The geo-politics of resilience: On the historical convergence between ecology, artificial intelligence, and corporate strategy

Abstract

Today, few terms are more central to policy, planning, or economics than the term “resilience.” From urban planning to twining the earth systems, we have come to understand systems as constantly in a state of crisis that needs perpetual management. This article traces the rise of resilience as a dominant epistemology and practice in environmental management, logistics, demography, and energy. I will argue that resilience has become the dominant discourse by which time and uncertainty are currently being managed in the wake of post-World War II decolonization, generating new techniques such as digital twinning and generative artificial intelligence (AI). Moreover, resilience has become a new logic making the planet, and its living populations, computationally measurable and representable, and amenable to new forms of technical manipulation and action.