One of the philosophical considerations of increased longevity is the so-called problem of overpopulation. This is controversial and has been hotly debated by zero population growth advocates like Bill Gates and his parents, as well as conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones who propose that an elite group wants to limit population to themselves and a sufficient number of plebeian slaves. I don’t really want to get into all that. But as a philosopher I am very interested in the topic abstracted from the debates. So today I’m discussing not a 10,000-foot view, but a 10,000 light-year view of proliferation of the human species.
The popular debates going back several decades mostly assume that humanity has no resources outside of our home planet. But for as long as this debate has continued, there have been scientific theories about the true limits of human expansion, which include the entire universe, and the entirety of time.
This episode is inspired by a section of a book I am reading called Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom. [Box 7 p. 101.]. This 2014 academic publication by a philosphy professor at Oxford University discusses the various implications of what he calls, as the title implies, superintelligence, which is simply a level of mental capacity beyond that of the human brain. The book goes into not only how superintelligence might be developed, but what the consequences might be, especially to a human species whose status as apex predator might be endangered by this.
One of the possible scenarios outlined is that of world dominance by a super-intelligent entity which he calls a singleton. Expanding this concept beyond earth, Bostrom questions the ultimate reach of this dominance. Scientists have proposed many alternatives for the colonization of space, including one put forth by pysicist Gerard K. Oneill that involves living not on planets, but in cylindrical habitats which spin, producing a centrifugal gravity. I actually saw a fictional depiction of this in the TV series The Expanse, in which a group of Mormons plan a 100-year voyage in a cylindrical spaceship.
So my goal, and possibly yours as well, it isn’t everyone’s, is to make my life last as long as possible, loving it all the way, and live a happy, healthy, active life right up to the very end. This has moral and philosophical implications. I recently heard an episode of the podcast Should This Exist, which encourages scientists to think not just of how they should do something, but whether they should, and if so, how it should be done to encourage a positive use of the new technology. In that episode was discussed whether their should be a limit to our lifespans. Is it responsible to live a longer life, given the impact on the rest of the world? Would it produce an elite group of extremely long-lived people who could afford this new technology, leaving the rest of us to live shorter lives? Would the increased experience-gained competence of these people put all others out of work? And the idea is not necessarily to discourage increasing longevity, but to increase our understanding of how best to deal with this increase in our society.
Bostrom eventually turns the tables back to humanity, and I want to just read a quote that I think listeners to this show will find particularly engaging:
“…assuming that the observable universe is void of extraterrestrial civilizations, then what hangs in the balance is at least [10 billion trillion trillion trillion trillion] human lives (though the true number is probably larger). If we represent all the happiness experienced during one entire such life with a single teardrop of joy, then the happiness of these souls could fill and refill the Earth’s oceans every second, and keep doing to for a hunred billion billion millennia. It is really important that we make sure these truly are tears of joy.”
Which is the point of the book, being ready for superintelligence and handling it the right way.
Sometimes it’s good to take a 10,000-light-year view of things instead of just figuring out what to have for breakfast and how to stay fit.
Weight 7-day Avg. (change since Jan 2018): 227 (-48)
Workout time: 0 Minutes
Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 0 Miles (576.02)
Steps: 2,892
Muscle Mass 7-day Avg. (change since Aug 2018): 158.27 (+16)
Body Fat 7-day Avg.: 30%
Daily Sleep Duration 7-day Avg: 7 hours
2019 Goal: 15% Body Fat