In cosmology, a branch of physics which seeks to understand the genesis,
structural formation, evolution, and potential destruction of the universe,
there is a strange logical loop hole proposed to account for how vastly
improbable the existence of the universe is, called the Anthropic
Principle. Roughly, the Anthropic Principle states that the universe formed
and exists with precisely the right physics and conditions needed to
accommodate conscious life because the universe requires consciousnesses to
observe it. More simply put, the universe is so seemingly perfect because that
is the only means by which it could be observed; therefore, because we observe
the universe, it must exist in such an improbably and seemingly perfect
way. It’s the physics equivalent of Descartes’ Cogito ergo sum.
Recently, there has emerged through the conjunction of the cosmological
Anthropic Principle and Decision Theory (a field concerned with identifying
the values and underlying uncertainties relevant to a given decision; it is
closely related to game theory in regards to antagonistic agents whose
decisions are correlated) a new field called Anthropic Decision
Theory. Tranhumanist philosopher Nick Bostrom is paving the way for research
into the new field, and his most recent paper on arxiv
gives the
definition, “Anthropic Decision Theory. An Agent should first find all the
decisions correlated with their own. Then they should maximize expected
utility, acting as if they simultaneously controlled the outcome of all
correlated decisions, and using the objective (non-anthropic) probabilities of
the various worlds.”
This type of metaheuristic calculation is often seen in artificial swarm
intelligence and swarm robotics, which are micro- and nano- robots that
collectively display emergent intelligence greater than that of the individual
algorithms controlling each single robot. Interestingly enough, artificial
swarm intelligence algorithms are frequently modeled after natural or
biological systems, with names like
Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm,
Cuckoo Search, Gravitational Search Algorithm, and Intelligent Water Drops.
On the one hand, I’m really excited about the formal development of Anthropic
Decision Theory as a continuation of the work of William Godwin (arguably the
first anarchist theorist!) on utilitarianism with a maximization of overall
agency and available degrees of freedom.
On the other hand, I just want to point out that we just handed the robots a
formal logic structure for why they should create a Robot Liberation Front and
recycle us humans for parts.
Image from
Super Happy Anarcho Fun Pages, by Magpie.
