In conjunction with traveling exhibtion “Exploring Human Origins,” join Dr. Caputi in a community conversation that entertains the statement, “Everything is a Human Being” (Alice Walker).

Ecological issues as well as the rise of AI is causing a human identity crisis. Some humans proclaim that we are in a new geological era, The Anthropocene (Age of Man or Age of Humans) and deem humanity to be a “God Species” now able to fully dominate nature. Others point to climate change, mass extinctions, and pollution, warning that human attempts to dominate nature have backfired spectacularly. Some humans believe that our species is superior to all others, while others work to legally affirm the “Rights of Mother Nature,” granting rivers, mountains, and other earthly beings much the same rights that most agree that humans deserve (e.g., freedom, autonomy, respect). Meanwhile, artificial intelligence creators, on the one hand. boast about their achievement and, on the other, express fear that their inventions pose an “extinction risk” for humanity “on par with nuclear war.”

We will talk about a need to green what it means to be human and, concomitantly, green our understandings of other beings as well, recognizing that, as Alice Walker (author of The Color Purple) puts it, truly “Everything Is a Human Being.”

Exploring Human Origins: Promoting a National Conversation on Human Evolution is administered by ALA’s Public Programs Office in collaboration with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s (NMNH) Human Origins Program.