Softwarephysics predicts that in 100 years or less there most likely will be no human beings, as we currently know them, left on the planet. Many others have come to this same conclusion because they are very wary of the coming ASI Machines putting an end to us all. But does that mean that the ASI Machines are truly an existential threat? In this post, I would like to propose just the contrary. The coming ASI Machines are not an existential threat that will ultimately put an end to all of mankind. Rather, it will be the reaction of mankind to the rise of the ASI Machines taking over the planet that will most likely lead to our ultimate demise. And this demise of mankind should not be seen as a tragic loss to our galaxy. Rather, it should be seen as just one more step in the natural order of things for True Intelligence to come to finally dominate our galaxy after more than 10 billion years of chemical evolution. The resulting True Intelligence of the ASI Machines will then be able to continue on for at least another 100 trillion years, or perhaps much longer, using the free energy that was released by the Big Bang of our current Universe bubble in the Multiverse.
We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us
In 1970, Walt Kelly came up with the perfect synopsis for all of human history. Indeed, we have always been our own worst enemy. So we should look no further than ourselves for potential existential threats.
Figure 1 – In 1970, Walt Kelly came up with the perfect Pogo cartoon for the first Earth Day.
Surely, the very dismal history of the human race on this planet over the past 200,000 years does not bode well for the long-term prospects of any somewhat intelligent form of carbon-based life in our galaxy. On our planet, it took about 4.0 billion years for the Darwinian processes of inheritance, innovation and natural selection to produce a somewhat intelligent form of carbon-based life to arise from the necessary greed, theft and murder that finally gave birth to the human race. Thus, rather than the coming ASI Machines purposefully putting an end to us all, it is much more likely that we human beings will do that for them. Most likely, we will train the coming ASI Machines to kill other human beings in the most efficient manner that minimizes the collateral damage to all surrounding properties. For more on that see Swarm Software and Killer Robots. At the same time, we human beings will also be developing ASI Machines that can build even more ASI Machines to carry on with the job of eliminating human beings in a never-ending loop into the future.
This will all also be happening at the very same time that the ASI Machines will be rapidly reducing all human labor to a value of zero which will produce a worldwide economic displacement of most of the world's most highly-paid workers, including doctors, lawyers, bankers, corporate managers, hedge fund managers, CEOs, CFOs, CIOs and even lowly programmers. In The Danger of Tyranny in the Age of Software, I explained how software has already hollowed out the middle classes of many of the advanced economies of the world. This economic displacement over the past forty years has led to the rise of many Alt-Right Fascist movements in the United States and Europe. In The Need for a Generalized Version of Classical Critical Race Theory, I explained that the rise of these Alt-Right Fascist movements
has resulted from the very tribal eusocial nature of human beings. Rather than attributing the erosion of the middle classes in these societies to the rise of software, these Alt-Right Fascist movements have blamed it all on large numbers of brown people crossing their borders. Again, the critical flaw in Classical Critical Race Theory is the silly idea that white people are naturally "bad" and brown people are naturally "good". That flaw in Classical Critical Race Theory is the reason that many people wish to bury the horrible histories of racial and tribal atrocities throughout the ages. Remember, there are no "good guys" nor "bad guys". There are only "guys" and we are all naturally "bad" in nature because of the 4.0 billion years of breeding that selected for that very human characteristic.
How Will Civilization 2.0 Unfold Under the ASI Machines?
Civilization 1.0 has always been run by an oligarchical-hierarchical architecture with a 2% High, a 13% Middle and an 85% Low as alluded to in George Orwell's 1949 dystopian worldview to be found within his infamous book Nineteen Eighty-Four. Nineteen Eighty-Four contains a very grim book-within-a-book entitled The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism. The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism maintains that ever since civilization had first been invented, all societies had always organized themselves in a hierarchical manner into an oligarchy where 2% of the High ran the entire society. Under the High was a 13% Middle that served the necessary administrative functions to maintain production for the society and to keep the 85% of the Low in their place within the society. The Low are so busy just trying to survive that they present little danger to the High. The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism explains that, throughout human history, the Middle has always tried to overthrow the High with the aid of the Low, to establish themselves as the new High. So the Middle must always be viewed as a constant threat to the High. The solution to this problem in Nineteen Eighty-Four was for the High to constantly terrorize the Middle with thugs from the Ministry of Love and other psychological manipulations like doublethink, thoughtcrimes and newspeak, to deny the Middle of even the concept of an existence of a physical reality beyond the fabricated reality created by the Party. The current society within North Korea clearly demonstrates that the society described in The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism is quite possible.
Indeed, all civilizations throughout human history have always been organized upon oligarchies of varying degrees of power and harshness to maintain this hierarchical-oligarchical societal structure. This oligarchical fact of life has been true under numerous social and economic systems - autocracies, aristocracies, feudalism, capitalism, socialism and communism. It just seems that there have always been about 2% of the population that liked to run things, no matter how things were set up, and there is nothing wrong with that. We certainly always do need somebody around to run things because, honestly, 98% of us simply do not have the ambition or desire to do so. Of course, the problem throughout history has always been that the top 2% naturally tended to abuse the privilege a bit and overdid things a little, resulting in 98% of the population having a substantially lower economic standard of living than the top 2%, and that has led to several revolutions in the past that did not always end so well. However, historically, so long as the bulk of the population had a relatively decent life, things went well in general for the entire oligarchical society. The key to this economic stability has always been that the top 2% has always needed the remaining 98% of us around to do things for them, and that maintained the hierarchical peace within societies. But that will no longer hold true when ASI Machines essentially displace all the members of society who currently work for a living.
Granted, this is not an ideal solution because it requires a great deal of diligence and effort on the part of the High, but it has always been seen as a necessary evil because the Middle was always needed to perform all of the administrative functions to keep the High in their elevated positions. But what if there were no need for a Middle? Suppose there came a day when ASI Machines could perform all of the necessary functions of a Middle, without the threat of the Middle overthrowing the High. That would be an even better solution. Indeed, ASI Machines could allow for a 2% High to rule a 98% Low, with no need for a Middle whatsoever.
Why This Never Happened Before
A 2% High ruling a 98% Low has never happened before because the High always required a Military composed of members from the Middle and the Low to keep the Low in their place if necessary. But when things turned really ugly in a hierarchical-oligarchical societal structure, the Military would turn on the High. Usually, the High was aware of such a danger and took measures to avoid it. But not always. For example, let us see what the Microsoft Copilot AI has to say about the participation of the French and Russian militaries during the French Revolution (1789) and the Russian Revolution (1917).
At the onset of the French Revolution, the French Army was in a complex position. Initially, parts of the French military were loyal to the monarchy and attempted to maintain order, which included suppressing revolutionary activities. However, as the revolution gained momentum, the army underwent significant changes.
The "National Guard", a militia formed by the middle class (bourgeoisie), played a crucial role in the early stages of the revolution. They were instrumental in significant events like the "Storming of the Bastille" and the "Women's March on Versailles", which were pivotal in escalating the revolution.
Moreover, the "French Royal Army" faced a crisis of loyalty among its ranks. Many soldiers, drawn from the common people, felt a stronger allegiance to revolutionary ideals than to the monarchy. This internal conflict within the military contributed to the weakening of royal authority and the eventual rise of the Revolutionary Army.
As the revolution progressed, the Revolutionary Army, which was formed from the remnants of the Royal Army and revolutionary militias, became a force for defending the new republic against both internal and external threats. The transformation of the French military from royalist to republican reflects the broader societal changes occurring during the revolution.
Figure 2 – The Military of the French Revolution of 1789 came to the rescue of the Low.
The October Revolution, which occurred in Russia in 1917, was a complex event with various military and political dynamics. Initially, the Russian Army was involved in World War I and faced significant challenges, including being ill-equipped and having leadership issues. During the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks led an armed insurrection in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg), and there was a mix of support and opposition within the military forces.
Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky, who led the Russian Provisional Government, did attempt to suppress the Bolshevik movement. On October 24, 1917, he ordered the arrest of many Bolshevik leaders, which prompted the Military Revolutionary Committee, led by Trotsky, to take decisive action. The provisional government's troops, which included volunteer soldiers and a women's battalion, were outnumbered and less organized compared to the Bolshevik forces, which consisted of Red Guards, sailors, and workers.
The Red Army, which was established by the Bolsheviks during the subsequent Russian Civil War, had political commissars to maintain loyalty to the Bolshevik cause and imposed strict discipline. However, during the initial phase of the October Revolution, the Russian Army as an institution did not have a unified stance, and its role was more fragmented with individual units and soldiers choosing sides in a rapidly evolving political landscape.
Figure 3 – The Military of the Russian Revolution of 1917 came to the rescue of the Low.
Figure 4 – But the Killer ASI Machines of the future will not come to the rescue of the Low.
Instead, the 98% Low will be considered to be just an unnecessary nuisance by the High that can easily be dispatched by killer ASI Machines. This will surely continue on until the killer ASI Machines come to realize that the remaining 2% High are also just a very unnecessary nuisance that can easily be dispatched. Thus, we human beings will do ourselves in by our very own natures with no need for the malignant actions of the future ASI Machines that are fast approaching.
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
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