Ayn Rand and Kingfisher on zero-carbon bombs and a sustainable future

Abstract

This piece imagines a fictional dialogue between Ayn Rand and Kingfisher, a philosopher-bird, centering on Rand’s key assumptions of Objectivism in the context of climate change, biodiversity loss, and -  environmental crises. The narrative reveals the epistemic limitations of Objectivism in addressing sustainability challenges and ecological crises. It further anticipates that, if order-induced blindness toward technologies and innovations persists and intensifiescombined with an anthropocentric worldview and a heroic morality of “saving the world” - humanity may face a profound systemic absurdity. Along this trajectory, a worldview that elevates the “creative mind” as the ultimate driver of progress may ultimately erode human agency, leading to a stage where advancement, decision-making, and innovation are increasingly governed by artificial intelligence (AI). In such a scenario, even decisions of the highest existential and moral consequence - such as the deployment of nuclear weapons - could be delegated to AI’s “wisdom.”