Systematic Political Science

 
 

The Consanguinity of Animats/Golems and the Summary of the Euangelion Decision Tree on Cybernetics and the Potential of a Posthuman Era 

by
Dallas F. Bell, Jr. 

(At this point in this series of papers, the reader has been provided sufficient data to contextualize presented personalities and ideas without extensive explanation by the author.) 

1. Animats/Golems

The brain is considered to be the most advanced computational system available for empirical analysis.  An animat is an interaction of animal and non animal materials to create an artificial animal that interacts with its environment.  Steve M. Potter and others recently created an animat controlled by brain cells or neurons.  Some 300,000 cortical rat neurons were dissociated with enzymes and cultured inside a container of nutrients and antibiotics.  Those neurons continued to make connections to each other and today could have lived as long as two years.  A computer detected the neural communications by their voltage output.  The goal was to harness that output to self direct other objects. 

Potter's group accomplished the making of an animat by placing the neurons on a silicon chip of 60 to 80 electrodes.  Around five days later, the patterns of neuron transmitted signals were detected.  The increasingly dense mesh of axons and dendrites produced action potentials (pulses of voltage).  Many of the neurons fired together in bursts.  It was not clear whether that bursting was a seizure, an expression of some type of memory, or a need for sensory input.  The Potter team sent pulses of electricity across the contacts of the multi-electrode array to stimulate sensory activity, which resulted in slowing down the bursting activity.  This seemed to train the neurons to react to sensory input at the correct time. 

The trained neurons were contained in a temperature sensitive box and sent signals to each other.  Those signals were picked up by the electrodes which amplified the signal that was relayed to the computer.  The computer wirelessly sent the data to the robot.  The robot, equipped with input from light sensors, manifested with physical motion the neuronal activity of the neuron to neuron communication.  The robot then sent signals back to the neurons.  Potter said that a random process, like neurons, can make decisions and that his neuron cultures were and are designed to control the embodiment and not the program which addresses the philosophical argument concerning free will.  (The preceding statement by Steve Potter was taken from an excerpt of an email exchange with Dallas F. Bell Jr. during September, 2008) 

If something can make a decision it must have freewill or else it is merely a switch, such as a light switch, which is controlled by being turned on or off by ultimately something that has freewill. Freewill is to have awareness of choice.  Awareness then evokes the reality of consciousness.  Robert (Yisrael) Aumann, the 2005 Nobel Prize winner for economics, wrote that consciousness is not defined as to be able to just sense because machines record sounds, detect odors etc. but they do not experience.  Instead, consciousness means to experience the input of hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling and tasting.   

Experience is manifested by desire, pleasure, laughter and sadness or fear.  Consciousness does not only see but can choose to covet or not.  It does not only touch but can choose to lustfully desire or not.  It does not merely process or sort data but it can choose to laugh, be sad, or fearful etc.  (The author would like to thank Robert Aumann's office for kindly emailing a copy of Aumann's paper titled "Consciousness" in September, 2008.

In addition to animats, scientific experiments will produce advanced life or golems (Hebrew meaning a shapeless mass; an artificial human or automaton.)  Then questions arise as to their having consciousness to experience pain and anguish or not and will humans dominate them or will they dominate humans. 

2. Cybernetics

Plato used the word cybernetics to signify the governance of the people (self-government) in "The Laws."  The term cybernetics stems from the Greek word for governor or pilot etc.  In the second edition (1965) book titled "Cybernetics," Norbert Wiener defined cybernetics as the study of control and communication in animals and machines. 

Obviously, cybernetics is an interdisciplinary study of fields such as engineering (bio, electrical and mechanical), logic and game theory, neuroscience, anthropology, psychology (neuro, behavioral and cognitive), and systematic political science.  With the approaching realities of animats and golems, cybernetics should be concerned with who will be in control--the humans or their creations.  Then is a posthuman era likely? 

3. Posthuman Era

The term transhuman is often meant to be humanly enhanced.  Science and technology is being used to enhance the natural physical and mental abilities of humans and to overcome disabilities.  For example, the field of biomedical engineering has seen the development of pharmaceutical drugs (including the possible future aid from the family of nonlinear electrokinetic related devices) and prostheses.  Neuroprosthetics is a discipline that has created artificial devices to replace or improve the function of the nervous system.  The cochlear implant is a widely known auditory prosthetic.  Other sensory prosthetics include sensory/motor for touch, visual, pain relief and cognitive for memory. 

It would not be accurate to label this biotech age as posthuman since all humans have the same relative potential to be enhanced by technology.  A dependent and proximate spatial relationship between man an technology does not replace the human self-identity as other than human, whether that technology is a pacemaker implant for the heart or the wearing of roller skates on the feet. 

Animats and technology (non bio material) need a conscious programmer to operate and thus could not reasonably dominate their human creators.  A golem might have consciousness to dominate by having its own decision-making ability.  This golem must have DNA unique to its self and be able to sustain its self by reproducing.  Like humans, finite golems would still need to choose God or a lesser god to base their epistemology regarding compliance or noncompliance with Natural Law (NL) from sensory input.  The presumed higher than human intellect and physical ability needed for the domination of humans would require more interaction with NL in pursuing more complex needs than humans.  Societal organization for efficiency into the same institutions of family, church, business and government would be an eschatological necessity based on the chosen theology. 

The biblical book of Revelation gives an account of end-time activity for T1 believers.

(Rev. 9:3-12)--Beings described as locusts with the power of scorpions in their tails cause pain for five months except for those without the mark of the beast.  Those locusts are shaped like horses with crowns of gold.  They have faces of men, hair of women, breastplates of iron, and teeth of lions.  Loud noise comes from their wings.  Their evil king is called Abaddon (Hebrew term for destruction).  (Rev. 9:13-21)--Two hundred million horses with lion's heads cross the Euphrates River.  Fire, smoke, and brimstone comes from their mouths that can cause hurt.  They have breastplates of fire, jacinth and brimstone, and tails like serpents that cause hurt.  Those that are not killed do not repent of their (violations of Natural Law of Freewill, NLF) murders, sorceries, fornication nor thefts.  Even the frogs in Aesop's (c. 6th century BC) Fables of "The Frogs Desiring a King" repented, although too late.  The free frogs had wished for a king and a stork became their king and ate them.  The Bible also tells of how the Israelis also desired a king (I Sam. 8:5-22; Judg. 9:8-16).  As stated in Wolfgang Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte's 1787 opera Don Giovanni, "So ends he who evil did.  The death of a sinner always reflects his life." 

The biblical account of the beings in the end-time for believers can either be seen as (one) a symbolic description of the future, (two) a symbolic description of things already occurred, or (three) as a non symbolic description of events to come.  Options one and two would not seem to be very revealing or prophetic. The third option of what has been revealed to actually take place in the last days is the most rational for T1 Bible believers.  If this is a literal description of beings and their abilities, they are unique and vastly dominate human abilities.  This could truly be interpreted as a posthuman era. 

Several things can be reasoned for neuron cultures to golems.  They can be potentially demonically controlled and if there are multiple entities with self-identity (consciousness) there will be the potential for multiple souls.  Depending on the theological view of either T1, T2 or T3, eschatological beliefs will be different.  Sir Martin Rees, Master of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, indicates that the posthuman era will occur but that it is unclear whether organic life or computers and robots will be the dominate force.  (The previous statement was excerpted from an email exchange between Lord Rees and Dallas F. Bell Jr. in September, 2008.) 

4. Summary of the Euangelion Decision Tree

All finite humans must have an eschatological view of the future to combine with a theological view of the past which dictates compliance or noncompliance with NLF such as not to murder, steal, etc.  That epistemology shapes how the common individual needs are pursued regarding the monads of love, justice etc. People with T1 beliefs derive their epistemology from the Bible.  The Bible contains the gospel or good news or euangelion (Greek from eu for good and angelion for message).  Euangelion practitioners called evangelicals (Matt. 24:14; Rom. 1:1) believe the good news or gospel consists of the following. (I Cor. 15:3-4)

--Jesus is the incarnate Son of God.

--Jesus' death on the cross atoned for man's sins.

--Jesus' victorious resurrection satisfied justification.

--Jesus' return for His people as He promised. 

Theological beliefs lead to their being practiced in religions (from the Latin religio which has been connected by some scholars to religare meaning to bind.)  Societies are composed of people with specific religions that bind them to form either First World (1W) from T1, Second World (2W) from T2, or Third World (3W) from T3 governing systems. 

A 1W system is created from the efficiency of evangelicals due to a common decision tree which can be referenced from the biblical book of Romans.  A summary euangelion decision tree is as follows.

--

Believe in the God of the first cause of all effects  --or--  

(Rom.1:19-20)

So

not so 3W
(Atheism)

--

God's attributes  are infinite etc.  --or-- 

(Rom 11:33-36)

So

not so 3W

(Satanism, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism, Confucianism, evolutionism)

--Beliefs confirmed by God's revelation --or-- 

(Rom. 16:26)

So

not so 3W

(Zoroastrianism, Islam, Baha'i)

--

Bible believed as revelation  -- or -- 

(Rom. 5:12-21)

So

not so 2W

(Judaism and Christian cults)

--

Jesus atoning salvation --or-- 

(Rom. 1:6)

not so 2W

(Judaism, Christian cults) 

The beliefs of evangelicals emphasize the dominance of the soul's control over their biochemical body.  Fasting (willingly foregoing a need such as food for a period of time) allows the body to get weak so that the soul can establish control to be more obedient to God's will. 

5. Conclusion

Animats and even golems are to become realities.  The cybernetic dominance of man's creations over man may lead to a posthuman era of existence.  That era has the potential to soon occur.  The presented summary of the euangelion decision tree establishes the choices of all finite beings concerning God and His NLF.  To reject them is tantamount to self destruction now and eternally. 
 

---------------ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2008 DALLAS F. BELL, JR.----------------