A Casting Call for Skidmore Students
Contact: Dan Forbush, dan@smartacus.com
Just as charting the cartography of the earth’s surface was the domain of intrepid explorers in the 1500s, so is charting the cartography of the brain an adventure for modern day explorers.
We now know that consciousness is rooted in the reverberatory circuits that link the thalamus, the prefrontal cortex and reticular nucleus. These form the core of the vast network that supports our sense of being alive, miraculously integrating memory, language, and senses in an integrated sense of self.
By tightly regulating oscillations in the global neuronal workspace, Darwin’s Edge Founder and CEO Sarina Rao has come up with a device that will vastly augment our ability to prioritize and set goals, reason logically, align behavior with virtue, and solve problems.
ThinkPal is enabled by four CPUs that are crafted in the shape of rear molars to be easily inserted into the empty sockets where your wisdom teeth used to be and hardwired to your trigeminal nerve. The procedure is so simple that any oral surgeon can do it. And the jaw is a great place to stow hardware.
"We'll be our best selves," says Sarina.
thinkpal’s four central processors are sculpted in the shape of rear molars to fit easily into the empty sockets where your wisdome teeth used to be. (Photo by chatGPT)
Available Roles for Shooting in February 2024
photo by chatgpt
PHOTO BY CHATGPT
PHOTO BY CHATGPT
PHOTO BY CHAPTGPT
About Our Project
Darwin's Edge is a a multi-channel content marketing initiative that’s employing ChatGPT and other AI and collaborative tools to:
support Skidmore College's effort to encourage more women to go into science
support Skidmore’s Creative Thought Matters brand
support AI and Faith in engaging faith communities in the “AI conversation”
position Unitarian Universalism at the forefront of the "AI conversation"
generate a national conversation about the implications of the Brain/Computer Interface
generate contributions worthy causes
leave a work for our children and grand-children to remember us by
We’ve synced our story with the Soul Matters theme of Transformation, which we'll begin exploring on Thursday, February 29, 2024 at UU Saratoga and 250 other UU congregations. Thoughout March, we’ll host conversations in Zoom with experts with whom we can explore the prospects for augmenting humanity via the Brain/Computer Interface (BCI) and the implications of doing so. We’ll also pass along readings and links to helpful resources as our story unfolds through Election Day.
Before You Begin
See what experts are saying about the advance of AI and the BCI. Get a sense of the speed of their advance. Ask yourself what’s possible in ten years. That’s the timeframe within which Stanford futurist Bob Johansen makes his forecasts.
BOB JOHNSON, DISTINGUISHED FELLOW AT STANFORD’S INSTITUTE OF THE FUTURE
We're heading toward a more and more VUCA world, and we must augment ourselves to prepare for it, he says.
“VUCA” is a military term that stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous.
"If you're not augmented, you're going to be out of the game," he says.
"The big story over the next decade is not computers replacing people, although that will happen to some extent," he says. "The big story is people and computers doing things together that have never been done before."
Johansen is asking top military and business leaders: "How do you want to be augmented?"
In our churches, synagogs, temples and mosques, we should be doing the same, especially in March as we explore Transformation.
OUR SCRIPT
It’s Sunday, February 29, 2032
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Southern Adirondacks proudly opened its new meeting house just a year ago. They have five acres on Stone Ridge Road in Bakers Mills, near the Adirondack Labyrinth.
Michael Carmody is in the pulpit. Vice President for Human Flourishing at Darwin's Edge, he directs the all-important task of public communications, a senior position that encompasses product development, marketing, customer relations, and government relations.
CARMODY: "Imagine a world where your thoughts can directly translate into action, where the very essence of human cognition merges seamlessly with advanced technology. This isn't science fiction; this is the precipice upon which we currently stand. Thalamitic integration is more than an upgrade; it's a revolution—a chance for us to redefine the boundaries of human potential. [Pauses for effect] We're not just breaking barriers; we're making them obsolete.
"We stand at a unique point in history. The question isn't 'if' we evolve beyond our current selves; it's 'how' and 'into what.' Thalamitic integration represents the next monumental step in our evolutionary journey, a direct interface between the human brain and computational systems, offering unparalleled synergy between human intelligence and artificial prowess.
"As our guide through this complex neural landscape, I'm pleased to bring back to this pulpit someone whose grasp of it dwarfs my own—Sarina Rao."
[Sarina rises from her seat at the front of the room and strides confidently toward the pulpit as Michael sits.]
RAO: "Thank you, Michael. [Addressing the audience] The landscape of neurotechnology is not just rapidly evolving; it's exploding in realms we had reserved for imagination. As we've been discussing over the last several months, we're witnessing an acceleration in AI proliferation across global civilizations, a phenomenon both exhilarating and patently terrifying
"The world powers—Russia, China, North Korea, Iran—are not just investing in Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs); they're militarizing them, weaponizing human cognition. The geopolitics are shifting beneath our feet. The race to 'Sapiens 2' isn't merely some lofty scientific milestone we aim to achieve but a matter of national security.
[Her tone is earnest, impressing the urgency of the matter.]
"Thalamitic integration, or TI, is not about creating something outside of us; it's about augmenting what's within—cultivating our innate human capacities to interface with, direct, and partner with pathbreaking algorithmic engines in ways that preserve our humanity. TI isn't a path to obsolescence; it's a lifeline, pulling us towards a future where we are the masters of technology, not its subjects.
[The room is thick with contemplation.]
"We have the chance to lead by example, to show that the evolution towards 'Sapiens 2' can be grounded in Unitarian Universalism's core principles. The world is not waiting for us. We must act now."
[She sits. Rev. Pete rises from his seat and takes the pulpit.]
GILMAN: "So there you have it, friends. We've read all of the studies. We've looked at all of the evidence. We've discussed all of the issues and dilemmas that whole-brain integration with AI raises and, as best we can with our limited powers of prognosis, we've attempted to look into the future. The time has arrived to decide. We've heard Michael and Sarina eloquently make their case. On behalf of the congregation and myself, I thank you for extending to our congregation this remarkable invitation."
"I said at the outset that I would accept this invitation only if I had the support of the congregation. Theresa Luz Sanchez, as our board chair, please take it from here."
[Theresa is much loved by the congregation. She is among its hardest working and most stalwart members and as board chair has done a remarkable job.]
SANCHEZ: "We're impressed but really not surprised that this day has arrived. In this congregation, we started thinking and talking seriously about the BCI a decade ago.
"Elon Musk said it would take 25 years to develop a whole-brain interface with AI, but no. Such is the power of AI to self-learn, reverse engineer, and write in neural code, this day has arrived sooner than anyone expected.
"Now we as a congregation must decide whether we are prepared to have a Human/AI Hybrid serve us as our spiritual leader. Also, shall we grant Rev Pete's request to minister via Zoom for the foreseeable future? His Darwin's Edge assignment will take him to Mount McGregor for at least three months, and possibly longer. He plans to still lead Sunday services from there.
"Before we vote, I too want to thank Sarina and Michael again for bringing to us this historic opportunity. Whatever our decision, we appreciate very much the many years of hard work and dedication to the public good you have invested in making this milestone in humanity's evolution possible. I believe that you have achieved not just a technological advance, but a major stride toward a deeper understanding of the human mind and its limitless potential.
