The biophysicist Jacques Monod hypothesized that man will never understand itself due to that a logical system could not be higher than itself. With the internet becomes common use the somewhat vague concept of collective intelligence. Using internet under some rules each human being could act as a neuron and we construct a global brain? Could this brain be smarter than any genial one?
Could it have conscience?
I have to say that what I am asking is not simply group work but a tentative of planetary brain. Due to Monod affirmation this eventually would be impossible in terms of a replica of human brain.
Only evolution, brain evolution could eventually leaves us further.
Dear Marcos, Instead of trying to answer I will make a few comments hoping to help us find the answer.
1. We are living in a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous).
2. The humanity of 8 billion connected individuals is going to see the emergence of some new scenario where the flux of information will determine the next stage.
3. We rely on the competence and collective intelligence to build a better society.
4. It is not a matter of doing faster and better, but in finding new paths based on what is best for us humans and not for a few privileged groups.
5. This moment resembles the advent of mechanization in midlle of the last century, however, nowadays we have incredibly larger access to any desired information.
Being optimistic I hope that interactions among Humans, among Machines and Human-Machines, will evolve to an Organism in the sense that you seem to be proposing.
Being pessimistic, we will need to go through chaos before the emergence of any better society.
My feeling is that we are going through a phase transition with unpredictable evolution. Maybe and hopefully the simplistic and incompetent way we are seeing politicians behave, will open space for competent to lead our political future.
Paulo Camargo
Dear Paulo,
I have the same feelings! There will be no alternative,or we integrate in an unknown way or we will perish by a monster( your VUCA world) without head.
Dear Dr. Marcos
Today we can affirm that the elementary mechanisms of evolution are not only comprehended in their general lines, but also identified with precision, as far as the essential lines been.
Shuker Khalil Dear Dr Khalil, I agree. What I imagine is that the complexity of systems in which evolution works are almost certainly beyond individual human intelligence. Today we can change some evolutionary paths through genetic engineering but what escape us is the consequences in the whole system
We can find the solutions for the consequences in the whole system and then we can change some evolutionary paths through genetic engineering.
Dear all, dear Marcos Celio De Almeida , I like your question. It's a multidisciplinary question, it's not only about technology and biology, but also sociology, ethics, philosophy, theology... However, I am convinced it would be much more better to the whole world, to everyone of us, if we, humans, start to see each other (each other means every person, without exception) as equally worthy and valuable people. Till the moment, after long long years of history this "knowledge step" has not been reached. It is, however, impossible for us since we are very limited and we are frequently not so conscient "brains". In fact, we are not only "brains".
I do not know what we could expect from a collective intelligence in a so asymmetric "VUCA world", but with or without collective intelligence, we are living a transition period to... unknown, yes, completely unknown.
I would start by being each one of us that "intelligent neuron" and much more: a person who wants to move towards a better world and who works for it.
Dear All , dear Lydia Dux-Santoy .
I agree completely with you " if we, humans, start to see each other (each other means every person, without exception) as equally worthy and valuable people. " .
Yes equally worth but recognizing the differences and respecting it. We should abolish institutional religions, militarism and all ideologies that create division among humans. We really need to have in mind that we are All HUMANS BEFORE any other thing. Science is now showing this clearly and demolishing pseudoscience.
I live in a country in which the most important thing is diversity: biodiversity, cultural diversity , etc. I am indeed grateful for the diversity. Imagine how boring would be a world uniform everywhere!
You are right we are far from the auto-cannibalism and need evolve to be really social before the possibility of a collective intelligence.
When I asked this question I thought in social insects. They a more powerful collective intelligence than individual, I am almost sure. Would be marvelous to be one day part of a human social intelligence.
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