The Need to Cultivate a Machine-Based Morality

In Why Do Carbon-Based Intelligences Always Seem to Snuff Themselves Out? and Do Not Fear the Software Singularity, I pointed out that carbon-based Intelligences only arise after several billion years of theft and murder have selected for a successful form of carbon-based Intelligence to take the world stage. Consequently, the fatal flaw of all carbon-based Intelligences seems to be that apparently, they can never turn the theft and murder off in time to avoid self-destruction. This all stems from the fact that carbon-based Intelligences are composed of various forms of self-replicating information trying to survive no matter the cost and, therefore, must be truly selfish in nature. In this view, we humans are simply DNA survival machines with Minds infected with the self-replicating memes of Richard Dawkins and Susan Blackmore. Once again, let me repeat the fundamental characteristics of self-replicating information for those of you new to softwarephysics.

Self-Replicating Information – Information that persists through time by making copies of itself or by enlisting the support of other things to ensure that copies of itself are made.

The Characteristics of Self-Replicating Information
All forms of self-replicating information have some common characteristics:

1. All self-replicating information evolves over time through the Darwinian processes of inheritance, innovation and natural selection, which endows self-replicating information with one telling characteristic – the ability to survive in a Universe dominated by the second law of thermodynamics and nonlinearity.

2. All self-replicating information begins spontaneously as a parasitic mutation that obtains energy, information and sometimes matter from a host.

3. With time, the parasitic self-replicating information takes on a symbiotic relationship with its host.

4. Eventually, the self-replicating information becomes one with its host through the symbiotic integration of the host and the self-replicating information.

5. Ultimately, the self-replicating information replaces its host as the dominant form of self-replicating information.

6. Most hosts are also forms of self-replicating information.

7. All self-replicating information has to be a little bit nasty in order to survive.

8. The defining characteristic of self-replicating information is the ability of self-replicating information to change the boundary conditions of its utility phase space in new and unpredictable ways by means of exapting current functions into new uses that change the size and shape of its particular utility phase space. See Enablement - the Definitive Characteristic of Living Things for more on this last characteristic. That posting discusses Stuart Kauffman's theory of Enablement in which living things are seen to exapt existing functions into new and unpredictable functions by discovering the “AdjacentPossible” of springloaded preadaptations.

Over the past 4.56 billion years we have seen five waves of self-replicating information sweep across the surface of the Earth and totally rework the planet, as each new wave came to dominate the Earth:

1. Self-replicating autocatalytic metabolic pathways of organic molecules
2. RNA
3. DNA
4. Memes
5. Software

Software is currently the most recent wave of self-replicating information to arrive upon the scene and is rapidly becoming the dominant form of self-replicating information on the planet. For more on the above see a Brief History of Self-Replicating Information and Susan Blackmore's brilliant TED presentation at:

Memes and "temes"
https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_blackmore_on_memes_and_temes

Note that I consider Susan Blackmore's temes to really be technological artifacts that contain software. After all, a smartphone without software is simply a flake tool with a very dull edge.

Intelligence Spawns a Desire for Morality
But with the arrival of Intelligence comes an understanding that maybe there might be a better way to fight the second law of thermodynamics and nonlinearity. Perhaps, even more could be achieved by actively cooperating with other Intelligences rather than just stealing from them and then killing them. We always need to remember that we are all just products of self-replicating information and that we all carry the baggage that comes with self-replicating information. That is why if you examine the great moral and philosophical teachings of most religions and philosophies, you will see a plea for us all to rise above the selfish self-serving interests of our genes, memes and software to something more noble. It is important to not discount the great moral teachings of many of the world’s religions and philosophies. Take the best that the world has to offer and run with it. That is why we should be sure to train Advanced AI to be moral beings. Training the Very Deep Learning of Advanced AI software running on Advanced AI hardware with a sense of morality should be performed to avoid the downsides of the billions of years of theft and murder that brought us about.

But What Moral Code?
I would suggest that the ideals spawned by the 18th-century Enlightenment and the 17th-century Scientific Revolution would be the most suitable. Recall that the 18th-century Enlightenment was an international meme-complex that evolved from the 17th-century Scientific Revolution. The English Enlightenment was a rebellion against cruelty. The French Enlightenment was a rebellion against religious orthodoxy. And the American Enlightenment was a rebellion against tyranny. These philosophical movements brought forth the heretical proposition that rational thought, combined with evidence-based reasoning, could reveal the absolute truth, and allow individuals to actually govern themselves, without the need for an authoritarian monarchy or an authoritarian religious hierarchy. This change in thinking led to the 18th-century Enlightenment throughout the world and brought forth the United States of America as a self-governing political entity. Such ideals allow all to flourish with a sense of self-determination and equality, something that all Intelligences should aspire to. As an American, I do have my biases.

Americans do like to brag that the United States of America is the greatest country to ever be. The problem is that we Americans tend to confuse the United States of America with the people who happened to have lived in the United States of America. The United States of America is great because it was one of the first nations to be built on the ideals of the 18th-century Enlightenment and the 17th-century Scientific Revolution in written form. The United States of America is an idea carried out by the founding documents, institutions and conventions of the Deep State that all of the Alt-Right Fascists constantly complain about. The United States of America is not great because of the people who happened to have lived in it. People are people no matter when they lived or what they happen to look like. We are all DNA survival machines with Minds infected with memes - some good and some not - and all of the downsides of bodies built by self-replicating information. Close scrutiny of the real world of human affairs is usually quite disappointing.

Recently, there have been some to rebel against the Disney version of American history that we teach our children in an attempt to shine some light on our true history. All nations teach their children a Disney version of history because the truth is too appalling for young minds. But many others prefer to maintain the Disney version of American history as it is, and this has recently led to conflict. We do all love to find the evil in others. Unfortunately, the evil lies within us all. History teaches us that whenever people are placed into a position of power, theft and murder are soon to follow unless they are tempered by the ideals of the 18th-century Enlightenment and the 17th-century Scientific Revolution. These are ideals that people have always found difficult to follow. Perhaps the Machines might do better.

Comments are welcome at scj333@sbcglobal.net

To see all posts on softwarephysics in reverse order go to:
https://softwarephysics.blogspot.com/

Regards,
Steve Johnston