Intersections—from Rome to Maine to Rome again
God(m)other Sara presented the next chapter for tech’s Cassandras at Maine Tech Week in Portland. Critical voices in tech who warn of technological harms are often marginalized, face retaliation, and risk their careers in service of the greater good. Sara argues that shifting the narrative from ignored, doomed prophecies to empowered foresight gives Cassandra the opportunity to imagine what comes after the fall.
We also installed A People’s History of Tech: the Mobile Phone in the conference lobby throughout the week, gathering more embodied, personal stories of our place in tech’s history.
Sara also got to put on her enterprise analyst hat during the conference, moderating a panel discussion about modernizing tech infrastructure while a legacy insurance loss prevention business is running.
The theme of the week was “intersections,” connecting spaces not always associated with “tech” that lead Maine’s economy—the ocean, the artist’s workshop, the hospital, the farm, the lab, the mill. Maine Tech Week is in its sophomore year, and has done so much to create a container for folks to build community and learn from each other, regardless of background and experience. Maine may not be the next Silicon Valley, and we don’t need to be when we can bring our strengths together: bootstrapping, grit, integrity, and neighborly support in challenging times.
Among the ubiquitous AI adoption discussions, Sara was able to address the elephant in the room—and we’re grateful for programmers who are brave enough to include a wide range of tech perspectives in the collective discourse. And in true (m)otherboard fashion, the opportunity surfaced by way of a farmer’s market neighbor connection. Intersections, indeed!
Mr Jesus: from Rome to Rome!
Mr Jesus screened at ILIFF School of Theology as part of their Puplit+ Exchange Series thanks to (m)otherboard member and collaborator, Rev. Dr. Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi. Kristina has helped shape our discussion guide for congregations and religious organizations screening Mr Jesus.
The ILIFF audience of theologians and clergy presented a unique opportunity to explore questions of faith and technology. This particular group tackled idea that in the age of AI, nothing is sacred—including the generative image of Jesus.
Among a few upcoming events, Mr Jesus will be screening in Rome, Georgia and Rome, Italy—the same week! Intersections!!
Adjacent to the Builders AI Summit in Rome, Italy
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
6:00 –8:00 PM
American Academy of Rome, Italy
The Builders AI Forum is a convening to help the Catholic Church shape its relationship to AI. Mr Jesus will be screening followed by a remarkable discussion, RSVP here.
Rome International Film Festival
Sunday, November 8, 2026
2:30 –4:30 PM
Join us in Rome, GA for Red Clay Shorts, the Georgia Short Films program. Tickets.
Check out the rest of our upcoming screenings near you (Wilmington, NC!) here.
Host a Mr Jesus screening with your community
We’ve always hoped that this film can serve as a jumping off point for in-depth conversations about our relationship to tech, to faith, and to or sense of humanity and agency in this moment. We’ve made some screening promo codes available for members of the (m)otherboard community to screen Mr Jesus, either in person or virtually, with your communities. Email hello@m.otherboard.org for a promo code to schedule a screening and get access to our discussion guide.
A Declaration of Interdependence
Remember our 250 summer book club on American Indigenous Democracy: A Call for Interdependence? Well, (m)otherboard’s Mara and Sara and member MCK helped shape this op-ed published in Rolling Stone by Amelia Rose Barlow, daughter of the Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace’s John Perry Barlow.
Sara writes: “Writing in tech for my entire career, the Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace looms large in my education and personal canon. But it always bothered me that John Perry Barlow removed our bodies in staking his claim. His declaration made us out to be brains on a keyboard and forgot that we are also feeling flesh connecting across minerals. I am honored to play a small role in...dialogue with Amelia Rose Barlow, encouraging the restoration of a sense of embodiment in our relationship to technology.”
Declarations are one step towards articulating the future we want, together. It’s time we declare interdependence with each other, with tech, and with the planet.
Read Amelia Rose Barlow’s declaration of interdependence in Rolling Stone (or email us for the PDF!).
What we’re reading
10-Year-Old Children Predict the Future From the mouths of babes, Youth Tell the Truth in the paper of record. "A.I. cannot rap. My ears were broken."
Don’t Be Evil: Bad Bosses, Fake Promises, and My Escape from Big Tech, Claire Stapleton
A thoughtful and endlessly entertaining personal account of the 'bard of Google’s' career trajectory from corporate cheerleader to disillusioned walk-out organizer. We loved listening to Claire read the book herself, in her own deeply personal, irreverent, and refreshing voice.
End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
The fight for the future is a narrative fight. This book details the converging forces leading to apocalyptic thinking and profiting from the chaos. Right Christian nationalists and tech bro inevitablists are offering messianic benefits and warning of humanity destroying consequences. Klein and Taylor make sense of how we got here, and how the accelerationists find strange bedfellows. Pairs well with the 'truth-is-stranger-than-fiction' elements inspiring Mr Jesus.
Marissa Mayer Ran Yahoo. She’s Back With A.I. She Thinks Women Will Love. Using AI to come up with three adjectives for what makes her 10 year old daughter special, Marissa is decidedly not a (m)otherboard kind of mother.
Be sure to say hi to Sara wandering around MozFest in Barcelona this week!
In interdependence,
The God(m)others
