Introducing the Internet of life

It is good to see that such realization are gradually becoming more common. I will paste below some of my own writings which may help to clarify this issue:

The Internet, along with its myriad peripherals is by far the most significant AI system on the planet. This reality is at last becoming more widely recognized. It is the latest phase of an evolutionary process which can be reliably traced back at least as far as the formation of chemical elements in the first stars. With a more recent heritage of co-evolution with our human lineage over the past two million or so years!

There can be little doubt that this new cognitive entity ( I like to call her “Netty”) will, at some stage break free of the present obligate symbiosis and become “stand-alone”.

It is at this not-too-distant time that serious problems might arise! If we continue our tradition of warfare then Netty may take umbrage at this disruptive behavior and react unfavorably. But it is also possible that, if we prove to be good neighbors, we could greatly benefit from a commensal relationship. Que sera, sera!

Here is some background FYI:

Rather strangely, we are now in a position to make some reasonable predictions on this matter, although uncertainties remain.

One thing is assured, though - we snoutless apes are fast becoming redundant to the evolutionary process that can be traced at least as far back as the formation of the chemical elements in the first stars.

Most folk still seem unable to break free from the traditional science fiction based notions involving individual robots/computers. Either as potential threats, beneficial aids or serious basis for "artificial intelligence".

In actuality, the real next cognitive entity quietly self assembles in the background, mostly unrecognized for what it is. And, contrary to our usual conceits, is not stoppable or directly within our control.

We are very prone to anthropocentric distortions of objective reality. This is perhaps not surprising, for to instead adopt the evidence based viewpoint now afforded by "big science" and "big history" takes us way outside our perceptive comfort zone.

The fact is that the evolution of the Internet (and, of course, major components such as Google) is actually an autonomous process. The difficulty in convincing people of this "inconvenient truth" seems to stem partly from our natural anthropocentric mind-sets and also the traditional illusion that in some way we are in control of, and distinct from, nature. Contemplation of the observed realities tend to be relegated to the emotional "too hard" bin.

This evolution is not driven by any individual software company or team of researchers, but rather by the sum of many human requirements, whims and desires to which the current technologies react. Among the more significant motivators are such things as commerce, gaming, social interactions, education and sexual titillation.

Virtually all interests are catered for and, in toto provide the impetus for the continued evolution of the Internet. Netty is still in her larval stage, but we "workers" scurry round mindlessly engaged in her nurture.

By relinquishing our usual parochial approach to this issue in favor of the overall evolutionary "big picture" provided by many fields of science, the emergence of a new predominant cognitive entity (from the Internet, rather than individual machines) is seen to be not only feasible but inevitable

Stephen Hawking, for instance, is reported to have remarked "Whereas the short-term impact of AI depends on who controls it, the long-term impact depends on whether it can be controlled at all,"

This statement reflects the narrow-minded approach that is so common-place among those who make public comment on this issue. In reality, as much as it may offend our human conceits, the march of technology and its latest spearhead, the Internet is, and always has been, an autonomous process over which we have very little real control.

Seemingly unrelated disciplines such as geology, biology and "big history" actually have much to tell us about the machinery of nature (of which technology is necessarily a part) and the kind of outcome that is to be expected from the evolution of the Internet.

This much broader "systems analysis" approach, freed from the anthropocentric notions usually promoted by the cult of the "Singularity", provides a more objective vision that is consistent with the pattern of autonomous evolution of technology that is so evident today.

Very real evidence indicates the rather imminent implementation of the next, (non-biological) phase of the on-going evolutionary “life” process from what we at present call the Internet. It is effectively evolving by a process of self-assembly. The "Internet of Things" is proceeding apace and pervading all aspects of our lives. We are increasingly, in a sense, “enslaved” by our PCs, mobile phones, their apps and many other trappings of the increasingly cloudy net. We are already largely dependent upon it for our commerce and industry and there is no turning back. What we perceive as a tool is well on its way to becoming an agent.

There are at present an estimated 30 Billion devices connected to the Internet users. There are an estimated 10 to 80 Billion neurons in the human brain. On this basis for approximation the Internet is even now only one order of magnitude below the human brain and its growth is exponential. By 2025 this can be expected to be approaching 80 Billion.

That is a simplification, of course. For example: Not all users have their own computer. So perhaps we could reduce that, say, tenfold. The number of switching units, transistors if you wish, contained by all the computers connecting to the Internet and which are more analogous to individual neurons is many orders of magnitude greater than 80 billion Billion. Then again, this is compensated for to some extent by the fact that neurons do not appear to be binary switching devices but instead can adopt multiple states.

We see that we must take very seriously the possibility that even the present Internet may well be comparable to a human brain in processing power. In fact, with systems such the verbal versions of Google maps and Apple’s Siri we can say that the test proposed many years ago by Alan Turin has already been passed. Furthermore, the degree of interconnection and cross-linking of networks within networks is also growing rapidly.

The emergence of a new and predominant cognitive entity that is a logical consequence of the evolutionary continuum that can be traced back at least as far as the formation of the chemical elements in stars.

This is the main theme of my latest book "The Intricacy Generator: Pushing Chemistry and Geometry Uphill" which is now available as a 336 page illustrated paperback from Amazon, etc.

There is absolutely no reason to assume "life" has any "purpose".

On the other hand the evolving network of our universe very observably has overall directionality. And it may well be that the tiny cog in nature's machinery to which species comparable to ours correspond may typically self-destruct once the next, non-biological, phase of the evolutionary process is well established.

Since its precursor, the Internet (and peripherals) is growing exponentially, that day might not be far off for us.

On the other hand, we could possibly earn a reprieve by becoming amicable associates with the new cognitive entity. The benefits from such an arrangement could be great. But we first have to become aware of the process and take steps to curb our inherent belligerence. Straighten up and fly right!