Life vs. Artificial Life

Of the simulated worlds I've explored in my research and fiction, the most fantastical is the subject of my novels which I hope one day to compile into a trilogy if the real world and I survive long enough to complete it (a condition that appears less probable every day). Nicknamed Futuria for a fictional community that plays a prominent role in the novel Biome, this simulation explores a potential escape from human extinction through bioengineering. 

In the post Earl's Myth, I discussed an inspiration for doing this as an interpretation of economies as artificial biomes (types of ecosystems) inhabited by people and organizations functioning as species of organisms that feed on each other and biological ecosystems of which they are ultimately a part. A consequence of this is destruction of life both directly (by overconsumption) and indirectly (by the production of waste that reduces quantity and quality of needed resources). Because generation of waste is essential to the existence and functioning of economies, a choice must ultimately be made between the survival of artificial life (economies) and human life (along with other biological life). Fictional Earl Oldfield realizes that he has accidentally been provided an alternative to that choice: alter some of life, especially humans, so that it can consume waste and ultimately become it.

Here on Earth, some worshippers of technology as the ultimate savior of humanity have apparently embraced variations of that alternative and are crafting different ways to apply it. One way is the physical merging of humans with machines beginning with the use of neural implants to enhance the functioning of our brains. Pharmaceuticals have long been used to supplement or offset our natural abilities and characteristics, typically on an ad hoc basis. As other species struggle using behavior change and natural evolution to adapt to the damage we are inflicting, it is perceived as a logical next step for us to augment our own changes in behavior (including alteration of environments) with changes to our biology and controlled evolution, the latter two having already been experimented with on other species throughout our history up to and including the use of invasive bioengineering.

Another alternative, the one I favor because I value life, is to reduce the waste and help other species to repair the damage and grow healthy ecosystems that primarily support biological life. The denizens of simulated world Hikeyay (also named for a fictional community and featured in my Simulated News blog) effectively embrace this approach and the ultimate consequence of having a smaller population consuming much less than when they started their "global strategy" to fight the extinction threat. Much of my recent thinking of how to implement this alternative was developed during the writing of that blog, which I am continuing even as the probability of its implementation in real life drops closer to zero. While improbable, partially implementing this alternative is theoretically possible (as I indicated in the post Best Future) but it soon won't be without significant loss of life if we are already on the cusp or in the beginning stage of collapse.

Total elimination of humanity, what the alternatives are trying to avoid, is manifested in simulated world Green (the name of a mountain and a fictional research station), which is my best approximation of our own past and future. Over the next 15 years, that world's production of waste will rapidly increase, destroying the natural habitat that supplies what's needed for basic survival, and killing off the human population as a result. Waste will become irrelevant after that, unless part of it has been replaced with actually artificial life (particularly artificial human life). Because my simulations are based on historical trends of biological life, they offer no guidance about whether techno-saviors would be successful or not.

The people in simulated world Futuria, however, will see gradual growth in waste and a corresponding decrease in habitat, with population peaking about now and then dropping gradually. Rising global temperature is a serious problem for them as well as us and the worlds that choose to increase habitat; this is because there is a lower limit to how much people can consume, and temperature is dependent on the cumulative amount of waste as heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere. The fate of Earl's plan is to be determined, though it will play a major role in this year's events, not the least being those featured in my novel Lights Out.

Can’t Give Up

Two days ago, I started a social media thread on Bluesky and adapted it for distribution to my U.S. senators and others in anticipation of the upcoming certification of the presidential election votes:

 

If Donald Trump is allowed to become president, the coup that started on 1/6/2021 will be complete and we will no longer be living in the United States of America.

 

‪He has openly and brazenly violated laws he swore to “faithfully execute” as his presidential duty, and assaulted the Constitution they derive from, which he swore to "preserve, protect and defend” and might do so again. To entrust its protection to its enemy is the ultimate act of treason.

 

The clearest way to avoid this disaster is to sustain Trump's disqualification from holding office under Section 3 of the Constitution's 14th Amendment.

 

It is my contribution to the work done by many others who are making cases for the remedy. The next and last chance of stopping Trump will be just before he takes the oath of office on January 20, after which he will likely be protected by the foolish presidential immunity granted by the Supreme Court and begin taking revenge on all those who have tried to hold him to account for his crimes, charged and otherwise.

 

I am under no illusion that the chance of success is extremely low, just as I have been realistic about the chances of humanity avoiding extinction due to overconsumption and destruction of the parts of our planet’s biosphere that provide our most basic needs. But I can’t give up.

 

A survey of past blog posts and my earliest research into the subject of humanity’s survival reveals many echoes of what I know and feel now. The introduction to my writing and music YouTube channel, created four years ago, is a reminder of how long I have nursed the now-suspect expectation that facts, logic, informed speculation, and frank discussion of values can enable and persuade enough people to do what it takes for individuals, communities, and our species to survive and thrive for as long as physically possible. Other videos clearly show my exasperation, weariness, and sadness bordering on depression about the growing evidence that our species is committed to exterminating other life in selfish pursuit of an artificial existence that would ultimately exterminate us too. But I can’t give up.

 

If, as I suspect based on my modeling and study of history, our global civilization has begun the process of collapse, and what is happening in the U.S. is both a cause and effect of it, then the next logical alternative to giving up is to do whatever can be done to slow and then stop it, knowing that loss of human life  - something I’ve avoided in my search for solutions - is now inevitable. In this context, we will collectively be sacrificing more people than are added by birth and immigration for the quality of life that increasing waste can for now provide to a very few. My personal valuing of all life, especially human life, above all else, has translated despondency into anger that drives me to prioritize fighting the taking of life. In that fight, stopping death is a natural focus; when population stops dropping, then the focus will shift. 

 

To stop the collapse, our collective focus as a species must be on growing natural habitat while reducing waste, both new and existing, and enabling that is where I prefer my personal focus to be. But I’ll do whatever I can wherever I can to serve the ultimate goal, long-term surviving and thriving of all life. Because, as a bare minimum to succeed, we can’t give up.