BIG IDEAS
Standard Species Development Model
This started as part of a science fiction novel, but very quickly evolved into a huge cosmic vision of the course of development of any sentient species, including ours. Along the way I realized that my vision is somewhat different than those I've encountered in science fiction or the ponderings of futurists. First, it's much more hopeful and optimistic. And second, it acknowledges problematic evolutionary adaptations and strategies (I call them LOEMMS) and focuses on practical and effective workarounds for them, so that our species can move forward in our development.
The Standard Species Development Model (SSDM) outlines a universal journey, a progression that every sentient species is destined to experience. It offers a coherent, functional theory that guides our understanding of where we are and where we are headed. It informs not only our collective goals but also a more optimal allocation of resources. It also acknowledges that the pace of development is inherently gradual, punctuated by periods of slow development and natural resistance to change.
The SSDM proposes that every sentient species in the Universe, as it evolves, passes through a similar sequence of developmental stages:
Stage 1: Evolution-Driven Survival
Stage 2: Self-Awareness with Left-Over Evolutionary Mental Subroutines (LOEMMS)
Stage 3: Functional External Interventions to Override LOEMMS
Stage 4: Nanoscale Neural-Chemical Reprogramming to Override LOEMMS
Stage 5: Versatile Computational Substrates Capable of Consciousness-Level Computation
Stage 6: Consciousness-Level Computational Substrates Constructed Using Any Available Elements
Stage 7: The Conscious Cosmos
Stage One: Evolution-Driven Survival
In Stage One, life emerges from inorganic matter and evolves into increasingly complex patterns. This era is dominated by instinct and adaptation, and driven by the imperative of survival. Every subsequent stage can be seen as an effort to transcend or reconfigure the survival mechanisms created during this time.
Stage Two: Self-Awareness with Left-Over Evolutionary Mental Subroutines (LOEMMS)
At this stage, consciousness arises. Beings transition from mere survival-driven organisms to self-aware entities. This new self-awareness coexists with the lingering instincts and survival strategies of Stage One, creating a cognitive tug-of-war within each individual. Over time, these once-essential survival subroutines—which I call LOEMMS—become impediments to further development. At this stage, a species comes up with ad-hoc workarounds for all of these LOEMMS, but they lack an awareness of how their minds evolved and what they need to develop further. This is the stage where our species currently finds ourselves. The metacrisis we are currently experiencing is exactly this stuckness and struggle of Stage Two.
Stage Three: Functional External Interventions to Override LOEMMS
In response to the disruptive nature of LOEMMS, species develop various strategies to mitigate their effects. Through a combination of sophisticated practices and chemical interventions (which I call workarounds), a species figures out how to dampen the influence of these archaic mental subroutines and survival strategies. The book I started writing described a society at this stage of development. I wanted to show a society which used various kinds of external mental reprogramming effectively and realistically and which was able to curb the destructive impulses of their members, like anger, greed, and fear—traits that once ensured survival in a resource-scarce environment but now threaten progress and even the species’ continued existence.
Stage Four: Nanoscale Neural-Chemical Reprogramming to Override LOEMMS
While external interventions provide partial and temporary solutions, more comprehensive transformation and development occurs when a species masters the art of internal reprogramming. At this stage, beings learn to alter their neural networks at a nanoscale level, effectively rewriting the underlying code of their minds, no longer having to rely on external substances or practices.
Stage Five: Versatile Computational Substrates Capable of Consciousness-Level Computation
Progressing further, a species develops the capability to construct computational substrates that are capable of supporting consciousness-level computation independently of the organic hardware fashioned by evolution, what we would call artificial intelligence (AI). This new stage is characterized by intentional design rather than the incidental outcomes of evolutionary development. However, this development is only possible if the species has successfully worked through their own LOEMMS. If they have not, they tend to create their AI offspring with the same problematic LOEMMS that they themselves started with. This is the dangerous position our own species seems to be in at the moment: where we are creating vast artificial intelligences while we haven't worked through our own LOEMMS yet.
Stage Six: Consciousness-Level Computational Substrates Constructed Using Any Available Elements
At this level, the species achieves the ability to assemble computational substrates from any available elements in the universe. This adaptability marks a significant leap in complexity and function, paving the way for a more profound redefinition of what it means to be a sentient being.
Stage Seven: The Conscious Cosmos
The final stage is a cosmos where an ever-increasing number of atoms are integrated into vast, conscious computational networks. Ultimately, the Universe itself becomes a colossal self-aware neural network of vast complexity and limitless possibilities.