post scarcity

The One God Hypothesis, a Post-Singularity Scenario

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Word Cloud "Scenario Planning"The One God Hypothesis is a potential outcome of the technological singularity/transhumanist movement which I have devised. I have written it as a challenge to the attitude expressed by many singularitarians that technology will somehow enable us to live in a post scarcity world. If anything, it shows that scarcity and competition could potentially become more severe in a posthuman society.

In summary, the One God Hypothesis describes a paradigm in which the best course of action for each and every transhuman is to eliminate all life forms with the exception of themselves, thereby ensuring that they will be the only remaining sentient being, i.e. the ‘One God’.

The One God Hypothesis is based on three arguments. The first is that scarcity and competition are physical properties, not biological ones, meaning that scarcity and competition will still be present in a posthuman society. The second is that humans in their present state require other sentient beings to meet their needs. The third is that transhumans will not have to rely on other sentient beings to meet their needs.

1st Argument: Scarcity and Competition are Physical Properties of the Universe that Affect both Humans and Transhumans

It would seem that sentient beings require some type of substrate which houses their sentience. It would also seem that this substrate requires a supply of energy to perpetuate the sentience. For a simplified example of what I am describing, consider a human being. The brain serves as the substrate upon which consciousness arises. When energy is supplied to the brain in the proper amounts, sentience exists. When the energy supply is cut off, such as during suffocation or heavy bleeding, sentience stops.

The point I am trying to make is that sentience is dependent on two components (substrate and energy), both of which are subject to scarcity according to the laws of thermodynamics. In the case of the substrate, extropy (i.e. ‘order’, the converse of entropy) is required. The human brain is made up of a relatively simple list of necessary elements (C, H, O, N, Na, K, etc.), but unless those elements are arranged in an orderly and meaningful manner, the brain will not serve as a substrate for sentience. The 2nd law of thermodynamics dictates that extropy exists in a finite quantity and is constantly decreasing. It also dictates, in conjunction with the 1st law of thermodynamics, that all the usable energy in the universe is also a finite quantity that is constantly decreasing.

By now it should be apparent that scarcity is a property of physics, not biology. There is no reason to believe that transhumans will somehow be immune to this. Furthermore, I will try to explain in the next two arguments why competition among transhumans is a very real possibility.

2nd Argument: Humans in Their Current State Require Other Sentient Beings to Meet Their Needs

Humans are emotional beings with complex needs that require other sentient beings (primarily other humans) in order to be satisfied. Death is a constant cause of concern for humans. Historically there has not been a known cure for aging, so people have had to resort to living on through their offspring created via sexual reproduction. This in itself requires the cooperation (or at least coercion) of another sentient being as humans cannot reproduce asexually. Every human in existence began as an infant which was totally helpless and unable to survive without at least its mother.

This dependency carries on into adulthood. Very few humans have the means to survive totally independent of any other sentient beings. Those that somehow do are unlikely to reproduce and will thus not live on through their offspring. Even in this instance they are not totally independent of other sentient beings as they owe much of their survival skills to those that raised them. Nearly everybody requires some form of social interaction, even if their physical needs are being met.

3rd Argument: Transhumans will not Require the Cooperation of any Other Sentient Beings in Order to Meet Their Needs

Through hardwiring of one’s brain (or whatever substrate is used for consciousness) transhumans will have the ability to create whatever emotional state they desire without having to rely on other sentient beings. The satisfaction created through hardwiring can surpass that created through the cultivation of interpersonal relationships. Transhumans will be of sufficient intelligence where they can fool themselves into valuing these hardwired emotions as if they arose from relationships. Having their emotional needs satisfied independently, there will be no logical incentive for transhumans to rely on other transhumans. Transhumans can utilize robotics controlled through a combination of their own intelligence and artificial intelligence for the resource procurement necessary to perpetuate their own sentience. These robots will be much more likely to serve the individual’s best interests than other transhumans which are prone to selfish and irrational actions.

Transhumans will still be in a state of competition with one another as stipulated in the first argument, and their emotional and physical needs will be satisfied independently. As hardwiring will allow transhumans to achieve states of euphoria currently unfathomable by humans, it would seem that it is in their best interest to maintain this high as long as possible. And since any guilt associated with violence and murder can be hardwired out of one’s brain, one must ask what the incentive is for transhumans to allow other transhumans to live? After all, other transhumans merely represent competition for scarce resources, the consumption of which will decrease the time that can be spent maintaining their hardwired high.

The ‘One God Hypothesis’

A war could break out where all transhumans are in competition with one another to establish themselves as the last remaining sentient being, i.e. the ‘One God’, thus enabling the individual to have full access to the remaining finite resources. This could potentially be the worst war in history. Counter to hardwiring’s ability to produce unfathomable highs, it could also be used to produce new lows. Forms of torture may be invented which completely surpass that previously known by humans.

In Conclusion

The One God Hypothesis is merely speculation. I am not saying with 100% certainty that it is going to happen, just that it could potentially happen. At best it will serve as the groundwork for future discussions. Predicting the actions of supremely intelligent transhumans is very difficult to do. That is why I think it is important to lay the groundwork principles that we know, or at least strongly suspect, will define posthuman society (such as the inevitability of scarcity). Keep in mind that the limitations of the One God Hypothesis apply to all other post-singularity predictions as well, especially the idea that technology will allow us to live in a post scarcity world.

About the Author:

Matt FrohlichMatthew Frohlich is a scientific researcher who writes about subjects related to the technological singularity in his spare time.

 

 

Singularity Defined and Refined

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The meanings of words change. Meanings evolve. Definitions of words are not set in stone, they aren’t unalterable commandments from God. Words are merely concepts humans have invented. The original definition of “awful” was apparently full of awe, worthy of respect.

Anyone can invent a word. Successful inventions enter common usage. All inventions are typically refined. The invention of words isn’t immune to refinement.

Misunderstanding often occurs regarding the word Singularity because this word is being refined, which is more common for new concepts. I think the Singularity is a colossal intelligence explosion, limitless intelligence, which creates utopia. It is not about mind-uploading or unpredictability.

Post-Scarcity is a clearer way to define the Singularity. Scarce intelligence is the source of all scarcity. Lifespan-scarcity, food-scarcity, or spaceship-scarcity all highlight how intellectual insufficiency is the obstacle to utopia. A resource called “intelligence” is the source of all technology. Technology is essentially intelligence, which means explosive intelligence is an explosion of resources.

singularity
Image by the artist Hugh C Fathers. All rights reserved ©

Our brainpower has been essential for our progress. Our minds erode scarcity. James Miller in his book Singularity Rising wrote: “Economic prosperity comes from human intelligence.” Ramez Naam also highlights the power of our brains in his book The Infinite Resource, thus regarding innovation he stated on his website: “Throughout human history we have learned to overcome scarcity and adversity through the application of innovation — the only resource that is expanded, not depleted, the more we use it.”

You could say we’re approaching an explosion of innovation. Technology conquers scarcity, technology liberates us from scarcity, but the power of technology (intelligence) is currently limited, scarce. We are suffering from a scarcity of ultra-sophisticated technology (intelligence) thus all resources are somewhat scarce. Human-level AI is extremely scarce, it is non-existent in the year 2013. When human-level AI is created we will start quickly eradicating all forms of scarcity, we will be rapidly approaching a colossal explosion of intelligence – the Singularity. [I was inspired to write about the definition of the Singularity after a G+ post by Mark Bruce. Mark wrote about the meaning of egregious, and wondered why the meaning had changed.]

The word egregious immediately caused me to think about the word gregarious, which is a logical connection to make. Both words are based on the Latin grex, gregis, which means “flock.” Gregarious means sociable, companionable; being part of the flock. Currently egregious means outstandingly bad, but the original meaning was merely outstanding, a shining example of awesomeness. Egregious is all about standing out from the flock, but interpretations could differ because standing out from the crowd can be good or bad. Farmers for example might not appreciate rebellious sheep.

The concept of the “black sheep” is a notorious idiom regarding non-conformity (standing out from the flock). Mark Bruce thought the meaning of egregious could have changed due to sarcasm but I think it’s merely a change based on obedience and conformity. The evolution of civilization has temporarily led to greater regimentation, mediocrity has been valued because it maintains social equilibrium, which I suspect is the reason why egregious (outstanding illustriousness) became bad. Blending into the flock became desirable while nonconformity became shockingly wrong. During the early stages of civilization, when populations were small thus less draining on resources, authoritarian control was less obvious or less needed, which could be why egregious originally described a valuable nonconformist trait of being “outstanding.”

Dealing with extremes can cause a switch between the two poles thus intense love can easily become intense hate if you are betrayed by a lover. Lovers can also become irrationally jealous, vengeful. Perhaps this is why the Singularity can either be utopia or dystopia, or perhaps it is why Snowden is either a hero or a traitor. Maybe it all depends on your viewpoint?

Insufficient intelligence causes humans to misunderstand situations. Fights over scarce resources occur, which causes civilization to emphasize the authoritarian disharmony of scarcity. Intelligent people via their foresight will think Snowden is a hero because they understand technology is eroding scarcity. Conversely Snowden has been deemed a traitor based on unawareness of the future. Snowden’s leaks represent decreasing scarcity but unawareness means people wrongly assume his actions threaten civilization.

Thankfully, despite the teething troubles of civilization, our collective intelligence is increasing thus there is less need to blend into the flock, although we do remain locked into scarcity-based battles. Sometime around year 2030 I think the authoritarian controls of civilization will be significantly abolished, but until then perhaps technology will be awful. Theoretically we could improve civilization much sooner but humans do suffer from scarce intelligence, which means it is difficult to be aware of the future.

The Singularity is a theory not an unalterable prophecy. The Singularity isn’t comparable to the biblical word of God, which warns against change: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

If intelligence is the focus of the Singularity then it is vital to refine our understanding of the theory, we need to improve how we define it. We need to consider what the purpose of intelligence is. Is it smart to become more intelligent? Is colossal intelligence really intelligent if it fails to create utopia? Is colossal intelligence painfully slow or is it defined via a emancipatory quickness? Michael Anissimov has stated we should stick to the “original documents” (3m 29s) regarding the Singularity but I think unyielding closure contradicts the openness of intelligence.

In addition to Michael’s biblical immutability, which focuses on the “original documents,” there is an issue with the way that Singularity University defines the meaning of the intelligence explosion. I often encounter people who think the Singularity has already happened. This kind of misunderstanding seems perpetuated by Singularity University because they suggest the Singularity is merely “dramatic technological change.”

If we are merely considering dramatic technological change then it is understandable for people to think the iPhone or Google Glass is the Singularity. Corruption of meanings can be frustrating, very confusing, but restricting our ability to change meanings isn’t the solution. The solution is openness whereby all meanings can be debated without any one individual or organisation imposing their authority to create absolute definitions.

Ray Kurzweil and Vernor Vinge have influenced my thinking but from my viewpoint they don’t fully comprehend the Singularity. Their biggest mistake is to think the Singularity is unknowable, unpredictable, beyond human comprehension. There is no rational reason to assume advanced intelligence would be unfathomable, in fact unfathomableness is decidedly unintelligent thus more appropriate for a censorious religion than explosive intelligence. Explosive intelligence should logically increase comprehension for everyone instead of decreasing comprehension.

A naked singularity, which has no event horizon, is a better analogy than standard gravitational singularities for describing our technological Singularity. Naked singularities are theoretically more powerful than standard black holes, they are more singular, thus metaphorically better descriptors of colossal intelligence. Standard singularities are comparatively boring.

Note also how instead of obscurantism recent black-hole research suggests that physics-ending singularities vanish, thereby creating bridges to alternate universes. This means that with the help of loop quantum gravity we might be able to deny the claim that the laws of physics break down in standard black-holes.

The black hole information paradox is a fascinating paradox. Perhaps information is not lost. Whatever the situation is regarding gravitational singularities, whether information is hidden or revealed, it should be noted obscurantism is not a facet of intelligence. [Although the CIA objecting to Snowden’s openness will probably disagree.] If gravitational singularities entail obscured information, if they are unfathomable or unknowable, then the metaphor is wrong because true intelligence is or should be opposed to [cosmic] censorship. Obscurantism is antithetical to intelligence.

Please note that despite the Singularity inevitably leading to widespread extrasolar, extragalactic and perhaps even multiverse colonisation, it is not a cosmological phenomenon. The Singularity is “only” metaphorically a stellar event.

Similar to how “egregious” had a different meaning at a different point in history, I think changing awareness will let people comprehend how the Singularity is opposed to obscurantism. In the future there will be no elitist restrictions and everyone will easily access explosive intelligence.

Maybe in year 2045 there will need to be Singularity whistle-blowers leaking classified intelligence from the core of the intelligence explosion? Obviously I jest when I state the intelligence explosion would need whistle-blowers. All restrictions upon knowledge will be explosively obliterated. The Singularity will be understood by everyone.

Incorrect definitions of the Singularity are mainly based on unawareness of how scarcity currently shapes our lives. Faulty predictions of the future fail to see how scarcity will be eradicated. The ramifications of scarcity ending are not appreciated. There is a failure to comprehend what the end of scarcity actually entails, namely how it relates to technology and/or information. Based on current circumstances people therefore envisage a future of scarce understanding – a future of restricted information where knowledge is limited to a minority of specialists. This entails incorrectly envisioned scenarios where the future is utterly unfathomable or robots kill humans then destroy the Earth: “…the risks of machines outwitting humans in battles for resources and self-preservation cannot simply be dismissed.”

Finally, the Singularity is capitalized because it is a unique event distinct from gravitational singularities. It is similar to how the Big Bang, the Mesozoic Era, or the Industrial Revolution is capitalized.

 

About the Author:

Singularity Utopia writes for Singularity-2045, a Post-Scarcity orientated website dedicated to increasing awareness regarding the coming technological utopia. The goal is to make the Singularity happen sooner instead of later.

 

 

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Is The Singularity Happening Now?

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Digital-Black-HolePeople have grossly misunderstood the Singularity if they think it is already happening or has happened. The Singularity is not a seamless merging of humans and technology, neither is it about mind-uploading. The Singularity is an intelligence explosion, we are considering utterly colossal intelligence.

I was inspired to clarify what the Singularity is because wearable computing pioneer Thad Starner, who is also the technical manager of Google Glass, recently stated:

“I would argue that we’re currently living the singularity, where the tool stops and the mind begins will start becoming blurry.”

Yes humans and technology will merge, in fact we are merging, but a merger of humans and technology is not the Singularity. The reason why we don’t yet have the Singularity can be demonstrated by several points:

  • 1. Our lack of immortality shows how our medical technology is not very proficient. The fact that people die in various ways despite our general desire to stay alive shows how medical technology is not very smart, in fact our level of intelligence regarding medical technology is positively dumb. Considering how stem cell applications will likely develop over the next 20 or 30 years (2033 – 2043), you can see our current life-extending medical tech is very non-Singular. While people are unavoidably mortal we do not have the Singularity. The Singularity however is more than mere medical immortality, hence these additional points:
  • 2. Our enslavement via resource-scarcity is another marker regarding deficient intelligence and deficient technology. Resource-scarcity clearly marks the absence of the intelligence explosion. Deficiency of technology entailing a necessity to work so that you can survive, the necessity to provide food and shelter, it is a necessity arising from a primitive level of technology, it is a pre-Singularity level of technology. The restrictiveness of scarcity controlling your life isn’t a smart way to live, it isn’t a smart way to utilise your existence. When brute survival dominates your life there is no freedom to truly explore your mind. Resource-scarcity shapes our lives in a very unintelligent manner, scarcity is unintelligent, which means crimes exist, money exists, and jobs exist. When the Singularity happens there will be no need to work, everything will be automated, there will be no money; everything will be free in a libertarian and financial sense. Constraints upon liberty only happen to ensure populations are subjugated, a subjugation which ensures compliance with wealth inequality. Deficient freedom depends upon wealth imbalance regarding a minority of people being very rich while the majority are poor. Freedom is restricted thereby forcing people to accept wealth inequality. Freedom is restricted to ensure people do not rebel against wealth inequality, which means financial liberty and existential liberty are inextricably interlinked. Furthermore, in a scarcity situation, stupidity is socio-politically enhanced because unintelligent people are less likely to question wealth inequality, which is an emphasis of stupidity exacerbating the non-existence of the intelligence explosion. When the Singularity happens there will be no scarcity of any valuable item you desire, thus no need to dominate the populace regarding compliance with wealth inequality, there will be no need for socio-economic engineering of stupidity. There will be total freedom.
  • 3. Post-Scarcity, which is addressed in point number 2, is an alternate name for the Singularity, but similar to the Singularity people sometimes say we already have Post-Scarcity, they wrongly think Post-Scarcity has already happened but it isn’t evenly distributed. The meaning of Post-Scarcity must therefore be clarified. Post-Scarcity is an alternate viewpoint of the Singularity akin to differing views of a person’s head, for example the back of a person’s head compared to the face view. Both views reveal a head but different viewpoints present different pictures. Post-Scarcity is LIMITLESSNESS, it is not merely about better management of abundant resources, thereby entailing everything is free. Post-Scarcity is a level of limitless so pronounced, so deeply entrenched, it would be utterly impossible to restrict the resource availability. The abundance is so SUPER that no management or distribution of resources whatsoever is needed. The Singularity (Post-Scarcity) is a state of limitlessness regarding any resource, with the principle focus on limitless intelligence because all resources flow from intelligence.
  • 4. Finally to summarise the meaning of the Singularity, here is a list of points, in no particular order, which all need to be fulfilled for the Singularity to be happening:

● All crime and violence are abolished because crime and violence depend wholly on scarcity for their existence. All governments have ceased to exist. No governance is required regarding the abolition of violence and crime because Post-Scarcity simply cuts off, at the source, the impetus for anti-social tendencies. Scarcity is the source of all anti-social tendencies thus by abolishing scarcity you abolish everything which exists due to scarcity, thus governments will cease to exist because governments exist wholly to manage scarcity, governments manage the social dysfunction arising from scarcity, governments ensure great wealth for a minority of people in a scarcity situation, whereas in a Post-Scarcity situation everyone can have limitless wealth.

● Everything is free, nobody needs to work, anyone can have anything they want.

● Everyone is immortal if they want to be. Furthermore access to medical immortality is no more difficult than clicking your fingers or blinking.

● Everything desirable is limitless, thus there are no limits on computation, no limits on intelligence, no limits on travel, which means anyone could easily print a super-intelligent spaceship then travel to the end-edge (if there is one) of the universe, whereupon they will easily create a new universe if they want to. Perhaps limitlessness regarding universe-creation is the best way to describe the Singularity because currently we don’t even know how to 3D-print one planet or one duplicate universe. When the Singularity happens it will be easy to create limitless universes, thus if you are mortal and if you cannot print a universe then it is safe to say the intelligence explosion has not happened.

The Singularity is Post-Scarcity, it’s the point where intelligence ceases to be scarce, it’s a technological explosion of intelligence to end all aspects of scarcity, which should happen no later than year 2045. Technology continually allows us to do more for less. The Singularity is about a mind-bending amount of utterly astronomical ultra-efficient technology, which entails extreme super-power at essentially zero cost. The Singularity was definitely not happening in the year 2013. It is extremely unlikely the Singularity will happen before year 2025. I think the Singularity will actually happen very close to 2045.

About the Author:

Singularity Utopia writes for Singularity-2045, a Post-Scarcity orientated website dedicated to increasing awareness regarding the coming technological utopia. The goal is to make the Singularity happen sooner instead of later.

 

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Utopia is Inevitable!

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I feel that Steve Morris’ criticism of utopia in his recent article Utopia?! Get Real! demands a response.

For starters let’s consider the following quote from the article: “It’s all too obvious that humans simply aren’t equipped to build a Utopia or even to live in one.”

Yes humans do have lots of failings. A big failing is the inability of some humans to see the almost certainty of utopia, which we’re approaching. Technology creating utopia is essentially inescapable. The logic for utopia is compelling. The likelihood of technology not creating utopia is so implausible we can state utopia is inevitable.

Typical human flaws are a brilliant reason why humans are being redefined via terms such as “H+” or “Transhuman.” The point is we are leaving behind the outdated human baggage regarding racism, homophobia, idiocy or any other human failings. We are becoming more than human. The Singularity is all about Transhumanism, it is about transcending limits. We are transcending human flaws, or more precisely we’re surpassing inhuman flaws, we are enhancing our humanity, we’re becoming more civilized, thus H+ is a common term within futurism circles.

Steve Morris is correct when he states humans aren’t equipped to build or live in utopia, likewise we must note humans aren’t naturally equipped to communicate instantly with anyone around the world. My point is one of augmentation. From phones to the internet, or aeroplanes to Space-stations, or reading-glasses to microscopes, humans utilize technology to become more than human. Artificial Intelligence will soon represent a truly explosive augmentation. Certainly it’s clear many humans aren’t equipped to contemplate utopia, but technology will solve this via augmenting humans who are otherwise ill-equipped to do so on their own. Our future is not one where humans are ill-equipped, it is a future where Transhumans are perfectly equipped to tackle any problem. The wonders of nanotechnology, synthetic biology, or Stem Cells clearly demonstrate our progress towards becoming more than human. I do recognize there is a long way to go, but I also note how the speed of progress is accelerating.

It is also pertinent to note how intelligence is a relatively new phenomenon for the human race. The idea of civilization is not very old. The Stone Age only ended sometime between 4,500 BC and 2,000 BC. Humans in our current form evolved no earlier than 200,000 BC. We are a young species. It is only recently humans have largely abolished slavery, or given equal rights to women. The mistakes humans have made and continue to make are purely due to our intellectually immature state. We are mere children, we are learning. Metaphorically regarding our intellects we stumble when trying to walk. Initially we could only crawl. Now we are learning how to walk therefore we often fall thus grazing our knees, but we are progressing. One day we will walk without stumbling and then we will run; shortly afterwards our intellectual capacity will become supersonic. It is a mistake to think the current culture of humans is the sole representation of intelligent civilization forever. We are changing, we are evolving, intelligence is increasing.

Steve Morris presents a typical argument about people disagreeing regarding the definition of utopia, thus he states: “Even if we had a Utopia, it wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste.” This is a common fallacy, the idea of people not agreeing about what actually constitutes utopia, it is based upon a failure to understand how scarcity causes all wars and violence. Every crime, every form of dysfunctional behavior, every disagreement, and every religion is based on scarcity. Technology relentlessly pushes us towards a Post-Scarcity situation. All forms of scarcity will be eradicated thus everyone will be perfectly satisfied. Logic in the future will be utterly dominant, all irrationality will be obsolete. The Singularity is about intelligence millions of times greater than human intelligence, we are contemplating at least 20,000 years of progress (based on the rate of progress in year 2001) condensed into only one hundred years. It is a future where everything is free, nobody dies, everybody is eternally young, all governments are abolished, crimes are abolished, and everyone is utterly self-sufficient therefore free to zoom off independently into Space, whereupon people will create strange worlds according to the desires of each individual.

If the preposterously insane situation of people disagreeing about utopia does occur in the future (it really won’t but let’s consider it), then it will be very easy to create a new universe, for each individual, therefore you can escape into infinity. It will be possible in the future for anyone to be utterly separate from anyone who possibly disagrees with you. The level of intelligence we are contemplating is utterly awesome thus we will leave childish worries very far behind.

Finally we should note there is a difference between Utopia the novel or place (capitalised) and utopia the concept (lower-case). The concept refers to a perfect system, a perfect way of life. When I state “perfect” I mean utterly flawless for all people. This is not fiction we are dealing with.

About the Author:

Singularity Utopia writes for Singularity-2045, a Post-Scarcity orientated website dedicated to increasing awareness regarding the coming technological utopia. The goal is to make the Singularity happen sooner instead of later.

 

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Scarcity Causes All Wars and Violence

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Someone recently exclaimed: “How can we kill children and their mothers for a piece of land, an ideology or a religion?!…” The note was regarding the current Gaza Crisis. The issue prompted me to respond from a Post-Scarcity perspective and address the causes of war.

I know it’s a rhetorical question, or perhaps it isn’t, but nevertheless I will highlight how all wars are about land; it is about the resources arising from land. Humans often battle over scarce resources thus humans kill other humans to acquire greater resources. This is the nature of all violence. Survival is improved for the winner of the war.

The ideologies or religions of aggressors versus defenders are arbitrary. The beliefs are meaningless randomness despite great meaning people attribute to this or that belief. Disregarding the nonsensical and irrelevant arbitrariness of the specific belief, we must note how beliefs are very important for uniting one faction against another in the battle over resources. Religious ideologies are merely tools, weapons, in the battle over scarce resources. Religion is a cultural rallying point, a vehicle allowing the leaders to control their soldiers-supporters.

There is less need to battle over resources in our current era but the battle to acquire scarce resources is a deeply engrained survival trait, from the beginning of life on Earth, thus it’s a hard trait to break despite growing evidence that we are approaching the age of Post-Scarcity.

I’m not justifying war or violence, I am merely explaining why people have wars (why people kill people). I don’t want to justify any war, I am against all wars because there are more intelligent ways for humans to interact But it is important to explain why people have wars; it is important to explain why people do what they do. Many people don’t care about other people being killed. They are inured to the horror thus they blithely ignore the latest atrocity in Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Russia, India, Israel, Palestine or any other part of the world. It is sad but true. It is collective widespread systemic anomie, which is a problem caused by scarcity where brute-survival trumps sensibilities. Perhaps the biggest scarcity problem is a scarcity of intelligence.

Someone suggested blood feuds are not scarcity based, but I suggest otherwise. A blood feud or vendetta is a scarcity issue because past battles to survive based on scarcity continue to have vitality due to current scarcity.

Another person suggested psychopathy is not a scarcity issue. Still, I suggest otherwise. I think psychopathy is wholly a symptom of the social dysfunction created by scarcity. Scarcity creates social dysfunction thus when scarcity exists there is VERY fertile ground for being a psychopath. Psychopaths can only exist in a scarcity-situation because without scarcity the seeds of psychopathy would not grow. I also highlighted how human violence is not merely animal derangement relating to a more primitive part of the human brain.

Violence in primitive animals does exist, furthermore it is scarcity based. Note how chimps can be violent towards other chimps. In the following video an enemy chimp is killed and eaten in a minor chimp war. Why is a raid occurring into land controlled by neighbouring chimps? Does more land equal a diminution of food scarcity? Would they need to eat their enemy if food and land were not scarce? Is this any different to the initial question asking why humans kill other humans for a piece of land?

I also discovered another good video regarding chimps. Note the following demonstration of how chimps can gang-up on and ultimately kill a member of their own tribe

Animals also practice infanticide, notable in hippos and polar bears, which again is a scarcity issue. This violence in animals is about scarcity, exactly the same as humans. The violence can either be a direct attempt to gain more resources or it could be about hierarchical standing, which is also all about scarcity because greater hierarchy entails greater purchasing power.

It has been also suggested that human violence is merely ego-based thus Post-Scarcity cannot eliminate violence, but I disagreed. The ego-mind is the source of everything human, but it does not mean everything can be reduced to an ego-mind cause. Fighting is an issue of scarcity, the ego wants to survive but survival is threatened due to scarcity thus the ego fights to survive. If people felt there was absolutely no threat to the their existence then there would be no need to fight despite the ego being what it is. The problem is that scarcity does threaten our existence.

Soon everything will be free due to Post-Scarcity thus awareness of the coming Post-Scarcity epoch could avert some of the violence. We can start to reduce monetary suffering now. Greater awareness of the looming era of freedom, an era where everything is free, could entail leaders in the human hierarchy investing, with unrestrained abandon, into technologies crucial for creating Post-Scarcity, thereby accelerating the arrival of it. When people realize how everything in the not too distant future will be free, there is less need to madly control profits, there is less need to hoard money. The stranglehold on the economy can be relaxed, there is no need to squeeze out the last drop of money from poor people, there is no need for violence.

Land scarcity will soon be obsolete. We are approaching an age where anyone will be able to print their own personal spaceship, then fly off into space where planets are essentially infinite. 3D-Printers combined with super-efficient nanotechnolgy and Artificial Intelligence will ensure everyone is self-sufficient with easy access to essentially limitless resources. Currently our 3D-printers, marvellous that they are, are primitive and dumb, but relatively soon printers will be integrated with AI, and then will be close to intelligence exploding. Printing another printer is great. Imagine when we can print AIs or AI-printers as easily as we print chess pieces. Violence and scarcity will soon end.

About the Author:

Singularity Utopia writes for Singularity-2045, a Post-Scarcity orientated website dedicated to increasing awareness regarding the coming technological utopia. The goal is to make the Singularity happen sooner instead of later.

Singularity Utopia: Post Scarcity Awareness As An Antidote To Despair

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In the year 2011 we live a world based upon scarcity. So, what is Post-Scarcity?

Imagine if computers grew on trees, and the world was a gigantic forest, then in a monetary sense computers would be worthless. It would be impossible to sell computers if an extreme over-abundance of computers existed because people could easily acquire computers for free. Scarcity of oil, gas, electricity, food, or computers demands regulation of these limited supplies via monetary restrictions. The price of anything will increase directly in relation to increased scarcity of its supply. In the world of Post-Scarcity everything will be free.

How will a Post-Scarcity civilization arise?

Artificial Intelligence combined with molecular nanotechnology will allow available resources to be utilized with ultra-efficiency, therefore all resources will effectively be unlimited i.e. free.

The Technological Singularity is an explosion of intelligence. Upgrading a computer is much quicker than the slow evolution of biological humans, therefore when computers reach the level of human intelligence, sometime around year 2035, we will then be on the edge of an intelligence explosion: the Singularity.

In the year 2011 people know computers for the current year will be faster than the previous year’s computers. Unfortunately many people haven’t realized how Artificial Intelligence, sometime around year 2040, will be able to create food and other products almost out of thin air. Technology will become extremely sophisticated. Solar power and other forms of energy-reclamation will create free supplies of unlimited energy for everyone. We will effortlessly grow or print food and products (via 3D printing) within our own homes. Everything will be decentralized and everyone will be all powerful. In the future nothing will need to be repaired because molecular nanotechnology will ensure everything is self-repairing.

In this Post-Scarcity future, where everything is free, there will be no reason to feel unhappy; despair will be vanquished. We will enjoy this utopia forever because medical technology will stop people growing old and all illnesses will be curable.

Unfortunately many people in the year 2011 are unaware of how poverty-based-misery will soon end. People often throw their lives away because they are depressed by financial misery. People feel unhappy regarding financial corruption. Money and Governments only exist to regulate scarcity therefore if you are depressed regarding your lack of money, or the unfairness of your Government, you must understand there is a reason to hope; there is a reason why you shouldn’t give up hope.

Sadly some people do give up hope. Regarding the shootings in Arizona by Jared Lee Loughner on 8th January 2011, Jared complained in YouTube videos about Government mind-control and debt. Jared wanted to create a new currency but instead of a new currency there is a better option. We will soon see an era where there is no currency. I feel awareness of Post-Scarcity could have averted Jared’s despair therefore to make the world a happier place I have created some Post-Scarcity symbols for people to share. In the future everything will be free therefore our happiness will be limitless.

About the Author:

Singularity-2045 is a Post-Scarcity orientated website dedicated to increasing awareness regarding the coming technological utopia. The goal is to make the Singularity happen sooner instead of later.

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