The Global Brain Facilitates Human Biological Immortality - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Global Brain Facilitates Human Biological Immortality

Marios

Kyriazis

MD

British Longevity SocietySlide2

STRUCTURE

W

hat

: HBI via the GB (and what it represents)

H

ow

: via increased complexity (natural and artificial)

Why

: because of inexorable tendency from simpler to complex

When

: now and next 50 years

Who

: only those who engage, the rest is human planktonSlide3

EXTREME LIFESPANSSlide4

Terminology

* Academic

research

vs

practical lay

advice

-

for humans

GB:

distributed intelligence via interconnected humans plus

internet/digital. Nothing else.

(also, it

represents

achievement of high technological level,

for first time)Slide5

Human Biological Immortality

HBI: the rate of mortality as a function of age is zero

(

people will still die from other

causes)

Other terms:

the abolition of ageing, or of involuntary death due to

ageing

Extreme Lifespans

Indefinite LifespansSlide6

Relevant Terms

Environmental

Enrichment:

Externally-derived

stimulation of the human brain (not other species)

Hormesis

Low-dose activation, high-dose inhibitionSlide7

Futurology –Shock Levels

Eliezer

Yudkowsky

:

to explore how people see themselves in accepting the next 50 years, and whether they are shocked by suggestions of how the future may look like

.

FSL 0: degree of change flat, minor developments, (most people)

FSL 1: GB, living to 100, stem cells, hydrogen economy (conservative futurists)

FSL 2: interstellar travel,

alien

cultures (science fiction)

FSL 3: HBI, human-level AI, mind uploading (

transhumanists

, this discussion)

FSL 4: singularity, (

Matrioshka

) Jupiter Brains, Alpha point computing,

posthumanism

, Apotheosis (

Singularitarians

)

Yudkowsky

:

If there is a Shock Level 5, I’m not sure I want to know about it!Slide8

Hierarchical Decomposition

I will attempt to decompose the problem into more manageable modules, in order to study this issue in detailSlide9

IF:

we eliminate the reason for ageing

THEN:

there will be no reason that denies ’non-ageing’ Slide10

Ageing does not happen by default

There is

an underlying reason

When this reason is eliminated, there would be no reason why ageing needs to continue.

The rate of damage exceeds the rate of repair =ageing (dysfunction)

The rate of biological repair mechanisms tends to become progressively compromised with age, resulting in accumulation of damaged biological material that reduces useful function Slide11

The underlying cause of this is lack of energy resources

energy resources (in the

thermodynamical

sense): limited resources that are used primarily for the repair of the germ cell in preference to that of the soma

these

are being diverted, by Darwinian forces, from the somatic repair to the repair of the

germ-line

 Slide12

Darwinian natural

selection

must increase complexity via any

means

But:

human brain not developed enough

So:

has to allow selection via new

offspring

So:

DNA must survive at the expense of the

soma

BUT

if we increase energy available for somatic repair

THEN

soma will

live

(a topological

phase transition)Slide13

The equaliser

Any

intentional attempt which improves the input of potential energy into an organic system makes the equalisation of the rate of damage

vs

repair more likely, and thus ultimately must result in retardation of ageing

Ageing

equals loss of energy and thus loss of complexity. Non-ageing is virtually stable energy and thus higher

complexity.

In this case, the reason for ageing is essentially removed. If there is no reason why ageing must happen, then it will not happen.Slide14

Biology

‘Constructs

’

Physics ‘Destruct

’

Or

:

Energy

is a medium used by Biology in order to thwart Physics

Entropy

is a medium used by Physics in order to thwart BiologySlide15

Intentional Stance

Biology is likely to increase potential energy, biological sophistication and

redundancy

Physical

laws seek a state of lowest

potential energy

, minimal uncertainty and minimal entropy

Biology

and Physics are entangled in an eternal

confrontation

As

it is hitherto impossible to change the laws of

Physics,

one way to tip the balance in our favour is to

enhance BiologySlide16

Natural Selection

Evolution by natural selection is the main obstacle to defeating ageing and thus bars HBI

,

because it requires the survival of the germ-line and thus diverts resources from somatic repair.

If/when

evolution by natural selection begins to weaken, the restriction of energy resources upon the soma will be eased, the soma will have improved resources for its repairs and thus it will live longer. Slide17

Ageing and Loss of Complexity

Ageing

is characterised by loss of complexity of biological systems (increased entropy over time).

To

counteract this, we must input more energy into the system in the form of cognitive stimulation, i.e. informational

energy.Slide18

Cognitive Stimulation

R

andom

unintentional challenges and

stimulation.

This helps our brain function well. Against

this, entropy increases,

which eventually causes death because the degree of information input tends to zero with time, whereas entropy tends to

infinity

I propose to introduce another variable, the sum of

intentional

cognitive stimulation (i.e. intentional stimulation, special brain exercises, sense exercises, goal-oriented behaviour, seeking novelty and excellence etc.)

 Slide19

The Kyriazis Perpetual Equaliser……

Ai =

-

Ai

is the degree of activation

ak

is the sum of all individual

random

exposures to cognitive stimulation

(a1+a2+a3

+ …an)

is the total sum of all such sums of exposures where

k

ranges from 1 to

n

βk

is the sum of all individual

intentiona

l

exposures to cognitive stimulation (

β1+β2+β3+…βn)

is the total sum of exposures where

k

ranges from 1 to

n

is total entropy of the system

is a variable -

the degree of individual loss of intelligence as global intelligence increases

Ai

=0 is death(infinite entropy and zero cognition)

Ai

=

k , is ideal, healthy (non-ageing) statusAi k, is over-stimulation (unhealthy)Ai k, under-stimulation (unhealthy) 

 Slide20

The Need to Select

Intelligence

is

the

ability to make consistently correct selections from available choices. O

ne

has to be in a position that contains c

hallenges which need

resolving, and choices that need to be made.

Routine

, monotony and regularity do not account for increased need to select, whereas variability, irregularity and uncertainty maximise our need to select (and thus increase intelligence) and thus increase informational energy.Slide21

InformationSlide22

Shannon:

“entropy gain = information loss”

So:Slide23

What’s this?Slide24

Definition

The

noeme

is the intellectual

‘presence’

of someone within the GBSlide25

Noeme

An

active germ-line evolutionary replicator that can be copied and transmitted horizontally. Its vehicle is the human brain as part of the GB.

It is

copied from person to person/society, within the GB.

It

is copied by imitation and technologically assisted transfer (e.g. via the internet).Slide26

Noeme Sets

a

group of successful

noemes

(intellectual presences emanating from a group of human brains) can form a set (

noeme

set) that promotes the survival and success of all of the individual

noemes

within that set (e.g. ECCO intellect—not ECCO people).Slide27

Symbiotic Relationship

Genes and memes can enhance the presence of a

noeme

for example, by

producing a genetically robust brain that has strong intellect and, through memes, consolidating its impact within

societySlide28

Fitness Contribution

The

noeme

competes with alternative forms and continues to evolve and adapt, sometimes being stable, sometimes changing or modifying itself.

Noemes

that do not contribute to the fitness of the GB are eventually

eliminated.

Those

that

enhance

it, are

retained and

improved.Slide29

Opposition or …..

All three can evolve in

opposition

Noemes

that are not well integrated

may be eliminated

(and

this will eliminate

their human

host

through early

ageing

, thus death, thus the end of the gene/meme that defined

them)Slide30

…..Co-operation

Or, a

noeme

defined by beneficial memes/genes can integrate well in the GB and evolve, and transmit their genes/memes to othersSlide31

Qualities of an evolutionary replicator

1. Assimilation (the ability to infect a new host). This depends on the strength of the

noeme

.

2

.

Retention (

it must remain in the memory of the subject/GB)

3

. Expression (as a physical entity, e.g. cognitive information in the brain)

4

. Transmission (through a physical medium, in this case through digital means)Slide32

Why Noemes?

The behaviour of

noemes

can help us understand the behaviour and evolution of the GB.

I

t

makes it easier to define ourselves in a way that strengthens our intellectual presence in the world. By trying to enhance our cognition and intelligence we can become better integrated into the GB and so become a valuable part of it, forcing natural laws to operate in a way that prolongs our lifespan.Slide33

NatureSlide34

What

constitutes a good stimulation or challenge

A

Positive Challenge is a condition that requires action

(Francis

Heylighen

) because it represents an opportunity to be exploited.

These

can

be:

Planned/anticipated,

or

Unexpected/unintendedSlide35

A Praxeological Approach

Follow a

program of planned positive challenges

.

The brain is

forced to SELECT the best option

An appropriate

selection itself creates information (Shannon’s reduction of uncertainty). Meaningful Information (knowledge, experience, wisdom, excellence), via expressive activation of appropriate brain mechanisms

activates

(increases the energy available to, or the potential energy of) biological patterns and agents that then improve repair and maintenance, thus non-ageing.Slide36

Entropy

The generation of entropy over an average lifespan (around 80 years) was found to be in the region of 11,404kJ/K (Degrees

kelvin).

No entropy generation equals death.

It is possible to estimate the specific entropy generation rate

over time and calculate the lifespan entropy generation per unit mass (

is in kW/kg-K).

(t) =

(t)

dt

Any reduction in the entropy production would therefore result/be associated with an increased lifespan (longer

dt

). Also, any increase of meaningful energy into the system would have the same

result

 Slide37

Network D

iameter

and

Spreading

A

ctivation

using humans (nodes

) instead

of neurons (nodes)

the network diameter is the shortest distance between

two

nodes

a network of N nodes (such as brain/neuron OR GB/human) each with a number of links k, the network diameter ND is log(N)/log (k). So the ND will grow as the size of the networks increases, unless the number of

links

per node also increases (so we must increase our number of links to keep ND low – it has to be low so that to ensure any positive feedback can be applied while the stimulus is still present, otherwise there will be no learning – with good learning, functionality increases so it is

useful

to the GB).Slide38

Network Diameter and Spreading Activation

In a network

of N nodes (such as brain/neuron OR GB/human) each with a number of links k, the network diameter ND is

log(N

)/log (k

)

So

the ND will grow as the size of the

network

increases, unless the number of links per node also increases

(we

must increase our number of links to keep ND low –

so

that to ensure any positive feedback can be applied while the stimulus is still present, otherwise there will be no

learning, leading to poor functionality of

the

GBSlide39

Network Diameter and Spreading Activation

The distribution of links per node in nature follows a power law where the probability that a node has k links is proportional

to

(g

is a positive number

). It appears that

the new nodes ‘prefer’ to form links with other nodes that already have more

links

 Slide40

Network Diameter and Spreading Activation

Some

circumstances where power law is not obeyed is when there is limited time for forming the links (such as in certain human interactions). So increasing the lifespan of the node, increases its ability to form links and power law is obeyed (it is more ‘natural’)Slide41

Spreading activation

These

links and nodes need to be activated and pass the activation to other nodes. The strength of the link (via synapses and/or via digital connection) will

determine the activation potential.

This is represented by

A(t+1

)=M x A(t)

where

A(t

) is the activation of a node at time t

M is the matrix denoting the weight of the links from one node to another

A(t+1) is the activation of the node at the next time step.

The

higher the nodal activation, the more relevant the role of that node will be within the (brain/GB)Slide42

The Global BrainSlide43

Biological amplification

What

happens during stimulation (arrival of new information

)?

Photonic recycling in cell surface interactions after dissipation of energetic states

L

igand-receptor

associations

alter

the conformation of the extracellular portion of intramembranous proteins and this change is transmitted to the cytoplasm by the

transmembranous

helical

segments

via non-linear

vibrations of proteins and generation of

soliton

wavesSlide44

Biological Amplification

Photon-photon interactions induce molecular vibrations responsible for

bioamplification

of weak signals described

by:

= BvLq

m

is the mass of the

molecule

c

is the velocity of the electromagnetic

field

B

is the magnetic flux

density

v

is the velocity of the carrier in which the particle

exists

L

is its dimension, and q is a unit charge.

 Slide45

Biological Amplification

After

activation of the cell with the new information, the cell must

respond.

Example:

in

the primary visual cortex, V1 neurons can be activated to fire action potentials. The neuron assesses spatial frequency, orientation, motion, direction and

speed. Slide46

The responses of V1 neurons consist of tiled sets of selective spatiotemporal filters. In the spatial domain, the functioning of V1

is

similar to many

local, complex Fourier transforms

 Slide47

Fighting Father TimeSlide48

How to choose an ideal degree of challenge

Csikszentmihalyi's

concept of ‘flow’.

How

a challenge that matches one’s skills and abilities causes well-being. If the challenge is over one’s ability then it causes anxiety. If it is below, it causes

boredom.

Blascovich's

‘challenge versus threat

’. A challenge is a situation that matches

our

resources to deal with it. A threat is when

our

resources are below what is

necessary.

If

a mental challenge causes excessive stress or anxiety,

it is

unlikely to be beneficial in ageing. If it is of such a low intensity that causes boredom, then it will not be beneficial either.Slide49

Erwan Le Corre

“The

variation between a low and a high level challenge is likely to mobilize biological resources and activate defence mechanisms that can ultimately increase biological redundancy and improved damage repair rates. This implies that there must be a continuous variation of challenging stimuli, without ever reaching a stage of exhaustion” (in this case, mental exhaustion).

 Slide50

Environmental Enrichment

Enrichment

aided by technological inputs such as digital

assistants

in a context of societal and cultural progression. This is a novel approach to the issue of longevity, as it does not merely refer to achieving a healthy lifespan but also to actually force the existing model of human evolution to transit to a more sophisticated

level.

The

continual informational cognitive input may have a positive effect on epigenetic DNA changes which could then act in a way to up-regulate certain anti-ageing genes. This may be augmented by environmental

enrichment,

and increased use of technology, such as digital assistants, nanotechnology and synthetic biology.Slide51

Environmental Enrichment

It causes

epigenetic changes via DNA

methyltransferases

or histone

acetylases

, that

could be either beneficial or

detrimental

.

It has also been reported that maternal environment affects embryonic DNA

The effect has

been shown in many other recent

studiesSlide52

Environmental Enrichment

External

brain stimulation has measurable effects on numerical

ability

EE

up-regulates

BDNF, immune factors,

anti-inflammatory

reactions, and antioxidant mechanisms

Influences vision

, the retina, tissue repair

,

and other physical parameters, thus having a holistic effect on the organism.

 Slide53

Also

Prevents apoptosis

Increases growth factor expression

Reduces pro-oxidation

Up-regulates SOD1 and SOD2

Reduces pro-apoptotic

caspases

Increases testosterone in malesSlide54

Stochastic Resonance

A

mechanism by which a system embedded in a noisy environment acquires an enhanced sensitivity towards small external time-dependent

forcings

, when the noise intensity reaches some finite

level.

Noise may

play a constructive role in large classes of both natural and artificially designed systems.Slide55

Stochastic Resonance

Input

of noise (a

hormetic

event) influences dopamine-related internal noise and enhances the attention span of inattentive children. This suggests that suitably applied external stimulation can modify cognition/behaviour, thus giving credence to the suggestion that

hormetic

stimuli can

have positive effects, via biochemically modulated brain mechanisms (in this case,

dopamine)Slide56

is (the internal dynamic potential) that has

and

- minima and

as an intermediate unstable state

is the process variable

is the stochastic force that accounts for the background random noise

is the amplitude of the periodic force t

hat can influence

the

system

is

the frequency of this force

ø is

the phase of this force

By manipulating the

parameters

(by applying weak periodic interventions*), it may be possible to influence the effect that stochastic background events have on the system, and force the system to lower its response threshold.

* These interventions could be

hormetic

inputs, genetic manipulation via transposons, or technologically-enhanced, culturally-dependent neurological enrichment.

 Slide57

Conclusion

HBI

is an intrinsic consequence of self-organisation in nature.

Here I discuss ways to accelerate this, using the GB as a facilitator

A suggestion that has relevance to the general public is the notion that

hormesis

, and specifically cognitive

hormesis

may be a possible tool for accelerating the gradual transition to indefinite lifespans.

P

ractical

advice:

increase uncertainty in your life

move away from your equilibrium

avoid the point of least potential energy (

i.e

increase potential energy)

 Slide58

More information(any form of criticism accepted)

Marios

Kyriazis

www.elpistheory.info

e

mail: drmarios@live.it