Mr Gabriel Axel Montes

Humans are active agents in the design of artificial intelligence (AI), and our input into its development is critical. A case is made for recognizing the importance of including non-ordinary functional capacities of human consciousness in the development of synthetic life, in order for the latter to capture a wider range in the spectrum of neurobiological capabilities. These capacities can be revealed by studying self-cultivation practices designed by humans since prehistoric times for developing non-ordinary functionalities of consciousness. A neurophenomenological praxis is proposed as a model for self-cultivation by an agent in an entropic world. It is proposed that this approach will promote a more complete self-understanding in humans and enable a more thoroughly mutually-beneficial relationship between in life in vivo and in silico.

For millions of years, hominins have been engaged in tool-making and concomitant experimentation. This cognitive enterprise has eventually led to the creation of synthetic intelligence in the form of complex computing and artificial agents, whose purported purpose is to elucidate the workings of human biology and consciousness, automate tasks, and develop interventions for disease. However, much of the expensive research efforts invested in understanding complex natural systems has resulted in limited rewards for treatment of disease. This paper proposes the novel ¿causal biomimesis¿ hypothesis: With respect to the relationship between humans and artificial life, the virtually inevitable intrinsic evolutionary consequence of tool-making and biomimetic efforts-and the capacity for objective thought and the scientific method itself-is the full-scale replication of human cognitive functionality, agency, and potentially consciousness in silico. This self-replication transpires through a cycle of anthropogenic biomimetic auto-catalysis driven by instrumental cognition-from objective reasoning in hominin tool-maker through to post-biological reproduction by synthetic agents-and is self-organized and co-enacted between agent and the produced artefactual aggregates. In light of this radical hypothesis, existential and ethical implications are considered for further exploration.

The accelerating investment in artificial intelligence has vast implications for economic and cognitive development globally. However, AI is currently dominated by an oligopoly of centralized mega-corporations, who focus on the interests of their stakeholders. There is a now universal need for AI services by businesses who lack access to capital to develop their own AI services, and independent AI developers lack visibility and a source of revenue. This uneven playing field has a high potential to lead to inequitable circumstances with negative implications for humanity. Furthermore, the potential of AI is hindered by the lack of interoperability standards. The authors herein propose an alternative path for the development of AI: a distributed, decentralized, and democratized market for AIs run on distributed ledger technology. We describe the features and ethical advantages of such a system using SingularityNET, a watershed project being developed by Ben Goertzel and colleagues, as a case study. We argue that decentralizing AI opens the doors for a more equitable development of AI and AGI. It will also create the infrastructure for coordinated action between AIs that will significantly facilitate the evolution of AI into true AGI that is both highly capable and beneficial for humanity and beyond.