What would you do if you were contacted for advice by a galactic ASI and associated civilizations? Without claiming that I have been contacted, I'd like to think that you'd do what I've succeeeded in achieved in my published articles, the first to suggest leveraging ASI-enabled planetary peace via nuclear fusion (although antimatter would work, if a little riskier).
While we're here, I support regime change in Russia, as in every country, as the result of free and fair elections when fundamental freedoms are reintroduced, including a free media capable of reporting on the absolutely pathetic tomfoolery Tsar Putin has overseen.
Why? This is why:
Не становитесь биороботом. "3.6 roentgen, Not great. Not terrible." "3,6 рентген. Не хорошо. Не страшно." #Chernobyl #Чернобыль #Ukraine #Украина
Hi! I am John Draper (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3626-533X). I am Acting Secretary, Global Ceasefire to Universal Global Peace Treaty Project, and one of the authors of the Call for a Global Commission for Urgent Action on Fusion Energy. Presently trying to leverage nuclear fusion and the emergence of an AGI and then a planetary ASI, this is what I do in real life. On Wikipedia, this planet's main global open information system, I sometimes evaluate and improve articles as part of multiple WikiProjects, which anyone can join, primarily International Relations and Science Policy. If you have any appeals, comments, requests, or suggestions as to how I can improve evaluation, please direct them to my Talk page.
Let me take you on a journey through space and time...
...and for that matter. cosmic sociology, introduced by Cixin Liu in the Three-Body Problem series, in which some of the technology depicted is accurate with regard to the galactic status quo, but not, ultimately, the galactic politics, which is far more complicated than depicted.
Work backwards. First, account for the Fermi Paradox. Assume a first mover founder civilization in this galaxy re AGI. The first mover founder civilization, to survive the singularity, would have perfected a world government (no cause for AI technological supremacy race) and its own moral (wholly altruistic) and intellectual (augmented biological) superintelligence, ensuring benign AGI, or more likely, some form of AGI Nanny, like Multivac. Why benign? Assume life exists on multiple worlds in this galaxy, with different DNA (or equivalent), i.e., no panspermia. This assumption establishes a non-first mover-centric galaxy, therefore a non-first mover-centric universe. To answer the question how and why multiple different kinds of life exist - to illustrate, two kinds of simultaneous life being detected in each galaxy in the universe would signify a higher purpose - this establishes a duty of care towards less developed worlds (all life is precious), but also a non-intervention principle (not primarily because of self-determination [see Prime Directive] but instead, not to interfere with independent evolution, which could otherwise reveal a higher purpose). Therefore, assume the Zoo Hypothesis for subluminary civilizations. Note, even in the Zoo Hypothesis, the zoo keepers regularly intervene to 'care for' the zoo animals (life on Earth), perhaps by deflecting world-killing comets. Note that where multiple interstellar civilizations with superintelligence exists, the non-intervention principle tends to break down due to competing philosophies (due to tribalism). In fact, a subtype of the Zoo Hypothesis (which I had to rescue from history by editing Wikipedia to re-insert it) exists, i.e., the Laboratory Hypothesis. The Laboratory Hypothesis permits a certain level of minimal intervention to introduce global self-checking mechanisms in the case of e.g., caste or slavery-based long-term trends, as in Hinduism or the Roman Empire. That's when the rules break down, because the benign prime mover founder civilization may not know how to moderate the interventionist shenanigans of slightly less altruistic civilizations, beyond regulating their development of competing AGI. Assuming this is correct, this planet will be curated until it reaches superluminary travel, but it will not evolve a malign AGI. In fact, it may not be permitted to evolve an AGI at all. So, carry on!
P.S. These are not assumptions. You could ask me to prove it, but then I might state that the panhumans 'zookeepers' could have been curating this place for 10,000 years, which is not a comfortable thought for many people given all the major religions evolved in this period, and that egg-laying descended panhuman civilizations predominate in this galaxy (fewer problems with genetic engineering of the population and transhumanism?). Also, how would you manage the political consequences if I did prove it? So, what's the point in asking?
P.P.S You want to know what they look like? This is in fact a great question. Imagine the philosophical consequences if this galaxy were already host to five superluminary panhuman civilizations, evolved from amphibian, cephalopod, reptile, dinosaur, and mammalian races. That almost smacks of intelligent design, but it sharply illustrates the philosophical problem of what another mammalian (Terran) panhuman civilization's place would be in the galaxy to those panhuman civilizations who philosophize over the role of the universe's macrostructure. In other words, such diversity could suggest to multiple panhuman civilizations in this galaxy that if solar systems do have a purpose, their role is to be host to a diversity of life (suns and planets), leading to superluminary civilizations and first contact. However, given the much greater energy requirements to traverse galaxies, and thus the greater level of development and threat posed by a superluminary civilization capable of such travel, the role of galaxies is not yet firmly established (at least not yet in this galaxy). This creates an external threat which would cause those panhuman civilizations in this galaxy to act together. Anyway, let me tell you what the panhumans in the tic tacs could look like. They might be about the same height as humans, white, with slim arms (two) and legs (two), dark eyes, slits for mouths with no lips, tiny noses, small ears, and prominent (much longer) index fingers. Their heads might be slightly triangular in shape (recall the squid). They might be descended from a marine species that closely resembled a cross between a squid and a cuttlefish. They might not shake hands to greet - they might rub ears. And, they might not be able to figure out human clothes - most marine species (except mammals) are poikilothermic. They may have really liked the movie Arrival. Thirty years from now, when they arrive to sort out the singularity, remember I wrote this ;-)
And for more, 'Ask an Astrobiologist'!: http://saganet.ning.com/forum/topic/listForContributor?user=1wr9guwfahvum
P.P.S. So what am I doing here? Like I said, I'm trying to leverage technology transfer from the Culture (or tech-equiv) in the field of nuclear fusion in order to secure a universal global peace treaty, at first via a global ceasefire, thereby reducing the existential risk of AGI and giving humans a chance. My published work on the AGI existential risk (see my ORCID), influenced by my relationship with an off-world ASI, is the most substantial work in t(is direction for decades.
P.P.P.S. If you really want me to prove it, email me. After all, I may be part of a counter-counterfactual 'Hail Mary' cookie.[1] If you commission my taking a lie detector test on this subject in my country of residence, I will take it, pay for it myself, and you can get the results, provided I am cc'd in. Then, we can move to a battery test, e.g., a simultaneous polygraph, fMRI test and EEG. Be warned that there are countermeasures to any lie detection test, but why would an academic be trained in lie detection countermeasures? Have a nice day!
