Information
Living Technology:
Toward a New Science of Integrated Information
In order to transition into the next paradigm in science, and reorient our social relations with one another and the Earth, we need to reorient our notions of experimentation around models of a universe with us in it. A universe with Life. This unique quality of the Earth, the only home we’ve ever known, is what enables us to consciously experience, and therefore experiment and to probe our deepest questions. “You are the universe experiencing itself”, Alan Watts notably acknowledges. The simple, yet profound notion that there is no concrete boundary between us and the universe. Each one of us representing an infinitely complex, dimensional, experiencing being inhabiting our unique slice of the infinite. Our all-too-human ways of being in the world, our languages, our stories, our phenomenology, all our diverse methods of coming to know the world around us are poorly understood. So much knowledge has been lost to conquest, greed, tyranny, ijnustice and ceaseless unavoidable destruction. Our biases, rooted in our dominant cultural philosophies, are embedded in our every social and psychological dimension. That is to say, if you are a fish, industrialized/white/cisheteronormative/patriarchal supremacy isn’t the shark, it’s the water. The dominant scientific paradigmn is decidedly WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic), and most of us have been deeply integrated into it since we were born. Disproportionate amounts of scientific research relies on participants from these specific demographics, who represent a small portion of the global population. What began as a theory of information, I realized was more fundamentally aiming to describe a more honest, accessible and engaging way of understanding and participaing in the scientific enterpise as a whole.
But why does this need to happen? Why do we needd to rethink how we do science?
- In recent years, there has a been a general rising trend toward increasing disinformation and misinformatoin. What results is essentially an erosion of our shared reality via deeply embedded technologies like AI, Mixed Reality (AR/VR), Simulation Technologies (drones, projection mapping, holograms), memes, language and bots, and other software & hardware. We need systemic methodologies that engage with this social reality in a way that advances the maintanance of shared truth.
- To this end, we are in desperate need of altogether new visions of how our socieites can live in concert with one another and plantetary systems that are grounded in natural rythms and the deep intelligence of the Earth. Rather than being filtered through the narrow lens of reductive, colonial ideologies, our social contracts, economic models, ethical frameworks, healthcare institutions, educational methodologies, and all aspects of critical infrastructure, must be reoriented to align with the fundamental principles of nature and the rich, diverse tapestry of human and non-human conscious experience.
- The way STEM subjects have been historically introduced to the general public, especially across marginalized groups, has been ultimately ineffective at making fundamental scientific knowledge accessible and engaging. This has lead to exponential loss in the creative human investment of diverse knowledge into scientific discovery.
- To have any hope finding fundamental descriptions of reality, we need to expand our field of view beyond the narrow lens of dominant thought. A new kind of deep learning that requires us to retrace, reconnect and integrate webs of knowledge across our human and non-human ancestry. This will undoubtedly require altogether new, unconventional methods.
- The lab isn’t the world. Established and emerging technologies like AI, gaming, simulation and now quantum computing enable us to do experimentation at high precision, with near real-time data. Further deepening integration of these technologies will allow us to create models of the world effectively indistinguishable from our own. Today, more than ever, we need more scientists working closely with artists and designers to not only explore and experiment but to deploy these tools to the public.
- At the center of these and many of the most pressing challenges in science and mathematics is information. From the origins of life, to culture, technological development, quantum computing, cosmology, AI and the funamental nature of space, time and reality, information is central. The current scientific challenges, not unlike our social ones, are deeply existential.
Notably, one of the last times we were in the midst of this kind of global, critical transition, was at the height of the so-called “enlightenment”. It was during this period that the Eurocentric, patriarchal, colonial project truly sparked and took root. It was underpinned at its core by concepts; the synthesis of monotheistic concepts of god, a reductionist, hyper-objectivist scientific framework, and human-centered, white supremacist logic, institutionalized by force through it’s militarized socioeconomic apparatus. It is in this pervasive, colonial atmosphere that we now find our lands, bodies, and consciousness constrained, ensnared and in constant struggle against. We put forward that it requires a deep, systems-level approach to truly comprehend, diagnose, transition and ultimately heal from such deeply generational and multidimensional wounds.
“While the Enlightenment may have helped lay the foundation for the way that I see the world in my day-to-day science, it did not leave us with a good legacy on valuing human life. We must start looking elsewhere for a new way of looking at the world of relations between living things. It may be that in tandem with this, we will find that there are new ways of seeing the universe itself. We may find that it gives us new reasons to care about where the universe came from and how it got to be here.”
- Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Astrophysicist & Cosmologist
- Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Astrophysicist & Cosmologist
Been livin’ in an idea, an idea from another mans mind.
- Frank Ocean, Artist
Overview & Introductory References
What is information?
We all make informational models of the world to navigate, interpret and understand our individual and shared realities.
Edited compilation sourced from varoius artists around the globe exploring the future potential of AI, Quantum IoT & Spatial Computing.
There is only one example of life on this planet, and it is a bifrucating pattern of information strcuturing matter. The fundamenatl unit of life is not the cell, nor the individual, but the lineage of information propogating across space and time. The branching pattern at the tips of this structure is what is alive now, and it is what is contructing the future on this planet.
- Sara Imari Walker, Theoretical Physicis
Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level, information pertains to the interpretation (perhaps formally) of that which may be sensed, or their abstractions. Any natural process that is not completely random and any observable pattern in any medium can be said to convey some amount of information. Whereas digital signals and other data use discrete signs to convey information, other phenomena and artifacts such as analogue signals, poems, pictures, music or other sounds, and currents convey information in a more continuous form. Information is not knowledge itself, but the meaning that may be derived from a representation through interpretation.
The concept of information is relevant or connected to various concepts, including constraint, communication, control, data, form, education, knowledge, meaning, understanding, mental stimuli, pattern, perception, proposition, representation, and entropy.
A key measure in information theory is entropy. Entropy quantifies the amount of uncertainty involved in the value of a random variable or the outcome of a random process. For example, identifying the outcome of a fair coin flip (with two equally likely outcomes) provides less information (lower entropy) than specifying the outcome from a roll of a die (with six equally likely outcomes).
Applications of fundamental topics of information theory include source coding/data compression (e.g. for ZIP files), and channel coding/error detection and correction (e.g. for DSL). Its impact has been crucial to the success of the Voyager missions to deep space, the invention of the compact disc, the feasibility of mobile phones and the development of the Internet. The theory has also found applications in other areas, including statistical inference, cryptography, neurobiology, perception, linguistics, the evolution and function of molecular codes (bioinformatics), thermal physics, molecular dynamics, quantum computing, black holes, information retrieval, intelligence gathering, plagiarism detection, pattern recognition, anomaly detection and even art creation.
Historically, information science (informatics) is associated with computer science, data science, psychology, technology, library science, healthcare, and intelligence agencies. However, information science also incorporates aspects of diverse fields such as archival science, cognitive science, commerce, law, linguistics, museology, management, mathematics, philosophy, public policy, and social sciences.
Information science focuses on understanding problems from the perspective of the stakeholders involved and then applying information and other technologies as needed. In other words, it tackles systemic problems first rather than individual pieces of technology within that system. In this respect, one can see information science as a response to technological determinism, the belief that technology "develops by its own laws, that it realizes its own potential, limited only by the material resources available and the creativity of its developers. It must therefore be regarded as an autonomous system controlling and ultimately permeating all other subsystems of society.
- Sara Imari Walker
The fabric of objective reality is woven out of threads of information — not space, time, or matter. At the heart of reality, we find a computational engine which needs to be fed with information. The entire universe is computational in nature.
- James B. Glattfelder Physicist, Complexity Scientist, Philosopher, Author of Information—Consciousness—Reality : How a New Understanding of the Universe Can Help Answer Age-Old Questions of Existence
- James B. Glattfelder Physicist, Complexity Scientist, Philosopher, Author of Information—Consciousness—Reality : How a New Understanding of the Universe Can Help Answer Age-Old Questions of Existence
Watch : How Information Helps Us Understand the Fabric of Reality
Other Notable References:Cosmosapiens : Human Evolution From the Origin of the Universe
Sara Walker : Earth Holds the Key to Alien Life
Cybersemiotics: Why Information is Not Enough
Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience: Information & the Origin of Qualia
Qualia Research Institute: Discovering the Mathematical Structure of Consciousness
Journal of Mathematics and the Arts: Quantifying Patterns in Art & Nature
Timothy Morton: Hyperobjects
Human Energy Project, the Third Story of the Universe & the Formation of the Noosphere
Quantum Gravity Research
Fotoni Markoupolou : Quantum Graphity
Kevin Kelly, Technium Unbound
Emergent Information: A Unified Theory of Information Framework
The Experiment: Another World is Possible
Our Reality, In Formation - Branden Collins for O MediaLab (22
Slide 4 highlights a video from a performance piece entitled Communication, which I created in 2013 with artist Madeline Moore as a part of my Pandrogeny exhibition. The work illustrates the inherent challenges of communication between two sources (in this case costumed avatars), it’s a concept that I only later discoveredaligned exactly with the description of mathematician and information scientist Claude Shannon’s theory of information in 1948. Part of my core hypothesis is the need for an update to this theory and the resulting paradigm shift in our understanding of communication & information will lead to a revolution in information infrastructure. At the heart of this paradigm shift is recognizing the need for the integration of human identity & subjective human experience into how we interpret the fundamental nature of our shared reality. I would come to learn that this paradigm shift is already well underway and is fundamentally quantum in nature.
“You have to explicitly include the observer who is measuring things as
part of the discussion of the system... Nobody can measure a closed universe from
the outside, you can only measure it from the inside.”
part of the discussion of the system... Nobody can measure a closed universe from
the outside, you can only measure it from the inside.”
- Physicist Daniel Harlow, MIT
Experiment Description:
Quantum field theory suggests that electromagnetic fields naturally fluctuate, and these fluctuations can be harnessed as a source of perfect randomness. We have created a room-scale many-bodied quantum computer, with each visitor behaving as individual entangled topological Qbits. The turbulent, chaotic nature of social dynamics in our closed environment act as insulators for the encoded information in each Qbit state vector as they enter and exit a series of gates. This, in essence, mirrors the conditions of the quantum vacuum, with fluctuations that result in an emergent spacetime fabric. The state vectors are therefore encrypted via quantum entanglement as each state represents a random number generated within a hyperdimensional matrix of the exploration space. The deltas between state vector phase transitions represent combinatorial “uniqueness”, therefore generating unique informational structures in this distributed system. This shows the potential to generate energy and exponential computational power from quantum behaviors exhibited by the distributed, chaotic and entangled nature of social network dynamics.
Objectives:
A socioeconomic theory that applies principles from quantum mechanics to illustrate the inherent determinism in social relations, how these effect probabilistic outcomes in individual and collective life, including entanglements with Earth systems and beyond. We argue that, not only do social relations have obvious material effects on the natural environment, but that when considered holistically, social networks parallel quantum phenomena. This appears to illuminate a profound similarity between Quantum dynamics and social network dynamics, not only in structure and behavior but in the ability of both domains to generate altogether new material realities from “immaterial” informational structures. This work provokes new considerations about the nature of collective consciousness, its entanglements with space-time and what significance this holds in relation to the many worlds interpretation of quantum theory. Similar to the impact of the so-called “Enlightenment” and its subsequent economic theories, social frameworks, central philosophies and subsequent technologies which now define our current reality, this new approach to both the scientific paradigm and new econimc theory aims to reorient our fundamental understanings of intelligence, equity, value and social organization, toward the emergence of a new shared reality built upon the laws of nature, cooperation, regeneration and trust.“The establishment of our new Government seemed to be the last great experiment for
promoting human happiness, by reasonable compact, in civil Society.”
promoting human happiness, by reasonable compact, in civil Society.”
- George Washington, President and owner of enslaved peoples. 244 years ago, the “great” American experiment began.
Toward the development of an integrated, regenerative, full-systems health & wellness infrastructure which is applied to individual, communal, regional, and global spheres, taking into account all dimensions of the lived experience.
We propose that worldbuilding, as a (re)emerging field of interdisciplinary practice, is the most well-suited methodology & process of equitably integrating diverse human and non-human knowledge systems and ways of being into our unified understanding of the fundamental properties of the universe.
We propose that worldbuilding, as a (re)emerging field of interdisciplinary practice, is the most well-suited methodology & process of equitably integrating diverse human and non-human knowledge systems and ways of being into our unified understanding of the fundamental properties of the universe.
“It basically unites the human tradition of spirituality, quantum physics, huge ideas around cosmology, the forming of the universe, and modern tenets of psychology – into one brief.”
We aim show that the evolution of culture represents the emergence of universal technological convergence within complex living systems. With this, we propose that cultural media & expression represent a time-bound record of universally evolving "consciousness" (i.e. self-stimulation) through "living technologies".
We define “living technologies” as any technology (tools, cultures, customs, traditions, social systems, etc.) that emerge from & interact with living systems. This includes living organisms that could be considered “conscious”. (in this context we recognize life and living organisms as technologies in and of themselves).
⁃ Show the origin of living technology and its relationships with mathematics, physics & biochemical systems. Similar to Cosmosapiens, we attempt to draw a connective thread of the evolutionary history of “living technology” from the beginning of the universe, the emergence of living systems, to living technologies of today and into the future. Describing some of the ways in which this ongoing evolutionary process results in the emergence and re-emergence of new dimensions of reality and new forms of life.
⁃ Establish that culture is a technology that emerges from complex living systems.
⁃ Reestablish that all technology is inherently "natural" and examine the implications of this.
⁃ Confront the necessity of the social experiment as an aspect of evolutionary process & survival.
⁃ Establish the basis for cultural elements to be regarded as technologies central to social progress and economic infrastructure by
- Using qualitative & quantitative analysis to trace the evolutionary trajectory of cultural elements.
- Developing methods for estimating the probability that cultural elements will emerge (for elements that currently exist and those that do not).
- Establish a quantifying metric for the value of cultural elements based on the probability of emergence
- Evaluating the necessity of emerging technologies, their viability in the marketplace, and design the means & methods by which they will be produced.
Understand where individual ideas, individual cultural elements, & culture more broadly come from. How does an individual (creative) idea or cultural element emerge? What is culture? How does culture evolve?
Describe the means by which ideas and culture emerge from complex living systems (via. Mathematics, information theory, physics, biology, etc.)
Define “living technologies” as any technology (tools, cultures, customs, traditions, social system, etc.) that emerge from & interact with living systems. This includes living organisms that could be considered “conscious”. (in this context we recognize life and living organisms as technologies in and of themselves). All “living technologies” transfer information.
A more nuanced understanding of what technology is.
Show examples of technology and culture present in nature.
Illustrate that cultures effectively constitute new “dimensions” of reality
Illustrate a more complete picture for the potential of biomimicry by showing how nature develops technology and culture.
Establish the potential for various media technologies, within the context of a postmodern, hyperreal society, to effectively bring about the emergence of new forms of reality and life.
Establishes the basis for Communion systems, platforms & community structures. Essentially the philosophical & technical framework that guides how we approach experimental communities, design & development.
Establish qualia (the quantification of subjective conscious experience) as a transfer of information/mass/energy and therefore describe the potential for the basis of a biological “currency” in a transitional economic framework. (Perhaps underpinned by the physics definition of “work” as a substitute for labor?)
Establish a method for qualifying and quantifying consciousness & cultural elements as a basis for experimentation and accelerated adaptation, transitioning to new socioeconomic structures & technological paradigms. What is the “real” value of art? Based on the proposed framework that culture emerges from biology, physical & mathematical laws. Based on a physics definition of work as a potential replacement or supplement to socialized concepts of labor. Extracting the true value of creative output based on its underlying inputs, i.e. creative output redefined as, among other things, a form of data systems analytics.
Propose that cultural media & expression represent a time-bound record of universally evolving consciousness (i.e. self-stimulation) through "living technologies". This then opens the possibility that the emergence/convergence of exponential living technologies acting as time-bound records could resolve various temporal paradoxes. We examine these probabilities.
Propose that the convergence of mixed reality, spatial computing & other exponential extended reality technologies may require an update to Shannon’s Mathematical Theory of Communication.
Working towards an evolving legal/ethical framework for shared/mixed realities & personal information technologies more broadly.
- Working towards an evolving legal/ethical framework for mixed realities & personal information technologies more broadly.
- Establishes experimental framework for the study and observation of / integration with the emerging ”Noosphere”/“Holosphere” We argue that the singularity is not near, but the plurality is here (and has always been) but we have not in recent history taken seriously the task of recognizing it, understanding it, and unlocking the potential of synthesis.
Outcomes
Functional Prototype
Trust as a Service : Welcome to The Vibe Economy
Proof of concept for our aspirational, regenerative economic framework.Social Security Networks, (Neuro)Privacy & Truth as a Service : Quantum Encryption via Entangled Distributed Keys
Can we create a reality with a truly equitable economy?
Platforms & Systems Framework
Leveraging Quantum Vacuum for Energy Generation in Power Electronics Systems
Generating energy from the entangled informational dynamics of social networks.
Can we passively generate clean, renewable energy?
Platforms & Systems Development
YOO as You : Memories as a Format
Breakthroughs in Quantum Information, personal big data, AI and programmable materials lead to a new era of embodied technologies.
What is the future of identity tech?
Hypothesis
Life 2.0 : The Informational Origin of Life
Origin of Life is the hardest question in science. No one knows how the first cell came about. But there’s a simpler, more fundamental question: Where did the information come from?
Hypothesis
The Emergence of ꙮ The Quantum of Culture : Collective Consciousness as A New Dimension
Tunneling, Entanglement, Collective Consciousness & Understanding Ideas as Emergent PhenomenaHypothesis
The Language of Quantum Chaos : Unlocking The Riemann Hypothesis
Our experimental framework supports the deep connections between the chaos of quantum systems and the Riemann Hypothesis.It may even offer a path to a proof of this mathematical enigma.
Hypothesis
The Informational Vector of Time : Spacetime Emergence via Quantized Information
Networks & the Riemann Fourier Phase Transitions of Matter
Mass, Energy & the Informational Arrow of Time, Probing the Fundamental Nature of Reality. This hypothesis proposes a possible description of the discrete structure of spacetime.Platforms & Systems Development
The Navigator
Design prototype for a spatiotemporal navigation and transportation device.It's not (really) about time travel.