RADICAL THOUGHTS

PART 3 - REIMAGINING A SYNTHETIC FUTURE

15 MINUTE READ. PUBLISHED 2 SEPT 2024. UPDATED 15 SEPT 2024.

CREATIVE COMMONS CC BY ELECTRO STRATEGY STUDIO. WRITTEN BY ADRIAN JARVIS.

TL;DR Synthetic Futurism predicts a future where humanity integrates superintelligent technologies deeply into every aspect of life. Focusing on how we ethically leverage technology and system-centric design to enhance human wellbeing, develop adaptive spaces, and create sustainable economies.

IMAGE: Midjourney v6.1

This is part 3 in a series that explores more radical ideas about technology. Part 1 explored media and consumerism through a modern interpretation of Guy Debord’s The Society of The Spectacle. Part 2 looked at feminism and technology through a modern interpretation of Donna Haraway’s The Cyborg Manifesto.

PART 3 — PROLOGUE: A NEW ERA OF HUMAN PROGRESS?

Synthetic Futurism envisions a future where humans effectively harness smart technology to enhance individual lives and society as a whole. At its core is the integration of superintelligent technologies into life (‘synthetic’) to design systems that drive human progress (‘futurism’) — especially for our health, wellbeing, and prosperity.

This represents the likely convergence of human creativity and industry with artificial intelligence, beyond just the adoption of new tools and platforms. We need to rethink how technology will shape every structure and our everyday experiences.

The key tenets are:

Synthetic Futurism challenges us to think beyond the immediate commercial applications of artificial intelligence — suggesting how ever-smarter technologies can improve quality of life and community vitality.

In this vision, humanity provides the ingenuity and ethics, while AI offers the capability to execute and refine. Synthetic Futurism sees the potential of a positive future through both accelerating technology and a more ethical, systemic approach to design.

THE DANGERS OF A TECHNOCRATIC UTOPIA.

The techno-optimist manifesto from a16z has been criticised for promoting unchecked technological acceleration, while ignoring important ethical and societal concerns.

In contrast, Synthetic Futurism looks to adopt a more thoughtful and intentional approach — advancing technology with a focus on the wellbeing of individuals, communities, economies, and the planet.

However, Synthetic Futurism is not without its risks and contradictions, such as potential disruptions to existing systems and threats to personal freedoms.

As technology advances, the replacement of economic work — both physical and intellectual — raises serious challenges to individual autonomy. Rather than viewing AI as a binary choice between progress and control, we should focus on how best to harness its potential to democratise access to resources, information, and opportunities.

We must also acknowledge the current realities of the digital divide and the monopolisation of AI technologies by a few trillion-dollar corporations. To effectively address inequalities and protect civic freedoms, Synthetic Futurism would require the creation of substantial regulatory frameworks and global safeguards — challenging the deeply established mechanics of Silicon Valley.

IMAGE: Alien (1979), 20th Century Fox

1. INTEGRATE AI INTO SYSTEMS-CENTRED DESIGN.

For decades, we have debated the impact of artificial intelligence, often seeing it as either a servant or existential threat. Synthetic Futurism offers a different perspective — AI will not be a separate thing or even something that is fighting for autonomy. Rather, it will be an integrated layer woven into the fabric of our advancing society.

Smarter Infrastructure: Siemens provides an operating system that uses smart technologies to optimise urban infrastructure. It can manage traffic, energy, and public services in real-time. The aim is to improve efficiency and sustainability of cities by using highly complex analytics to connect and operate each element.

In this future, systems-centred design will be critical. Machines will move beyond being tools, to become new capabilities with intelligence integrated through everything.

Systems become intelligent and smart technologies become embedded into ecosystems — from clothing and transport to retail, industry, and civic infrastructure. Continuously learning and adapting to create dynamic environments that are responsive to complex behaviours and conditions.

Informed Healthcare: IBM’s Watson Health uses smart technologies to support healthcare systems. By analysing vast amounts of medical data, the platform can assist in diagnostics, treatment planning, and patient management — integrating AI into the complex healthcare ecosystem to provide personalised medical advice. This approach uses Systems Thinking to understand the interconnected elements of healthcare — from doctors and patients to treatments and outcomes.

Imagine a world where technology doesn’t just make life easier, it redefines what it means to live well, how we are socially connected and economically productive. Cities that can better address the wellbeing of residents and vitality of neighbourhoods. Workplaces that can adapt to the demands of creativity and productivity.

This is the potential of Synthetic Futurism — a future where AI and human enterprise, in all its guises, are deeply intertwined. A guarded optimism for connected systems that more intentionally deliver an equitable, prosperous future for a wider range of communities.

IMAGE: ‘Break Down’ by Michael Landy, Elephant Art

2. CREATE A SMART, CIRCULAR ECONOMY.

In the future envisioned by Synthetic Futurism, economic growth is driven by the integration of smart technologies across every aspect of life. This ensures that technology fuels economic prosperity, while aligning with the needs of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Smart technologies will be key to optimising resource use and minimising waste — creating a more efficient and resilient economy. These technologies will be essential for advancing a circular economy that ensures resources are continuously recaptured and more efficiently reused.

Circular Economics: The Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) is a global initiative that leverages digital tools and data analytics to develop models for a circular economy. PACE collaborates with governments, businesses, and civil society to implement strategies that enhance resource efficiency and promote sustainable economies — improving efficiency, transparency, and innovation.

Investments in grid modernisation are key to the transition to a low-carbon economy. By modernising energy infrastructure, we can reduce reliance on carbon-intensive fuels and support more environmentally-friendly opportunities for economic growth.

As technology accelerates, education and workforce retraining will be essential to ensuring that the benefits of this growth are widely shared. As industries evolve, upskilling workers in a wide range of fields will be central to ensuring that economic growth is inclusive and sustainable.

In a synthetic future, intelligent systems and human ingenuity will need to work together if we are to achieve prosperity, without compromising communities and planetary boundaries.

IMAGE: Effekt, Denmark

3. DEVELOP ADAPTIVE, SUSTAINABLE SPACES.

The need for adaptive, sustainable spaces is becoming increasingly urgent. Synthetic Futurism offers solutions through smart materials and energy-efficient systems that create environments capable of evolving with the changing dynamics of their inhabitants.

Applied Technology: ReGen Villages is a concept for self-sustaining, regenerative communities that integrate sustainable housing, renewable energy, local food production, and waste recycling. These villages are designed to be more resilient to climate change, providing an adaptive and sustainable model for future living.

These spaces should be designed to be resilient and sustainable, ensuring they remain functional and beneficial for future generations.

Adaptive Learning: Arup’s report on the future of schools predicts how smart technologies will reshape educational environments. Their concepts include adaptable classrooms that adjust in real-time to student needs, with spaces that can physically transform and smart tools that personalise learning. These ideas highlight a future vision of schools that is more dynamic and responsive to the needs of both students and educators.

Think beyond traditional urban planning to imagine communities that are self-sustaining, where resources are shared equitably, and life is designed to reduce our environmental footprint. These spaces will need to respond to the changing needs of inhabitants, while maintaining harmony with a natural, more sustainable world.

IMAGE: Digital Twin, Essentra Components

4. BRIDGE THE PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL.

The last 200 years saw great advances in physical spaces, from urban and industrial development to human spaceflight. The next 50 years will be defined by the merging of physical and digital realities, from virtual reality and digital twins to wearable technologies and Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT).

Synthetic Futurism predicts a future where these two worlds are seamlessly integrated. In this future, digital and physical are inseparable, creating experiences that are immersive and deeply interconnected.

Neural Communication: OpenBCI is an open-source platform for biosensing and neurofeedback, analysing brainwave data in real-time to give machines instructions. This technology creates custom interfaces between human cognitive functions and digital systems – with an open community that democratises access to neurotechnology.

Model Earth: NVIDIA’s Earth-2 is a highly ambitious and experimental project aimed at creating a full-scale simulation of our climate system. This uses advanced supercomputing to run detailed simulations of pollution and weather systems. The goal is to provide insights into climate dynamics that help us to mitigate the effects of climate change.

We now need to consider how this could transform education to make learning more interactive and personal, adapting to changing goals and learning journeys. Or healthcare, where real-time data from wearables lead to more accurate diagnoses and treatments. Examples of effective integration are already here, though as they say, they are “not evenly distributed”.

In the future, there will no longer be a clear, distinct line between what is real and what is virtual – offering new possibilities and challenges for how we live.

As machine learning systems rapidly accelerate in their advancement, the need to ground their computational understanding in our physical world only increases. It sounds like a step back to ignore that we humans exist in the physical, social, and linguistic world too. If AI is to work for us, it may be better that it perceives the world as we do. The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, July 2024

IMAGE: Immoral Code, Stop Killer Robots

5. ROOT CHOICES IN ETHICS AND CIVIC VITALITY.

As technology becomes more powerful, we have a responsibility to use it more ethically. Synthetic Futurism needs ethical considerations to guide every step of the integration of technology into our world.

As we advance AI and other smart technologies, we must address critical questions about privacy, equality, and the societal impact of these innovations.

Campaign Against Autonomous Weapons: Stop Killer Robots is an international coalition that wants a global ban on autonomous weapons — war machines that kill without human intervention. This campaign highlights the urgent ethical concerns surrounding AI, underscoring the need for stricter ethical guidelines that ensure human safety.

Data and Privacy: We are entering an era where the ability to monitor and track individuals has grown far beyond what was conceivable just a decade ago. The tools available today allow for constant, automated surveillance that can profile individuals in ways that were previously unimaginable. This is not just a loss of privacy, but a threat to the very freedom that privacy protects. Edward Snowden, 2024

We need to actively design systems that prioritise civic freedom, cohesion and our wellbeing over industrial performance metrics such as efficiency and profit. This means creating technologies that can be transparent, accountable, and inclusive. Ensuring we address existing systemic inequalities and our commercial exploitation by socially-charged algorithms.

Synthetic Futurism encourages us to think critically about the long-term consequences of innovation, pushing us to create a future where technology is balanced with all the needs of humanity.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHAPE A NEW FUTURE?

Synthetic Futurism represents a new era in human progress — one where the boundaries between man and machine, between the physical and digital, are increasingly blurred. This era holds immense potential, offering us the tools to reshape the world in ways that improve the human experience.

In terms of radical thought, where might this go?

Societies governed by smart systems to guide ethical decisions.
Synthetic ecosystems with new life forms capable of enhancing nature.
AI creates distributed cognitive networks for hive-like collaboration.
Prosperity is driven by access to a shared, digital consciousness.
A future where we can shift between biological and digital states.
Manipulating time using AI and quantum computing...

Do these scenarios sound improbable? Science fiction, even? Maybe. Whatever our potential futures, there remains the challenge of using technology wisely and in a way that fairly progresses all our communities. The future will be defined by our technological achievements and the guidelines we apply to their development.

By combining the best of human ingenuity and artificial intelligence, we can create a future that is ennobling, sustainable, and ultimately more human. However, in the end, to move beyond a vision, the discourse around a synthetic future will need to engage more directly with the socio-political dynamics that have the real power to define all our futures.