create real-time audiovisual systems that bring together live coding, sound, visuals, and interactive media. You’ll work with tools and technologies including Sonic Pi, Strudel, Hydra, Max/MSP, TouchDesigner, MIDI, OSC, and Ableton Live. ✶ 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝟑𝐃 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 with Claudia Miranda Saturdays, July 11 – September 12 Build a personal 3D world in Blender. This 10-week beginner friendly intensive uses Blender, Scaniverse, Mixamo, and New Art City to explore 3D scanning, modeling, texturing, character animation, and interactive worldbuilding. Scholarship applications and enrollment close tomorrow, June 24! Enroll: grayarea.org/learn/ #onlineworkshop #creativetechnology #creativecoding #gamedesign #pico8 #blender3d #livecoding #generativeart #electronicmusic

In his Long Now Talk, Bayo Akomolafe illustrates how our “fixes” often reproduce the problem, and offers alternatives to linear progress. Watch his full Talk here: na2.hubs.ly/H068vzD0

Calling all artists: Apply to be the @Exploratorium’s Artist-in-Residence.  For over 50 years, the Exploratorium has invited artists to embed within the science museum, and to come with curiosity rather than a completed idea. Past residents include Ruth Asawa, Brian Eno, and dozens of others. Applications close June 29, 02026, more info here: na2.hubs.ly/H0698qP0

For more than 3,000 years, communities in Oxfordshire, England have climbed a hill to chalk the White Horse of Uffington.  Without their work with hammers and buckets of chalk, this larger-than-life figure would disappear into the grass within 20 years. Archaeologists suspect this may have been by design: a monument that requires a community to maintain it is also a monument that continuously creates one.  The horse has outlasted empires thanks to community and multigenerational dedication. It is an argument that some of the most durable things we can build are the habits of showing up. Ahmed Kabil shares the full story on Long Now Ideas: na2.hubs.ly/H068tS00