 Is humanity a passing phase in evolution of intelligence and civilisation? “The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication…” Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy (1979) “I think it’s quite conceivable that humanity is just a passing phase in the evolution of intelligence.” Geoffrey Hinton (2023) In light of the recent spectacular developments in artificial intelligence (AI), questions are now being asked about whether AI could present a danger to humanity. Can AI take over from us? Is humanity a passing phase in the evolution of intelligence and civilisation? Let’s look at these questions from the long-term evolutionary perspective. Life has existed on Earth for more than three billion years, humanity for less than 0.01% of this time, and civilisation for even less. A billion years from now, our Sun will start expanding and the Earth will soon become too hot for life. Thus, evolutionarily, life on our planet is already reaching old age, while human civilisation has just been born. Can AI help our civilisation to outlast the habitable Solar system and, possibly, life itself, as we know it presently? Defining life is not easy, but few will disagree that an essential feature of life is its ability to process information. Every animal brain does this, every living cell does this, and even more fundamentally, evolution is continuously processing information residing in the entire collection of genomes on Earth, via the genetic algorithm of Darwin’s survival of the fittest. There is no life without information. It can be argued that until very recently on the evolutionary timescale, i.e. until human language evolved, most information that existed on Earth and was durable enough to last for more than a generation, was recorded in DNA or in some other polymer molecules. The emergence of human language changed this; with language, information started accumulating in other media, such as clay tablets, paper, or computer memory chips. Most likely, information is now growing faster in the world’s libraries and computer clouds than in the DNA of all genomes of all species. We can refer to this “new” information as cultural information as opposed to the genetic information of DNA. Cultural information is the basis of a civilisation; genetic information is the basis of life underpinning it. Thus, if genetic information got too damaged, life, cultural information, and civilisation itself would disappear soon. But could this change in the future? There is no civilisation without cultural information, but can there be a civilisation without genetic information? Can our civilisation outlast the Solar system in the form of AI? Or will genetic information always be needed to underpin any civilisation? For now, AI exists only as information in computer hardware, built and maintained by humans. For AI to exist autonomously, it would need to “break out” of the “information world” of bits and bytes into the physical world of atoms and molecules. AI would need robots maintaining and repairing the hardware on which it is run, recycling the materials from which this hardware is built, and mining for replacement ones. Moreover, this artificial robot/computer “ecosystem” would not only have to maintain itself, but as the environment changes, would also have to change and adapt. Life, as we know it, has been evolving for billions of years. It has evolved to process information and materials by zillions of nano-scale molecular “machines” all working in parallel, competing as well as backing each other up, maintaining themselves and the ecosystem supporting them. The total complexity of this machinery, also called the biosphere, is mindboggling. In DNA, one bit of information takes less than 50 atoms. Given the atomic nature of physical matter, every part in life’s machinery is as miniature as possible in principle. Can AI achieve such a complexity, robustness, and adaptability by alternative means and without DNA? Although this is hard to imagine, cultural evolution has produced tools not known to biological evolution. We can now record information as electron density distribution in a silicon crystal at 3 nm scale. Information can be processed much faster in a computer chip than in a living cell. Human brains contain about 1011 neurons each, which probably is close to the limit how many neurons a single biological brain can contain. Though this is more than computer hardware currently offers to AI, for future AI systems, this is not a limit. Moreover, humans have to communicate information among each other via the bottleneck of language; computers do not have such a limitation. Where does this all leave us? Will the first two phases in the evolution of life—information mostly confined to DNA, and then information “breaking out” of the DNA harness but still underpinned by information in DNA, be followed by the third phase? Will information and its processing outside living organisms become robust enough to survive and thrive without the underpinning DNA? Will our civilisation be able to outlast the Solar system, and if so, will this happen with or without DNA? To get to that point, our civilisation first needs to survive its infancy. For now, AI cannot exist without humans. For now, AI can only take over from us if we help it to do so. And indeed, among all the envisioned threats of AI, the most realistic one seems to be deception and spread of misinformation. In other words, corrupting information. Stopping this trend is our biggest near-term challenge. Feature image by Daniel Falcão via Unsplash. OUPblog - Academic insights for the thinking world. 
 Five books to celebrate British Science Week 2023 British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and math’s, taking place between 10-19 March 2023. To celebrate, join in the conversation, and keep abreast of the latest in science, delve into our reading list. It contains five of our latest books on plant forensics, the magic of mathematics, women in science, and more. 1. Planting Clues: How Plants Solve CrimesDiscover the extraordinary role of plants in modern forensics, from their use as evidence in the trials of high-profile murderers such as Ted Bundy to high value botanical trafficking and poaching. In Planting Clues, David Gibson explores how plants can help to solve crimes, as well as how plant crimes are themselves solved. He discusses the botanical evidence that proved important in bringing a number of high-profile murderers such as Ian Huntley (the 2002 Soham Murders), and Bruno Hauptman (the 1932 Baby Lindbergh kidnapping) to trial, from leaf fragments and wood anatomy to pollen and spores. Throughout he traces the evolution of forensic botany, and shares the fascinating stories that advanced its progress. Buy Planting Clues, How Plants Solve Crimes Take a look at Gibson’s blog on Environmental DNA, as well as John Parrington’s (author of ‘Mind Shift’) blog on what neuroscience can tell us about the mind of a serial killer. 2. The Spirit of Mathematics: Algebra and all that What makes mathematics so special? Whether you have anxious memories of the subject from school, or solve quadratic equations for fun, David Acheson’s book will make you look at mathematics afresh. Following on from his previous bestsellers, The Calculus Story and The Wonder Book of Geometry, here Acheson highlights the power of algebra, combining it with arithmetic and geometry to capture the spirit of mathematics. This short book encompasses an astonishing array of ideas and concepts, from number tricks and magic squares to infinite series and imaginary numbers. Acheson’s enthusiasm is infectious, and, as ever, a sense of quirkiness and fun pervades the book. Buy The Spirit of Mathematics, Algebra and all that To learn more, discover our Very Short Introductions series, including editions about Geometry, Algebra, Symmetry, and Numbers. 3. Not Just for the Boys: Why We Need More Women in ScienceWhy are girls discouraged from doing science? Why do so many promising women leave science in early and mid-career? Why do women not prosper in the scientific workforce? Not Just For the Boys looks back at how society has historically excluded women from the scientific sphere and discourse, what progress has been made, and how more is still needed. Athene Donald, herself a distinguished physicist, explores societal expectations during both childhood and working life using evidence of the systemic disadvantages women operate under, from the developing science of how our brains are—and more importantly aren’t—gendered, to social science evidence around attitudes towards girls and women doing science. Buy Not Just for the Boys, Why We Need More Women in Science Make sure not to miss Athene Donald’s limited 4-part podcast series featuring Donald in conversation with fellow female scientists and allies about the issues women face in the scientific world. 4. Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on ScienceUsing a wide range of entertaining examples, this fascinating book examines the impacts of society’s growing distrust of science, and ultimately provides constructive suggestions for restoring the credibility of the scientific community. This thought-provoking book argues that, ironically, science’s credibility is being undermined by tools created by scientists themselves. Scientific disinformation and damaging conspiracy theories are rife because of the internet that science created, the scientific demand for empirical evidence and statistical significance leads to data torturing and confirmation bias, and data mining is fueled by the technological advances in Big Data and the development of ever-increasingly powerful computers. Buy Distrust, Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science Check out Gary Smith’s previous titles, including: The Phantom Pattern Problem, The 9 Pitfalls of Data Science, and The AI Delusion. 5. Sentience: The Invention of ConsciousnessWhat is consciousness and why has it evolved? Conscious sensations are essential to our idea of ourselves but is it only humans who feel this way? Do animals? Will future machines? To answer these questions we need a scientific understanding of consciousness: what it is and why it has evolved. Nicholas Humphrey has been researching these issues for fifty years. In this extraordinary book, weaving together intellectual adventure, cutting-edge science, and his own breakthrough experiences, he tells the story of his quest to uncover the evolutionary history of consciousness: from his discovery of blindsight after brain damage in monkeys, to hanging out with mountain gorillas in Rwanda, to becoming a leading philosopher of mind. Out of this, he has come up with an explanation of conscious feeling—”phenomenal consciousness”—that he presents here in full for the first time. Buy Sentience, The Invention of Consciousness (UK Only)
As an added bonus, you can also read more on the topics of evolutionary biology, the magic of mathematics, and artificial intelligence with the Oxford Landmark Science series. Including “must-read” modern science and big ideas that have shaped the way we think, here are a selection of titles from the series to get your started. You can also explore more titles via our extended reading list via Bookshop UK. OUPblog - Academic insights for the thinking world. 
 Celebrating women in STEM [timeline] March is Women’s History Month, an annual occurrence dedicated to commemorating and highlighting the contributions that women have made throughout history. Many of these contributions have gone unsung or undervalued, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and medicine, where women have historically been underrepresented. Celebrating and recognizing the work of women in these field remains a priority for Oxford University Press, and this month and every month we are proud to support diverse voices across our publishing. We seek to create an inclusive space to highlight the work of women in STEM, and celebrate the contributions of trans and cis women, and women of all races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. The timeline—first published in 2018, now updated in 2022—provides a curated selection of achievements, discoveries, and innovations made by women in STEM, from the foundation of modern nursing to critical contributions in the effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. This is just a small picture of the countless women making an impact in STEM. For more on this subject we also offer two collections featuring the work of women in STEM: women in medicine and women in science. Featured image by Dmytro Zinkevych via Shutterstock. OUPblog - Academic insights for the thinking world. 
 Five books to celebrate British Science Week British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths, taking place between 11-20 March 2022. To celebrate, join in the conversation, and keep abreast of the latest in science, delve into our reading list. It contains five of our latest books on evolutionary biology, the magic of mathematics, artificial intelligence, and more. 1. The Parrot in the Mirror: How evolving to be like birds made us humanHow similar are your choices, behaviours, and lifestyle to those of a parrot? Discover how many of our defining human traits are far more similar to birds than to our fellow mammals in The Parrot in the Mirror, by Antone Martinho-Truswell. From our lifespans to our intelligence, our relationships and our language, we can learn a great deal about ourselves by thinking of the human species as “the bird without feathers.” In this insightful read, learn more about how parrots, specifically, are our biological mirror image; an evolutionary parallel to ourselves. And how they are the only species to share one particular human trait: spite. Read The Parrot in the Mirror: How evolving to be like birds made us human. To learn more about how, much like humans, the senses of animals are key to their survival, discover Secret Worlds: The extraordinary senses of animals, by Martin Stevens. 2. Mind Shift: How culture transformed the human brainThe mental capacities of the human mind far outstrip those of other animals. Our imaginations and creativity have produced art, music, and literature; built bridges and cathedrals; enabled us to probe distant galaxies, and to ponder the meaning of our existence. What makes the human brain unique, and able to generate such a rich mental life? In this book, John Parrington draws on the latest research on the human brain to show how it differs strikingly from those of other animals in its structure and function at a molecular and cellular level. And he argues that this “shift,” was driven by tool use, but especially by the development of one remarkable tool—language. Read Mind Shift: How culture transformed the human brain. You can also read Parrington blog on what neuroscience can tell us about the mind of a serial killer, as well as listening to his podcast on culture and the human brain. 3. Colliding Worlds: How cosmic encounters shaped planets and lifeIn Colliding Worlds, Simone Marchi explores the key role that collisions in space have played in the formation and evolution of our solar system, the development of planets, and possibly even the origin of life on Earth. Analysing our latest understanding of the surfaces of Mars and Venus, gleaned from recent space missions, Marchi presents the dramatic story of cosmic collisions and their legacies. You can also read his blog’s on the Earth’s wild years and the creative destruction of cosmic encounters, as well as his response to Netflix’s “Don’t Look Up!” satire, Do Look Up! Could a comet really kill us all? Read Colliding Worlds: How cosmic encounters shaped planets and life. To learn more, discover our Very Short Introductions series, including Planetary Systems, Climate Change, Evolution, Human Evolution, and The Animal Kingdom. 4. The Wonderful Book of Geometry: A mathematical storyHow can we be sure that Pythagoras’s theorem is really true? Why is the “angle in a semicircle” always 90 degrees? And how can tangents help determine the speed of a bullet? David Acheson takes the reader on a highly illustrated tour through the history of geometry, from ancient Greece to the present day. He emphasizes throughout elegant deduction and practical applications, and argues that geometry can offer the quickest route to the whole spirit of mathematics at its best. Along the way, we encounter the quirky and the unexpected, meet the great personalities involved, and uncover some of the loveliest surprises in mathematics. Read The Wonderful Book of Geometry: A mathematical story. Take a sneak peek inside, and listen to Acheson explain the magic of geometry. 5. Human-centered AIFocusing not on the risks of AI, but on the opportunities it presents and how to capitalize on them, Ben Shneiderman puts forward 15 recommendations about how programmers, business leaders, educators, professionals, and policy makers can implement human-centered AI. Bridging the gap between ethical considerations and practical realities to make successful, reliable systems, Schneiderman provides a range of human-centered AI design metaphors to show ways to get beyond current limitations and see new design possibilities that empower people, giving humans control. Read Human-centered AI. To learn more, discover our What Everyone Needs to Know® series, including titles on Artificial Intelligence (and a blog post on What is Artificial Intelligence?), and Evolution. As an added bonus, you can also read more on the topics of evolutionary biology, the magic of mathematics, and artificial intelligence with the Oxford Landmark Science series. Including “must-read” modern science and big ideas that have shaped the way we think, browse the series here: You can also explore more titles via our extended reading list via Bookshop UK. OUPblog - Academic insights for the thinking world. 
 The top 10 science blog posts of 2021 From the evolution of consciousness to cosmic encounters, the Brain Health Gap to palliative medicine, 2021 has been a year filled with discovery across scientific disciplines. On the OUPblog, we have published blogs posts showcasing the very latest research and insights from our expert authors at the Press. Make sure you’re caught up with the best of science in 2021 with our top 10 blog posts of the year: 1. Why did evolution create conscious states of mind?“When we open our eyes in the morning, we take for granted that we will consciously see the world in all of its dazzling variety. The immediacy of our conscious experiences does not, however, explain how we consciously see.” Read the blog post from Stephen Grossberg, author of Conscious Mind, Resonant Brain: How Each Brain Makes a Mind, to learn how—and why—we have evolved to consciously see. Read the blog post -> 2. The neuroscience of human consciousness How can the study of the human brain help us unravel the mysteries of life? Going a step further, how can having a better understanding of the brain help us to combat debilitating diseases or treat mental illnesses? On this episode of The Oxford Comment, we focused on human consciousness and how studying the neurological basis for human cognition can lead not only to better health but a better understanding of human culture, language, and society as well. Listen to episode 63 on The Oxford Comment -> 3. 10 books on palliative medicine and end-of-life careEach year an estimated 40 million people are in need of palliative care, 78% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries. This reading list of recent titles can help you to reflect on palliative medicine as a public health need. Explore the reading list -> 4. Can what we eat have an effect on the brain?Food plays an important role in brain performance and health. In general, the old saying, “a healthy mind in a healthy body,” is still very valid, and the overall positive results on cognitive ability of entire diets can be summarised with: “what is good for your heart, is also good for your brain.” This blog post from review co-author Bo Ekstrand discusses the role of diet in key areas of brain development and health from the findings published in the journal Nutrition Reviews. Read the blog post -> 5. What can neuroscience tell us about the mind of a serial killer?Serial killers—people who repeatedly murder others—provoke revulsion but also a certain amount of fascination in the general public. But what can modern psychology and neuroscience tell us about what might be going on inside the head of such individuals? Read the blog post from the John Parrington, author of Mind Shift: How Culture Transformed the Human Brain, to learn more about recent neuroscience studies investigating serial killers’ minds. Read the blog post -> 6. Does “overeating” cause obesity? The evidence is less fillingThe usual way of thinking considers obesity a problem of energy balance. Take in more calories than you expend—in other words, “overeat”—and weight gain will inevitably result. The simple solution, according to the prevailing Energy Balance Model (EBM), is to eat less and move more. New research shows that viewing body weight control as an energy balance problem is fundamentally wrong, or at least not helpful, for three reasons. Discover the three reasons in this blog post from David S. Ludwig, co-author of new research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Read the blog post -> 7. Earth’s wild years: the creative destruction of cosmic encountersContrary to common sense, cosmic collisions are not all about destruction and death. It appears entirely possible that collisions could have been beneficial to the development of conditions suitable for the formation of first organisms—our distant relatives—on Earth. What do we know about these early cosmic catastrophes? Learn about the innumerable challenges facing the research of early cosmic events by reading the blog post from Simone Marchi, author of Colliding Worlds: How Cosmic Encounters Shaped Planets and Life. Read the blog post -> 8. What if COVID-19 emerged in 1719?We’re often told that the situation created by the attack of the new coronavirus is “unique” and “unprecedented.” And yet, at the same time, scientists assure us that the emergence of new viruses is “natural”—that viruses are always mutating or picking up and losing bits of DNA. But if lethal new viruses have emerged again and again during human history, why has dealing with this one been such a struggle? In this blog post, Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson, authors of A Story of Us: A New Look at Human Evolution, consider what makes our “cultural DNA” unique and how the story of COVID-19 would have been very different had it emerged 300 years ago. Read the blog post -> 9. Closing the brain health gap: addressing women’s inequalitiesThere is a clear sex and gender gap in outcomes for brain health disorders across the lifespan, with strikingly negative outcomes for women. The “Brain Health Gap” highlights and frames inequalities in all areas across the translational spectrum from bench-to-bedside and from boardroom-to-policy and economics. Read the blog post to learn how closing the Brain Health Gap will help economies create recovery and prepare our systems for future global shocks. Read the blog post -> 10. The case for readdressing the three paradigms of basic astrophysicsA long-held misunderstanding of stellar brightness is being corrected, thanks to a new study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society based on International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly Resolution B2. Learn about the key findings in this blog post from Zeki Eker, lead author on the study published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Read the blog post -> OUPblog - Academic insights for the thinking world. 
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