Unity of Self

There are several competing theories as to the next stage of the mind? A variety of thought experiments questioning the validity of thought itself. How to surpass the physical limitations of our brains? How to further enhance the scope and power of thinking? And perhaps most importantly is this a justified, or an act of immoral standing, exercising its own futility from this state of existence? These are the questions that may very well have to be discussed with everyone in the near future as our technical advantages continue to progress to heightened levels. There is one concept that we can examine. This ideal is known as the collective consciousness, a theorized hive-mind in which multiple living beings share in a single mind. A collection of thoughts and experiences being openly shared with everyone. There are three ways this could be achieved, one is by joining social media, in which people have the opportunity to have a constant line of communication with others. The other is in an infusion of biology and technology in which everyone's mind's are linked to some form of super computer in which all participants can link minds together in order to communicate, and work in unity. The third option is to have a single living creature that is one mind experiencing all viewpoints at once in order to gain knowledge and wisdom. However there may be a fourth option that I have dedicated my life to, and will continue to do so. A living hybridization of all three of these ideas in a systematic process of all people being allowed to input all of their life experiences, desires, and dreams of the far future into this specialized AI as the thinking machine builds on in content contemplation as it grows and reflects upon itself. All of these processes have their pros and cons, the goal of this paper is to look into each of these concepts in greater detail so as to open up the dialogue to be discussed.

To begin with, we shall look at the logistics of a super social media that all can share. Well in the many years that the human race has come to live on this planet, there have been many types of social media websites in these recent decades, such myspace, an online format that was originally created for those underground music artist to reach out in a more public format with greater reach to enrich their music careers. Although admittedly, the website became more of a precursor to what facebook would dissolve into once there was enough popularity in which it could utilize a greater aspect of making money from it’s own fame; and on that note, Facebook started as a college email only dating site that many people outside of college wanted access to for the inclusivity of it, and since myspace was slow to update is software, along with a content stream of the website itself going through continuous crashes gave Facebook the opportunity to fill the gap in that market. Of course there were, and there are others like deviantart, instagram, and tumbler just to name a few. Although these sites were eventually known for, and almost exclusively sought after by those that were and are looking to display some more graphic content, such as nudity, or gore with little to no limits to the content one is allowed to pose. Although, this could be said about myspace, Facebook, and Youtube as well, the key differences between them is that they stepped on the creators using the site in order to remain advertiser friendly, but also offered those who were willing to compromise their content, and advertise anyone willing to sponsor them on the videos that were being uploaded at a near content baces. While also allowing these same companies to withdraw their sponsorships at any time. The same can be said for instagram and tumblr as well. And all of these websites give the option for anyone to flag or report on any post, on any channel, for any reason. Even going so far as to give the average person to claim copyright infringements on many of these platforms with little to no evidence that the monetized content even belongs to the person filing the report. It is because of these imperfections in these mostly monopolized markets plus the ability to remain at some level of being anonymous to a degree, coupled with the fact that some individuals feel they are inclined to harass others since the confrontation will more than likely become a face to face interaction. This can give the average person the impression that they are in little to no threat of real life danger, giving them at some level, the belief that they are untouchable but those that they choose to mock. Also this is a nearly unavoidable consequence to those that create this content in the hopes that they may be able to earn a living using these outlets. Meanwhile, the more these individuals acquire greater fame, the more likely they are to develop a very high opinion of themselves, which inturn is a near content temptation for others to pesture them into an enraged reaction thus the perpetrators gain a great deal of amusement. And depending on the emotional regulation of the intended victim, can cause a high amount of stress or aggression in the person being targeted by the perpetrators. That and those who actively seek out others who opinions match their own fears, angers, or envious natures help reinforce a variety of opinions across the internet even the highly volatile ones; Also, the desire for those who seek out people who disagree with their viewpoints, trying to aggressively convert them or simply to cause emotional hurt to the processived enemies. All of these and many other factors have left a very hostel interweb that many would try to avoid as much as possible. While others have started to become detached from their sense of empathy, if not in some rare cases there are people who have an extremely difficult time identifying where the fiction and reality concepts begin and end respectively. Creating a very toxic environment on the web, nearly forcing the webpages to separate into a variety of highly specialized sites with very specific demographics. And thus showing the faults of this kind of linked concances, even if we were all interacting with a single site much more frequently there is still a near certainty that this kind of AI will be treated the exact same way.

The second way to achieve a unification of thought would be to have a linking of the minds through a single hub ‘or a publicly supercomputer’ that gives every single person the option to pool their own thoughts into, and giving all other participants access to these pooled ideals. The benefits of having this kind of structure is to have the option for each person to do so privately and with the potential of giving amenity to those wanting to participate. The most likely way this can be achieved is by having some sort of device that can link each person into the receiving server, most likely with its own domain name in order to afford some kind of protection to be kept from being owned by anyone, and thus keeping the information hub under the Public Domain. At least in hypothesis, but in practice it would become a very expensive and problematic system. To start with, we would have to ask ourselves how this could be accomplished in the first place? Would it be akin to a chair, or private one or more person booth in which an individual has the option to leave a record of a thought process, or idea in a strange amalgam of an open confession booth, safe space, and a phone booth all at the same time? Would someone have to put their own personal information within this machine? Or could it be anonymous? Could this be optional? And if this is an option, what could an individual do if they are wanting to delete an earlier thought, but they did not put their own personal data into the machine? Should we be giving the option to take back our ideas? Or would the very concept of being able to take back a passing thought taint the information gathered by this mythoid? Should there be a third party to look over each case in order to make a suggestion to the complantive, or would the very notion of a third party being involved be an extreme invasion of privacy? Could there be the option to have an AI to look over each complaint? Or would people not trust the AI? Plus if people do input their information ‘either by choice, or mandatory’ how would these devices be structured in order to prevent identity theft? How could these devices be paid for? And perhaps the most problematic issue of all is how or why would others use these devices? And this is just under the concept of a record keeper, let alone if we as individuals could be hooked up to a computer in a similar fashion the matrix movies, or more likely like the book Johnny Mnemonic. Or even the concept of having some kind of transmitter and receiver that is linked to our consciousness in some way; in which case the problems that were stated in the previous paragraphs would be amplified many times over, along with having the added risk of each person potentially having less agency when it comes to filtering their own thoughts before being broadcasted to the world. So even though having the ability leave behind any passing thoughts in an anonymous format does have it great avantages for people to express themselves in an open way, there will come a content risk to these endeavors no matter which way we may decide to move forward with the Universal Consciousness application.

The third way to accomplish this level of hive mind is by creating a more permanent link between man and machine. A cyborg hybridization in order to share with each other on a more complete level. To which while still having the same problems as the last two options; and all while being far less likely to protect each individuals privacy, or being able to regulate what thoughts are leaked to the public and all of the problems that come with this scenario. How would we react to this happenstance of pure unfiltered conscious and unconscious thought being shared with all others at all times? Would we come to except everyone for who they truly are as individuals? Or would this create an even greater divide among the populus? Could this lead to a greater acceptance of each persons since of self expression? Or would this amplify the societal reaction of tribal per pressure to conform to the standards of the majority? Well to put it bluntly I’d have to say that all of these things would take place in various spurs simultaneously very much like society does for any social justice movement. Albeit at a far greater scale, along with a far greater speed to which these ideals emerge. Even as individuals choose their stances on each issue we have been faced with, not everyone comes to the same conclusion, and even our own reasons as to why we made curtain disissons will widen the gap even further. And the fact that most individuals change their minds and feelings is another factor that can easily create even greater conflict. And although this will most likely help create a greater amount of empathy among ourselves through this level of understanding, it would also create a far more contemptuous loathing for those who are deemed to be unlikable if not outright seen as being evil. If we as a western society have a natural destain for pedifiles with just the concept alone, The level of hate that can be focused at these people would explode if we could experience the sensations of both the offender, and the victim simultaneously during the act. And those who have also wronged the inocest may very well defend this person, which could lead to violence or sigerdation of an entire group of people, not to minion those who desire complete and total freedom may also defend the perpetrators of these wrongs furthering the divides. And this is just with one aspect of wrongdoing, let alone the hundreds or even thousands of other examples of people doing wrong that would also fall under the same treatment. And this is ignoring all the other problems that could be caused by those with mental illnesses. Those who cannot understand others languises, religious affiliations, or even other cultures. And ultimately with so many scenarios going on at the same time in each person's mind at all times of the night and day may very well leave the human race to be completely incapable of performing even the simplest of tasks. Giving one of two oppositions; either, we may have to all stop thinking so much, or we may have to conform into a singular mind ridding ourselves of individuality, and thus defeating the main point of using the hive mind existence to further our own consciousness. Not to mention the fact that this could coalesce into a singular organism that would be so ingrained that is only suited for one type of environment and will most likely die off to many natural disasters that may arise do to it’s inability to do any sort of adaptation to changing circumstances very much like the dinosaurs after the impact.

Now to explain the last argument I have put to begin with an explanation as to why this has been one of my life goals since I was 11 years old. I used to watch the TV series Jim Hinsion’s The Storyteller with John Hurt as the host, along with Jim Hinsion’s The Dark Crystal, The Never Ending Story movie series, every Miyazaki film I could get my hands on; especially Spirited Away, and my all-times favorite movie What Dreams May Come, given me this overwhelming desire to imagine a world of my own making I just found it to be the highest form of imagination. It also gave me a place where I could be treated like a normal person, instead of everyone either being angry at me, or ignoring me for reasons no-body was aloud to talk about. (I found out that it was because I was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. And a lot of psychologist said that talking about it around the child with autism could hurt their self esteem. So I spent most of my life thinking that I was abducted by aliens that put me in a Truman Show scenario where instead of everyone liking me, they held me in the purest contempt. Thanks 1990’s psychology you not only gave me a histrionic delusional psychosis that lasted till I was 16, but you also gave me hallucinations and real boy boobs with medications. And of course I’m the inspiration that led my mother and sister to get into the very field that screwed over the entirety of my childhood…. This doesn’t have to do with anything really. But it is a huge reason why I’ve focused my entire life on using my imagination rather than dealing with my family.) Having this outlet was a massive help to me growing up, but from all the stories, movies, TV shows I grew up watching always ended, and I had to find something else to occupy my time. All the while thinking to myself, what would make the greatest story? Then after watching curtain episodes of the X-Files, and the movies the Lawnmower Man, A.I., and hearing about how the greeks made their mythology by having a lot of people telling stories throughout the ages; I got the idea of having a website where everyone call tell their own stories to create the greatest mythology ever made then asking my mom and dad about it, and they both got really pissed off at me, which told me it was a great idea! Because if they just ignored me it would have been a stupid idea. So when I was 23 years old I decided to pursue a degree in computer science, unfortunately I was tricked into a graphic design degree instead. But I still looked into the possibilities of computer technology, along with other potential sciences that could be unified to create this super computer that would be needed to make this website. After looking into the commonalities of mushroom neurons to human neurons, seeing that mushrooms could be made into any 3D structure, that can be miles long, seeing how rat brain cells can not only be cultivated and grown on a computer chip, teaching itself to fly a plan. Looking into bacteria that eats electricity, along with the abilities of virus therapies, and genetic engineering. Plus having quantum computers that have electrons linked to one another to past on information intently faster than the speed of light, while also having quantum computers that can create negative matter alongside the same electrons that are linked as well thus creating computers that can create thought faster than the speed of light. I believe with a combination of all these ideas, it is very possible to create an organic computer that can contently grow by feeding on off of the linked quantum particles, intertwined with newly created matter to string new thoughts. Given the ability to absolute contemplations to any and all information. Adaptive in a contently changing since of self to a living thing that want to survive, improve, and understand who or what it is. Now picture this; if people can input their own stories into a true A.I. that will contemplate, understand, and add to the storyline at a content level beyond any limitations that people are limited to. Although we contently put our own intelligence on a pedestal that all others should strive for. The fact of the matter is that if we were to look at feral children being raised in the wild, there is little to no inherit human knowledge from our natural state of being. What we call our intelligence is actually a systematic pool of recorded and tested knowledge that has been taught to each of us from a young age using a mixture of language, writing, reading, mathematical systems, and scientific method and knowledge systems to bring the students up to a fungsional state of being in the workplace. This processes can be implemented in each person by our innate desire to socialize, which can be put into this computer system as well. So in short this can be the next stage of improving our coexisting learning education, or even help broaden our horizons of what could be understood. Thank you for listening.