Embedding Culture Into Tech With Constanza Gomez Mont

What if technology was built with communities, not on them?

In Episode 10 of Season 4, The Regeneration Nexus, of the ReFi Podcast, hosts Maya Dentzel and Tereza Bízková welcome Constanza Gomez Mont, founder of C Minds, a Latin American action tank advancing ethical AI. Constanza challenges the conventional mindset around technology, arguing that we’ve been using it to extract and control rather than regenerate. Technology, she believes, can either exploit or transform—depending on how we design and deploy it.

A key theme Constanza emphasizes is the need for cultural relevance in tech solutions. She talks about how, in Latin America, for example, where many traditional ways of life are deeply connected to the land, technology must be designed with local knowledge and context. This means rejecting the top-down, one-size-fits-all approach and instead creating systems that are built with communities, not on them.

For Constanza, regenerative systems are not only about sustainability—they’re about healing the land and empowering communities that have been left out of technological benefits. AI, machine learning, and blockchain, she argues, should be tools that reconnect communities with the land rather than extracting value from them. For example, AI can be used to create eco-friendly materials, and blockchain can track land stewardship and fairly compensate those working to restore ecosystems.

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"When you start to think less about efficiency of AI and more of what value AI is creating, you start to ask other type of questions."

Key insights from Episode 10 include... 💡

Rethinking technology's role: Moving from efficiency-driven, extractive models to technology that regenerates ecosystems, empowers communities, and restores balance with nature.
Cultural relevance in tech: Designing technology with local communities, leveraging their knowledge, and creating solutions that address their unique needs, especially in regions like Latin America.
AI and blockchain for regeneration: Using AI to create sustainable materials and blockchain to track and reward ecosystem restoration, ensuring fair compensation for those caring for the land.
Overcoming barriers to transformation: Tackling challenges such as short-term financial incentives, techno-solutionism, and the industry's resistance to shifting toward long-term, regenerative goals.
Tech as a tool for healing: Viewing technology not as a force of extraction but as a means to reconnect people with the land and create sustainable, community-driven systems.

🎧 Tune in to Episode 10

And don’t forget! We’re hosting a live discussion on Episode 10 this Friday, December 6, at 11 AM ET! 🎙️ Share your thoughts and dive deeper into the world of regenerative finance with us. 🌿

👉 Join the discussion on Twitter Spaces: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1nAJEpzoENeGL

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