Roots Of Progress

OUR MISSION IS TO DEFINE AND COMMUNICATE A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF PROGRESS FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. WE STUDY THE NATURE, VALUE, AND CAUSES OF PROGRESS, AND PRESCRIBE WAYS THAT HUMANITY CAN ACCELERATE AND STEER IT.

WRITING AND SPEAKING ON PROGRESS:OUR FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, JASON CRAWFORD, WRITES AND SPEAKS ON THE HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF PROGRESS. MOST OF HIS WRITING IS PUBLISHED FOR FREE ON OUR WEBSITE (ROOTSOFPROGRESS.ORG). IN 2022:-HE PUBLISHED 28 ESSAYS, INCLUDING ON IN BIG THINK MAGAZINE, INCLUDING "WHY PESSIMISM SOUNDS SMART", "CAN GROWTH CONTINUE? AND "IS GROWTH LINEAR, NOT EXPONENTIAL?" THEMES OF OTHER ESSAYS INCLUDED THE PROGRESS MOVEMENT, THE DRIVERS OF GROWTH, AND TECHNOCRACY.-HE BEGAN A WEEKLY DIGEST OF PROGRESS-RELATED LINKS (IN MAY), AND PUBLISHED 25 OF THOSE BY THE END OF THE YEAR.-HE DID ABOUT 20 INTERVIEWS AND TALKS FOR PODCASTS, BLOGS, MAGAZINES, AND NEWSPAPERS, INCLUDING WITH BBC, THE TONY BLAIR INSTITUTE, THE FORESIGHT INSTITUTE (TWICE), JIM PETHOKOUKIS OF THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE (TWICE), AND THE FRENCH-LANGUAGE CANADIAN MAGAZINE L'ACTUALITE. HE WAS ALSO THE INTERVIEWER FOR AN EVENT WITH STANFORD ECONOMIST ERIK BRYNJOLFSSON TITLED "AUTOMATION, PRODUCTIVITY, WORK, AND THE FUTURE."-HE SPOKE AT TOP PROGRESS CONFERENCES INCLUDING THE FORESIGHT INSTITUTE'S VISION WEEKEND, THE FUTURE FORUM, BREAKTHROUGH DIALOGUE, AND IGNITE LONG NOW. HE WAS ALSO ON A PANEL MODERATED BY RAMEZ NAAM AT THE BREAKTHROUGH SCIENCE SUMMIT.-HE CONCLUDED A MONTHLY SERIES OF TALKS THAT HAD BEGUN IN MAY 2021, THE STORY OF INDUSTRIAL CIVILIZATION, FOLLOWING THE OUTLINE OF HIS FORTHCOMING BOOK.IN 2022, THE ROOTSOFPROGRESS.ORG SITE GOT ALMOST 135,000 UNIQUE VISITS AND OVER 250,000 PAGEVIEWS. THE EMAIL NEWSLETTER GREW ALMOST 30% TO ABOUT 7,400 SUBSCRIBERS. CRAWFORD'S TWITTER FOLLOWING GREW BY 22%; IN AUGUST, HE CROSSED 25,000 FOLLOWERS.RECOGNIZING CRAWFORD'S WORK, VOX NAMED HIM TO THEIR FUTURE PERFECT 50 LIST: "THE SCIENTISTS, THINKERS, SCHOLARS, WRITERS, AND ACTIVISTS BUILDING A MORE PERFECT FUTURE." THE LIST ALSO INCLUDES JENNIFER DOUDNA, MAX TEGMARK, AND MAX ROSER.CONFERENCES AND OTHER EVENTS:THE ORGANIZATION OCCASIONALLY HOSTS OR CO-HOSTS CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, AND OTHER EVENTS ON THE THEME OF PROGRESS. IN 2022, THE ORGANIZATION CO-HOSTED TWO CONFERENCES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN. THE FIRST, IN MARCH, WAS ON THE MORAL FOUNDATIONS OF PROGRESS STUDIES AND FEATURED APPROXIMATELY 30 SCHOLARS AND WRITERS FOR THREE DAYS OF DISCUSSION. THE SECOND, IN NOVEMBER, WAS ON INDUSTRIAL LITERACY, AND FEATURED APPROXIMATELY 20 PARTICIPANTS INVOLVED IN EDUCATION FOR A HALF-DAY OF DISCUSSION ON THE TOPIC OF PROGRESS IN THE CURRICULUM.COMMUNITY BUILDING:THE ORGANIZATION SUPPORTS THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROGRESS COMMUNITY, BOTH ONLINE AND OFFLINE. IN 2022, THE ORGANIZATION HOSTED COMMUNITY MEETUPS IN SAN FRANCISCO IN FEBRUARY, MAY, AND JUNE, AND IN BOSTON IN SEPTEMBER. IT ALSO LAUNCHED AN ONLINE FORUM FOR DISCUSSION ABOUT PROGRESS, THE PROGRESS FORUM (PROGRESSFORUM.ORG). THE FORUM RECEIVED OVER 200 POSTS IN 2022, INCLUDING "WHY PROGESS NEEDS FUTURISM", BY ELI DOURADO; "NATURE OF PROGRESS IN DEEP LEARNING", BY ANDREJ KARPATHY (DIRECTOR OF AI, TESLA); "GUARANTEE FUNDS/LEVERAGED PHILANTHROPY", BY ANTON HOWES; AND "DEFENDING DYNAMISM AND GETTING STUFF DONE", BY VIRGINIA POSTREL (AUTHOR, COLUMNIST, FORMER EDITOR OF REASON MAGAZINE).