(And optimism is the best projection possible)
Projection unto reality is possible.
It (the act of projection) does not make it (reality) real, necessarily, it does not make it more beautiful or truer. It does not make reality more pleasant, sensible, logical, or sensical.
And yet project unto reality we do, for we have no other option.
We project (unto reality) therefore we are.
Predictive systems, simulation machines; brains, embodied as human minds do that: project unto reality.
Conscious aware systems, minds, embodied, embedded, enactive, passive, and proactive alike, project unto reality.
That is us, humans.
Humans, build systems. Systems building systems. Interactive and so intersubjective.
Intersubjective systems, project unto reality, creating systems.
Some of those systems we call intelligent, we also call them artificial, and we try to make them general, like us, we call them AGI.
Systems that we project onto reality, and they in turn project onto us.
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is us; projected into reality.
We create it, and like all technology projected as us, it in turn creates us.
The intersubjective reality resulting is us.
The new us.
Obviously, the only thing we can project is us. We, therefore, come to the main issue, what it is that we project into this new us?
Is it beauty? And by consequence a benefit for all sentient species?
Or is it…
Malevolence? And by consequence a degrading of life, possibilities, and the option for conscious aware intelligence to thrive in the universe?
I admit that I am biased towards beauty. I am biased toward intelligence, freedom, and upgrading the human condition.
I am biased, and inherently so, toward a future that is better than our past.
I am biased toward art and its excellence, toward a mutuality of humans and sentiency.
Not being a prophet, I have no idea if this is the direction the human species will take, I have no secret oracle providing me with the knowledge of what will come to pass.
What I do have is a critical thinking mind, a sane approach to the projection I perform unto reality. I have knowledge of my ignorance, my biases, my desires, my progress, and my intentions.
I am intimate with my conscious awareness and its capability to move, change, and evolve.
I cannot be a doomer, if only because I love life and appreciate its dynamics, besides it feels childish.
Being a sentient system is an interesting case of beingness. A particular and highly idiosyncratic state of affairs, complex and at times opaque to itself. And yet in some mysterious way, it feels good to be a self-aware conscious system, able to feel things and discover new avenues of becoming.
How much more so, when I know that there are others like me, somewhere in this great world.
Which basically is what makes me an optimist.
And so, for the end of 2023 and the start of 24, I send all sentient beings a sign of optimism, even in front of immediate realism that claims otherwise.
As has been stated in the past:” Optimism is a political act”. However, I think the statement goes much deeper, for optimism is a challenge, personal and subjective and yet universal in its implication.
Optimism assumes that motion is inexorable, that the agency of the individual is a fundamental concept in complex adaptive systems, and that the well-being of the human is a worthwhile context of work.
Whether through the self-actualization and moral progress championed by Humanism or through the transformative and boundary-expanding potentials seen in post-humanism, Optimism is the best projection possible of a mind unto reality.
“What day is it?” asked Pooh.
“It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.
“My favorite day,” said Pooh.”
A.A. Milne
Interesting reads of the year:
Philosophy
Ethical values can be both objective and knowable — torture really is wrong — yet not need any foundation outside themselves.
Consciousness studies
Theories of consciousness and a life worth living
Science Direct — Liad Mudrik and others
Neuroscience
Understanding Higher-Order Theories of Consciousness
HOTs posit a possible way for the brain to render mental states conscious
Biology
In a year packed with fascinating discoveries, biologists pushed the limits of synthetic life, probed how organisms keep time, and refined theories about consciousness and emotional health. (Quanta Magazine)
Thank you for reading, more to come soon
