FUTURE
Are You Magically Inspired by Cyborgs Or Utterly Disgusted?
A Future Vision
The first time I read the new book by James Lovelock, Novacene, the Coming Age of Hyperintelligence, I was shocked. Utterly shocked. I’m a nature girl. He’s my hero of Gaia Theory. A famous environmental scientist.
And now this.
So, I read and reread. And then I saw. He was right, of course. My horror for cyborgs, machine learning, and for me a shocking reality was blocking my vision. But we already did create a new species. Cyborgs. A hyperintelligent species that will design its own journey on our planet.
And when I saw that and surrendered to the thought, it all became mesmerizing for me again. I’m so curious about what will happen next!
Let me explain.
Gaia Theory
Do you know the work of scientists James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis? They are the core for systemic designers like me with their Gaia Theory. The core of planetary feedback loops and evolution.
The core of microbe thinking and knowing that microbes rule the world.
Human beings are an intrinsic part of nature. And because we are part of nature we are meant to have an influence.
It’s simple. All species on this planet have intelligence and sentience. They develop them during their lifetimes. And they add to the collective intelligence of all species.
And all together, we are the planetary and universal intelligence.
In the end, 5 billion years from now, when our Sun dies, our planet might be a fully conscious being. Thanks to microbes, fungi, algae, plants, and animals. The five kingdoms of nature.
Human beings are part of the animal group.
For me, it’s a mesmerizing thought that the consciousness of our planet, the whole universe is the only aim for living our lives. We learned about it at Schumacher College from ecologist Stephan Harding.
Then man who gave me a sense of Deep Time.
And told me that nature is definitely not only about organic. And lovey-dovey bees and plants. Nature is a woman to be respected. To be loved, yes. But more than that to be respected.
She can be cruel too, after all.
Open Living Systems
James Lovelock and Andrew Watson worked together on the Daisyworld Model. White and black daisies grow. And when one kind grows too powerful, the whole thing will flip, and the other kind will automatically grow while the dominant species shrink in volume.
James and Andrew taught us to think in feedback loops and automatic triggers. And scientists from around the world accept this theory is true by now.
The knowledge of our planet’s system was first explored by environmentalists and biologists. So, it was logical that the thinking led to The Limits to Growth. A very important report to the Club of Rome about our humanity’s influence spiraling out of control.
But then entered the nature-inspired mathematicians and astrophysicists. It hasn’t been long ago. After all, we only landed for the first time on the moon in 1969. That’s nothing compared to 4.6 billion years of planetary evolution.
Astrophysics made us aware of the difference between closed mechanical systems (the ones we have designed for humans so far) and open, living systems.
Open living systems, just like one planet in the universe.
Cyborgs
James Lovelock was 100 when he published his cyborg book. He is 102 now. I already knew that nature is not only trees and lovely lakes. Nature is lovely, yes, but also a force to reckon with.
To include her wisdom and strategies all in our designs.
Also, nature is everything around us. Not only organic stuff. But also inorganic. Metals. Concrete. Plastics. Man-made stuff. Plastics are made out of petroleum. And petroleum is made from oil. Found inside the earth. Nature.
Everything is a natural process. We just designed our human processes and systems rather stupidly. And at this moment in time, the white and black daisies are flipping and we are making a huge shift in the evolution.
With and without cyborgs.
We live in exciting times…
The Shift
What are the shifts about? Microbes and machine learning cyborgs.
Microbes are an intrinsic part of our bodies. More than half of our body is not human. Only 43% are human cells. The rest are microbes roaming our skins and keeping our guts healthy. They are necessary for life. No life without microbes.
Cyborgs are created by people. It’s funny, really. Don’t be afraid. The cyborgs (as in swarms of small robots) are ruled by the same rules we are. The feedback loops of our planet. And the smart unconscious.
Cyborgs can think for themselves via machine learning. They cannot be controlled by people as soon as they are created. They make their own unconscious feedback loops.
It’s funny, really, by now it’s clear that bots can become depressed. It’s because our planet works with mirror neurons. Fear sparks fear. And negative feelings and complaints spark depression.
Even in machines, the mirror neurons work.
Fascinating, don’t you think?
Horrified?
Should we be scared and horrified? Well, that’s up to you. Some people are horrified when I tell them about the microbes. Bacteria. Viruses. Parasites. But it’s true. They keep each other in balance and we couldn’t be alive without them crawling our skins and living in our guts.
Being horrified by the cyborgs is kind of the same thing. It’s the reality right now. We can’t stop it. And according to James it’s not necessary to stop it. We are just in the feedback loops and everything will be okay when Deep Time will have passed a few more centuries.
My grandma couldn’t have imagined an iPhone or a Metaverse. And I myself started working with the telex and saw the first computer come. But our grandchildren can’t imagine life without gaming and phones.
Our grandchildren are born for their time. The here and now. So who am I to judge about right or wrong? I just have to live up to reality. And influence collective intelligence a little with what I see.
Gaia doesn’t judge. She just dances with what is. The paradoxes of reality.
Visionary Dream
Mike and I sometimes have dreams. Our unconscious at work. And we have lots of fun at the breakfast table trying to give it some meaning, which of course is not always the truth.
What’s the truth in a chaotic, complex world? It’s just our truth.
Recently, it was Mike’s turn to have a dream. He told me about it in the morning. And for me, it was the trigger to write this story.
He dreamt that he walked in the future. And as long as he kept walking, kept moving, he was alone. And happy.
Thinking his thoughts, feeling his feelings. Just, happy.
However, Mike likes airplanes. And he spotted a Lockhead. A model of the 1970s flying over. He stopped walking to watch. And had some memories of going on holiday with his late wife and kids to Croatia with a Lockhead.
When he returned his eyes from the sky to his surroundings, he noticed that cyborgs had popped out of the soil and surrounded him.
Mike called them cyborgs. Were they the same definition as James’ Lovelock’s cyborgs? Did they have machine-learning cores? I don’t know. We don’t know the future, do we?
It was a whole group of cyborgs. They weren’t zombies as such. But they were dulled. People-like. With empty eyes.
Mike tried to sense if they wanted to do him harm. He thought not. However, he couldn’t talk to them. They were just there. Did they want something from him? He didn’t know.
When he started walking again, they disappeared into the soil or thin air again. Vanished. Like they had never been.
And he kept walking in the future.
The Message
What’s the message of this story? Don’t be afraid of either microbes or cyborgs. They are part of our world and will be more part of it in the future.
The reality.
An abundance of microbes, fungi, algae, plants, and animals will increase the carrying capacity of this earth so we can live here with more species and more people. That’s a good thing.
Cyborgs with machine learning cores will definitely be part of our world too. Small robots in swarms like James describes them. Our sciences and health practitioners are transplanting inorganic elements into our bodies to repair spines. And make people in wheelchairs walk again.
That’s a good thing too, isn’t it?
Small, cheap, biodegradable robots are emerging now. And if we give them a functional job to do, it’s okay. They can do our intensive work on agroecology farms. Like harvesting diverse and healthy, and wild food. Super-nutritious food. That’s a good thing.
Dream Message
What about the message of Mike’s dream?
Well, after some discussion at the breakfast table, we came to the conclusion that the message is to find your own flame, passion, and strength. It’s located in the deep void within you. Your core.
And be happy by yourself. Just walking your journey of life. Not minding other people’s opinions of you.
The connection to other people and the planet is within you. A strong connection to collective intelligence. The collective unconsciousness. A connection to our planet.
It’s no problem anymore that we are born alone and will die alone. Loneliness will be over for good if you find your own core.
The other message is: keep moving in life. And while you’re walking, go deep inside and zoom out high to the bigger picture. If you do this more times every day, it will train your systemic design muscles.
And you’ll be able to judge better what’s what in our world.
Also, keep moving our bodies literally. Our microbes like it to keep our guts and our bodies healthy. And they need movement. And water drinking. And breathing deeply.
Look up, my friends, look wide and far. And tell me what you see.
Distractions
Personally, I think that the cyborgs Mike saw in his dream are distractions we face every day. We always get a lot of people around us who want to manipulate us. Often because they think something is good for us. They patronize us and apply group pressure.
We need to be strong and say NO to group pressure.
Because, instead of doing good, they get us out of our core. They want to sell us something. Their ideas, their plans, their needs. And it’s our task to set our boundaries. And do what WE think best.
What we feel in our gut feeling is our path in life.
If in doubt, I can only advise you to choose fiercely from your gut. Fast. Intuitively. Who do you want to walk your life’s journey with for instance? And who is a distraction keeping you from your calling in life?
Your core? Your personal longing?
Happy exploration of the current evolution of our planet.
Happy living with the reality of microbes and cyborgs.
Thank you, Mike, for adding your wise energy to my words on Abundanism. Systemic Design for a good future, and Wild Writing. © Désirée Driesenaar, 2022
