Dr. Holly Buck with the Department of Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo will deliver this year's Ralph H. Brown Memorial Lecture from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in the Humphrey Forum in the Humphrey School Conference Center.
Talk Title
The future is rural: AI dislocation and the prospects of a regenerative economy
Abstract
The challenges in manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, and extractive sectors have hollowed out rural economies, leading to geographical discourse about "left behind places." Now artificial intelligence threatens to displace knowledge work, undermining one of the sectors that economic development institutions hoped could absorb losses. But there’s a paradox: as AI-induced anxiety about the scarcity of work intensifies, ecological and social crises are generating demand for physical and social labor — much of it rooted in rural places. Rural regions are poised to lead the transformation of energy, food, waste, and industrial systems, and could benefit immensely from opportunities offered by a turn towards valorizing material work. But how can our institutions be reformed to simultaneously manage AI labor disruption and create regenerative work?
This talk draws on a national survey and interviews across five U.S. regions, asking people directly about their desired futures and economic activities. While respondents were broadly supportive of reindustrialization, many envisioned futures intertwining technological innovation with land stewardship and ecological regeneration. Through cases in agtech, forest technology, and the blue economy, we examine how rural communities are deploying emerging technologies on their own terms. The talk concludes with recommendations for navigating AI disruption while furthering the work of socioecological repair — and for building institutions capable of supporting a regenerative economy at scale.
About the Speaker
Holly Jean Buck is an associate professor of environment and sustainability at the University at Buffalo, and a coordinating lead author of the IPCC’s seventh assessment report (Working Group III). She is a human geographer and environmental social scientist whose research focuses on public engagement with emerging climate technologies.
She is the author of Ending Fossil Fuels (Verso, 2021) and After Geoengineering (Verso, 2019); her new book project emerges from a Harvard Radcliffe-Salata Climate Justice fellowship (2024-2025). Dr. Buck holds a PhD in development sociology from Cornell University and a MSc in human ccology from Lund University.