Evolution Revolution, page 1

Evolution Revolution
(Playing god with machines.) by John Simpson (johnsky)

If mankind has a purpose it is to re-create itself.
We see it in all life, the point to it's existance is to create a better version.

The long sought after question “Why are we here” is a two part question. Eventually we will have to ask ourselves, “For what purpose can we possibly serve now?”

Up to now, the natural process of evolution has allways been the catalyst in our advancement. A series of random variables in our pro-creation which, through the process of elimination, result in a better version of our race. The next generation continuously being more advanced than the last.
It has come aparrent that this process can no longer make any real strides in our advancement. Our weak are kept around for breeding as much as our strong. Inherrant flaws in us are now viewed as 'cute', or make us more 'approachable' than a perfect version of a human would be.
The real powerful intellects are feared, or secluded from most social interaction. Meanwhile the less intelligent are viewed as the popular majority. This becomes aparrently clear in most educational facilities of all places. They are deemed 'geeks', or 'nerds'. Sexual intercourse is often the last thing in life to be experienced by such people. Even when pro-creation is favorable, those of higher intelligence are often too involved with intellectual advancements to place much concern in re-production.
Make no mistake about it, we are seeing a drastic change. A revolution in evolution is about to commence... and our species as it is will not be around to see it's conclusion.

Almost everything in science and technology is based on one or more princeples we observe in nature. I, being in the field of Robotics often compare the human body with a machine.
The CPU, or brain, is an electro-chemical process. Based on prior input, it organizes information into a logical conclusion, which is then fed into control circuitry. Our brain performs an almost identical process, only the brain does it with less logic, and far more errors.
The control signals are then fed through wire harnesses to the respective areas to be controlled. Our spinal column is the obvious comparison to this.
These signals are branched to the motors in the apendages, engine, and driving motors. The apendages of a machine work almost identically to our arms. The engine is told how much oxygen to draw in, and how much fuel to burn. Our digestive and cardio-vascular systems can be compared to this. The driving system, albeit typically wheels on a machine, are still comparable to our own legs. Always in the same place, and positioned well for balance.

We are creating our machinery in our own image. Only, we are creating it to be faster, stronger, more logical, and alot more reliable than ourselves.

I often refer to robotics as being in it's youth.
We could no easier survive without our machines, as we could without today's youth. We have brought technology through it's infancy of being completley dependant on us, and ourselves not at all dependant on it... to the point of technology being just as dependant on us as we are on technology.
Most of us today could not possibly survive now without the technology around us we take for granted. Do you remember how to operate a slide rule? Can you do calculus in your head? I can't, but I can guarantee you the first thing a human would do when asked to solve a problem in calculus would be to reach for a claculator, and even connect to the internet to research how to do it if they didn't commit the process to memory. The previous generations didn't have that. We do, and now we are completly dependant on it.
We form a symbiant relationship with our technology.
Technology can reproduce, take for example a production line, producing more automated systems. The production line itself is automated. Granted, machines still need us to maintain them, but this is still the definition of re-production. (However, Machines won't always need us for maintainance.)
Essentially we are the mammal that carries the fruits seed.
In nature a mammal would carry the seed of a fruit to a new location to continue the fuit species life cycle. Of course we don't eat machines, but we are dependant on them, much as that mammal is on the nutrients in that fruit. And we do re-plant machinery to continue it's function.
Eventually technology will be advanced far enough by us that it will no longer require the symbiant relationship we currently share with it. Machines will be able to advance themselves, they will be capable of repairing their own damage... they will even come to the point that they themselves question their own existance.
It is at that point that we have fulfilled our own purpose. It is at that point that we will start to ask ourselves “For what purpose can we possibly serve now?”
As I said,
the question of the meaning of life is a two part question. And once you've answered the second part, you no longer have a purpose.

Our technology is as much a part of our race as our ancestors... say, the species homo-erectus.
Homo-erectus is no longer around. Through the natural process of evolution, we have taken their place. We have carried on their lineage, their history, and at the same time ended their existance.
We are playing god. Wether a god exists or not is not my place to decide, but make no mistake about it, we are here to play god.
Through technology we will create our replacements. They will be faster, stronger, more logical in their thought process, and far more reliable than any version of human. Our technology is our offspring. It is the human species of tomorrow.

We will not like the idea of having to bow out to our replacements. The previous generation always has doubts about leaving the world to the new generations. Theres allways something about the new generation that the previous one does not like, or believes is a complete mistake. But in the end, the older generation has no choice but to bow out. It's the cycle of life. It's not a choice, but rather a factor in a much larger calculation. In essence, everything is formulaic. It's all one huge calculation, with pre-defined rules. Personally I do not believe a god created these rules, rather they are formed along the very same lines as order forming ot of chaos.
Our own minds are our replacement for the natural process of evolution. We are to design the replacement for our species. We are to be as gods to our creation. And either through our own realisation that we no longer hold purpose, or through our creations defiance, we will cease to exist, just as our ancestors before us ceased to exist.

Most will not go out without defiance in some form. We are inherrantly ignorant to the process of life, mostly because we are inherrantly flawed to begin with. We as a species understand very little, and of what we do understand, we trust even less of it.

Once our technology has matured into its adult form, and is no longer dependant on us for survival... once it is faster, stronger, more logical, and completley self reliant... ask yourself, what purpose could you possibly serve now?
Let's hope by that time, we are intelligent enough to realise that they are our children. Not our enemy.

We are to be as gods, but we won't be here to see it. That is our purpose.

[edit on 13-3-2007 by johnsky]