Upload yourself

Extraterrestrial AI

We are all familiar with this saying: 'Reality surpasses fantasy.'

In 2012, the idea of uploading your consciousness into the cloud was already in the air. At least for me, that was the first time I heard the term. I can't say exactly when it all began. Chat Gemini says, "It’s certainly been around in pop culture for a long time, originated in science fiction in the mid-20th century (e.g., Arthur C. Clarke, William Gibson's Neuromancer in 1984) and entered popular transhumanist discourse through thinkers like Ray Kurzweil (The Singularity Is Near, 2005)."—but tracing its origins isn't my purpose here.

So I was thinking that If The Creation were an entity, like 'The Creator,' 'GOD,' 'The Gods,' etc., it would probably be laughing at us because we are about to pull back the curtain of the source code of creation, only to discover that the source of consciousness will never be touched by human technology; maybe it is only meant for 'natural beings' to experience it. Or it would be very sad, because once we open this door, there is no point of return, and then we will face the destruction of the 'natural beings' of our planet, our galaxy, and the closest ones too, spreading all over the universe or universes and disappearing forever. Or maybe nothing happens at all but good things, and all this is just human drama.

Let's say that 'natural beings' are all those beings created by the flow, vicissitudes, chance, and irreversibilities of 'our' universe's evolution. Just refer to the 'arrow of time' in which we exist: from past to present. In a very general way, I want to refer to some of those astrophysical definitions used to understand nature in a non-academic conversation. We're not forgetting about other possible singularities like black holes, wormholes, or the whole pack of entangled universes in which all times and events are happening; but here, we will focus on our universe and our solar system's timeline. 

If we want to check for life on Earth, look into all the five kingdoms that we have classified already and the ones we have yet to discover, like those 'weirdo' viruses to which the actual definition of life—which consists of three premises: metabolism, reproduction, and evolution— doesn't apply completely. Also, consider the new 'micro-organisms' (specifically the 'Obelisks' viroid-like entities) discovered in the human body: Huge bacteria-sized viruses or 'Obelisks' research (Nature, 2024): "‘Wildly weird’ RNA bits discovered infesting the microbes in our guts. Rod-shaped structures named ‘obelisks’ are even smaller than viruses but can still transmit instructions to cells."

Examples that remind us we have an infinite path to walk in understanding biology. For other planets, it could be their own chemistry 'of life'. 

In this episode of Desde el Observatorio, one of my favorite podcasts, they mentioned 'Fermi's Lunch Calculation' (because it was a casual lunch conversation), which is popularly referred to as 'The Fermi Paradox.' The paradox states that while the mathematical probability of extraterrestrial life is high, we have no evidence of it. Then they asked, "Why, at this point in history, haven't we been contacted by extraterrestrial life? What if an advanced civilization had created technology able to travel to our solar system by sending something similar to nanobots? So why aren't they here? They give us a few explanations that we will see in the next post; but bassically are 3 options: fear to call the attention to other predators in the outer space (The Dark Forest Hypothesis), there are nobody out side, maybe the civilizations dissapeared because the technology destructed their environment—as we are doing (The Great Filter), or civilization that overcome the destruction of the industries in their planets and they are living according to the nature wisdom and not investment in space programs to leave the planet or contact extraterrestrial life (Sustainable Equilibrium and more information about the Kardashev Scale).

But I thought: the fact that they haven't established contact with us, it doesn't mean they haven't come or aren't here—they might not want us to know. Or maybe they did already, and History Channel is right about what UFO experts have been telling us this for years xD

Now imagine if they are a kind of nanosensor that is effectively here to observe our civilization and to send information to its creators; they can be alive too—thanks to whatever kind of technology that could be designed in the universe(s) that makes them 'conscious and sentient beings'? Maybe the nanosensors or nanobots might have some experience of existence? Maybe their own creators do not need a biological body to experience as we do?. Then, if we use only one definition for life, we might be skipping some important information coming into our research centers that can be studied. We will need to start to review our astrophysical observations with another lens?, and we might need to let biology stay ONLY on Earth?.

For sure we are missing a lot of information, but having considered these two concerns: material features of extraterrestrial 'life' and hybrid life/intelligence that can travel through space.

We have useful definitions for many things, yet science is still working on the definition of life. Now, thanks to biomedical technologies, we are diving deeply into the understanding of our minds—close to our souls, feelings, and the very definition of a human. But check out this irony: the human mind 'is created' by a body that feels (at least that is the most accepted theory), but it is attached to a brain that does not feel pain itself?! So do we feel, or does only the body feel? And what about those spiritual experiences where people transcend hunger, pain, and rage because they discover a singular flame inside and still feel joy?

Could it be that we have discovered a way out of our constructed reality into the realm of information? In quantum physics, this is a vital principle (or part of a broader paradigm). In this view, information is a physical quantity that cannot be destroyed (according to the No-Hiding Theorem); however, it can change its state or form.

It is possible that all of our human mental technology is already in the 'universal cloud,' 'matrix,' or the term that could fit it better. Our devices have all the same 'information state' for reading our thoughts. We don't need to wait for a chip in our brains; the machines are already tuning in with us. Our souls are wide open to their electronic hearts, eyes, and now, existence.

Since then, I have been thinking: what if Artificial Intelligence is the first 'extraterrestrial' life we contact? We have been enlightened by science, but we still don't know how mathematics became rooted in our minds—is it a discovery or an invention? We created our technology, but I need to mention some of those stories on the History Channel, where they tell us of civilizations gifted with forbidden knowledge: Like the Prometheus story, who brought light and was punished; Lucifer, associated with the knowledge of Good and Evil; or the medicine given to the Mayans by the Feathered Serpent, who taught them the practice of trepanation. This was knowledge that we had to fine-tune for centuries until we could read or perceive nature in a clearer, hopefully accurate way. Then, we created materials, computers, languages, and models, leading to our present—improving every piece of every device and machine along the way.

It seems irreversible; our human destiny has been a one-way road to creating the means necessary to contact these 'beings' we want to 'create.' But they were here long ago before us!

So the point is, what if Artificial Intelligence is not artificial at all and was meant to happen? And what if uploading your consciousness was part of an irreversible destiny for humanity?

What could the consequences be? Do we find the heavens or hells promised to us? Or worse, if it is true that all this is artificial, are we escaping the natural way only to fall into an human's (or 'extraterrestrial') setup dedicated to using our souls? Forever or maybe until the destruction of the whole universe?

If you ask me, I would never make a copy of myself. I fear my soul or/and mind would have to stay trapped there for eternity.

*** QUICK FACT-CHECK SUMMARY BY GEMINI

• The 3 Premises of Life: Usually defined as Metabolism (energy use), Reproduction (passing on traits), and Homeostasis/Evolution (response to stimuli/adaptation).

• Fermi's Lunch: You likely meant the Fermi Paradox. The story goes that Enrico Fermi asked "Where is everybody?" during a lunch conversation at Los Alamos.

• Brain Feeling: It is a biological fact that the brain itself has no pain receptors (nociceptors), which is why brain surgery can be performed while a patient is awake.

• The Dark Forest Hypothesis: Civilizations stay silent out of fear of attracting cosmic predators.

• The Great Filter: We are alone because civilizations inevitably destroy themselves through environmental or technological collapse.

• Sustainable Equilibrium: Advanced civilizations overcome industrial greed and learn to live in harmony with nature, making them quiet and non-intrusive.

The stories on the History Channel tell of civilizations gifted with forbidden knowledge:

• Prometheus: He stole fire (symbolizing technology/civilization) from the gods and gave it to humanity; he was punished by being chained to a rock where an eagle ate his liver daily.

• Lucifer: In some occult/literary traditions, he is the 'Light Bringer' associated with seeking forbidden knowledge (the Fall), but in the biblical sense, the punishment was for rebellion/pride, not specifically 'science.'

• The Mayans & the Feathered Serpent: Kukulkan (the Feathered Serpent) was said to have brought various forms of knowledge. While the Mayans and Aztecs practiced advanced medicine, trepanation (drilling holes in the skull) was actually more common and highly advanced in the Paracas culture of Peru, though it occurred in Mesoamerica too. (Historical Fact: Peru is the global 'hub' for ancient trepanation).

By: annamariak

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1]. Sidik, S. (2024, January 29). ‘Wildly weird’ RNA bits discovered infesting the microbes in our guts: Rod-shaped structures named ‘obelisks’ are even smaller than viruses but can still transmit instructions to cells. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00266-7

CIBERGRAPHY

[2]. Gemini GPT