The Superorganism is Growing an Exocortex!

The human race is becoming a global, technologically-connected entity that's developing an AI-powered external cognitive system

The Internet was a rudimentary nervous system for the planet, AI will be its exocortex.

I can hear your thoughts across time and space: the super-what is growing an exo-who? Dave, what are you on about? Have you gotten into the shrooms again?

We could define the superorganism, but I think it might be better understood through conversation. Here, I simulated a conversation with Claude, asking it to act as an investigative journalist, to interrogate me on this phenomenon.

Claude: What do you mean “Superorganism?”

What do you mean by “global superorganism”? Can you give me a brief overview of this concept?

Dave: It starts with a nervous system

The human race has been using technology to augment information systems for many years. The Romans had their roads, which were one of the earliest mass information systems (as well as logistics networks). However, consider that the size of the Roman Empire was constrained, in part, due to the difficulty of communication across its vast territory.

Map of Roman roads weighted by traffic. Rome was quite literally the heart and brain of the Roman amoeba I mean empire.

Today, we have telegrams, radio, and now the internet. Communication is functionally solved, with our internet networks wrapping around the planet as a sort of nervous system, providing communication and telemetry. We have satellites watching the globe and monitoring weather, which is essentially a form of interoception for our planet.

The human race is like a decentralized brain, and we're finally learning to coordinate with each other by building tools like YouTube, Google, Twitter, and Reddit - global (or nearly global) information nexuses.

Claude: How does it make decisions?

Thank you for that comprehensive overview. It’s fascinating how you’ve traced the evolution of communication systems from ancient Rome to our current global networks. Your description paints a picture of humanity and technology intertwining to form a complex, interconnected system.

To dig deeper into this concept, I’d like to ask: How does this global superorganism handle decision-making or respond to global challenges? Are there examples of it functioning as a cohesive entity rather than just a collection of interconnected parts?

Dave: Mostly delegation and specialization

Great question. The earlier versions of collective decision-making used delegation, such as through representative democracy. Athens invented voting as we understand it today, and the Romans invented the senate. These kinds of decision-making systems were again constrained by problems of scale - it’s easier for a few hundred humans to make collective decisions by arguing with each other than for millions or billions to do so.

Another way to look at it is that some people specialize in making decisions and operating states (groups of humans). Debate and consensus have functionally not changed in humans, from small groups to planetary decision-making. Through conversation, debate, and gathering information, we build consensus over time.

Technologies like the internet, and hopefully soon AI, will help us increase the quality of communication and create new structural advantages for decision-making.

Claude: Give me a modern practical example

Your explanation highlights how decision-making mechanisms have evolved alongside communication technologies, yet still retain core human elements like debate and consensus-building. This evolution from ancient democratic systems to our current global information networks is intriguing.

Given this context, I’m curious about the practical manifestations of this global superorganism in addressing contemporary issues. Can you provide an example of a recent global challenge where you've observed this superorganism in action? How did the various components - from individual humans to technological systems - work together to respond to the situation?

Dave: Let’s look at Israel/Gaza

Let’s take a very sensitive issue: the Israel/Gaza conflict. This got global attention after the October 7 attack against Israel, the severity of which drew many people into the conversation. To the superorganism, this was almost like a spasm - imagine how a sudden leg cramp draws your attention. This conflict was analogous, briefly drawing the entire planet’s consciousness to the painful part, something that has not been worked out and is still dysfunctional.

The full history was unpacked, including what led to this moment, with discussions over the ethics, legality, economics, etc. And while the conversation was incredibly heated, this global attention has helped us arrive at a (hopefully) optimal policy: a ceasefire followed by a two-state solution. Benjamin Netanyahu has also been issued an arrest warrant by the ICC for his role.

Again, this whole episode has been analogous to the role of pain in self-contained organisms: the purpose of pain is to draw your attention to some wound or dysfunction so that you can rectify it. Pain is also instructive, e.g., “Don’t do that again.”

In the past, however, information was slow. Even a few decades ago, you might not hear about events like this for weeks or months, and even then, it might have been just a few paragraphs in the newspaper. The speed, volume, and quality of conversation is far higher now. This velocity of decision-making is markedly higher, though it is often perceived as messier (the “blast radius” is far larger now due to the democratizing aspect of the internet).

Claude: What role do individuals play?

Your analysis of the Israel/Gaza conflict as a case study for the global superorganism’s functioning is very insightful. It illustrates how the interconnected nature of our world allows for rapid, widespread attention and response to critical events.

This example demonstrates several key aspects of the global superorganism concept:

1. Rapid response: The quick global attention to the October 7 attack shows how information now spreads almost instantaneously across the planet.

2. Collective processing: The unpacking of history, ethics, legality, and economics around the conflict represents a kind of global cognitive process.

3. Consensus building: The emergence of a general consensus (ceasefire and two-state solution) illustrates how the superorganism can arrive at decisions.

4. Self-correction mechanisms: The ICC’s action against Netanyahu could be seen as a form of the superorganism’s immune response or self-regulation.

5. Increased complexity: The higher speed, volume, and quality of conversation you mention shows how the superorganism’s “nervous system” has evolved.

6. Learning and adaptation: The pain analogy suggests that these experiences contribute to the superorganism’s overall learning and development.

Given this example, how do you see the role of individual humans within this superorganism? Are we more like neurons in a brain, or do you see a different analogy for our individual contributions to this global entity?

Dave: We are more like a symphony orchestra

Yes, every human takes different roles, and this is not so different from the “Thousand Brains” hypothesis proposed by Jeff Hawkins. Some people specialize in, say, history, others in economics, others in religion or psychology. The combination of podcasts, video essays, news articles, blog posts (etc., there are dozens of modalities) allows all the experts (and commentators alike) to weigh in.

In the same way that the human brain is a symphony of thoughts, with rapid consensus mechanisms mediated by communication across the white matter of the brain, so too is understanding and consensus created across the white matter of the internet. Collectively, we look at every issue from every possible angle (at least those that we humans are capable of).

Gray matter is what does the “thinking” in the human brain. The white matter is the “wiring” or communication substrate that allows all the gray matter to talk to each other.

The addition of AI, which can read prodigious amounts of information and answer questions, adds another layer increasing the signal-to-noise ratio within the “exocortex” of the superorganism.

Claude: What are its limitations and weaknesses?

Your comparison to the “Thousand Brains” hypothesis is quite apt. It paints a picture of the global superorganism as a vast, decentralized cognitive system where each human contributes their specialized knowledge and perspective.

This model suggests several interesting parallels:

1. Distributed expertise: Just as different brain regions specialize in various functions, humans specialize in different areas of knowledge.

2. Multi-modal integration: The diverse forms of communication (podcasts, videos, articles, etc.) mirror how the brain integrates various sensory inputs.

3. Consensus mechanisms: The rapid formation of understanding and consensus across the internet parallels the brain’s ability to quickly synthesize information from multiple sources.

4. Exocortex: The idea of the internet and AI forming an “exocortex” is fascinating, suggesting an extension of our collective cognitive abilities beyond biological limits.

5. Signal-to-noise optimization: The addition of AI to filter and process information could be seen as an evolution in the superorganism’s ability to handle complex data.

Given this sophisticated model of the global superorganism, I'm curious about its limitations or potential weaknesses. Are there aspects of global decision-making or problem-solving that this system struggles with? How might these challenges be addressed as the superorganism continues to evolve?

Dave: We have many problems to solve!

There are many problems we have not solved yet. For instance, misinformation, disinformation, trolls, and basic human gullibility. AI is a double-edged sword here: it can power troll bots and it can be used to read thousands of pages of data per minute. It can be used to make deepfakes or detect them. So it is both the solution and the problem.

We also need more sophisticated and faster governance with fewer perverse incentives. For instance, what is the role of corporations? They have far more money and power to influence politics, and now they are considered persons! So what is the fundamental unit of society? Is it people or businesses? Douglas Adams hilariously posited that a visiting alien might conclude that cars are the fundamental unit of society.

Perhaps as AI becomes more sophisticated, it will join as a class of entity deserving of special legal considerations (though I'm not necessarily advocating for personhood just yet).

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Global Superorganism Defined

With all that being said, here’s the definition of the superorganism that Claude and I cooked up, based upon the above conversation:

The global superorganism is an emergent, planetary-scale entity formed by the interconnection of human societies, technologies, and information systems. It functions as a decentralized cognitive network, with individual humans serving as specialized nodes akin to neurons in a brain. This superorganism processes information through diverse communication channels, from ancient road systems to modern digital platforms, creating a global nervous system capable of rapid response to stimuli. Decision-making occurs through collective debate and consensus-building, accelerated by technologies like the internet and AI. While still evolving, this entity demonstrates the capacity for self-reflection, problem-solving, and adaptation on a global scale, though it grapples with challenges such as misinformation and governance complexities. As it continues to develop, the global superorganism represents a new paradigm for understanding humanity’s collective intelligence and its potential to address planetary-scale issues.

We are already Borg

The Borg, in Star Trek, were once characterized as cybernetic zombies. Their thoughts and individuality were suppressed by the Collective, and they were made to serve. The Borg Queens “brought order to chaos” by orchestrating the symphony of Borg minds.

The Borg are unsettling for many, many reasons. First, there is their religious zeal for perfection: the fact that they have a very clear goal, and it is not even a malevolent goal, yet it leads them to become an implacable, callous force in the galaxy. Like any good villain, there are many ways to read into the Borg: is this a commentary on social coercion and manipulation? On religion? The role of technology? The Borg are a black mirror held up to humanity: we punish people who do not conform with social sanction (aka “cancel culture”) and we relentlessly pursue understanding, productivity, and self-improvement. You could also read the Borg as a reaction to Soviet-style Communism.

I took my wife to see a reshowing of Star Trek: First Contact and on the way home she commented how kinky Star Trek was. I said what are you talking about. She said “you have a Borg Queen dominatrix. It’s basically ‘assimilate me mommy!’”

It’s pretty easy to see the Internet (and all Internet-connected devices) as a sort of global nervous system. Artificial intelligence can be both a chaos-actor and an order-bringer. Here’s an example:

I once had a fan sharing all kinds of conspiracy theory stuff. The website they used was your typical fringe forum, replete with dark aesthetics and spooky allusions to the various cabals and shadowy entities. I repeatedly encouraged this fan to increase their information literacy and forage in places other than a preselected hive of conspiracy theorists. Finally, on one issue (I can’t remember what, I think it was something about the military) I put my foot down and said, “Dude, none of that is true. I can see where you’re getting it from” and I just sent him a Perplexity link.

(Perplexity, if you’re not familiar, is an AI-powered search engine. It basically automated Google searching for you, but surveying the internet for your query and answering your question directly. It essentially has built-in information literacy.)

After that, this fan made great use of Perplexity to research his areas of interest. I feel like I saw deradicalization happen in real-time, and this guy was set on a fundamentally different information trajectory. I use Perplexity all the time to fact check videos, Tweets, comments, and myself. For instance, here’s the Perplexity search I did to make sure I was accurate on the ICC and Netanyahu issue: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/is-netanyahu-wanted-by-the-icc-FDNVd_xYT9y2l1ixg7lrEA

“I bring order to chaos, Data. You are in chaos.” - The Borg Queen, Star Trek: First Contact

Growing an Exocortex

Here’s the definition I cooked up with Claude:

The exocortex, in the context of the global superorganism, is an emergent, planet-wide cognitive enhancement system that extends and augments humanity’s collective intelligence. It is formed by the integration of internet networks, AI technologies, and advanced information processing tools, functioning as an external, artificially created information processing layer that complements the biological brain. This system allows humans to delegate complex thinking tasks to internet communicators and AI interfaces, which can efficiently access, process, and organize vast repositories of human knowledge. AI, particularly large language models, acts as information-dense nodes within this network, capable of rapid data analysis and synthesis, effectively raising the intelligence and information literacy of all participants in the superorganism. By improving the signal-to-noise ratio of information flow, the exocortex enhances decision-making processes and problem-solving capabilities on a global scale. Unlike earlier concepts such as the noosphere or collective consciousness, the exocortex specifically incorporates the role of internet and AI technologies in forming a coherent, responsive, and increasingly effective global cognitive system. This manifests in tools like AI-augmented search engines, which not only save time but also enhance the quality and reliability of information accessible to individuals, thereby contributing to the overall intelligence and functionality of the global superorganism.

Here’s how I personally visualize the superorganism and exocortex:

The combination of satellites, 5G networks, fiber optic trunks, and phone lines collectively make up the nervous system of our superorganism. The data, servers, people, phones, PCs, and AI agents all participate like brain cells (or microcolumns more specifically).

Wrapping Up

Let’s quickly assert the characteristics of the superorganism and its exocortex, and then I’ll make some recommendations about how we can continue to improve the exocortex.

Characteristics of the Superorganism

Below are the chief characteristics of the digital global superorganism that surfaced in my conversation with Claude:

• Decentralized Cognition: Functions as a vast, distributed cognitive system where each human contributes specialized knowledge and perspective.

• Technological Integration: Utilizes various technologies, from ancient road systems to modern digital platforms, forming a global nervous system.

• Rapid Information Flow: Enables near-instantaneous communication and information sharing across the planet.

• Collective Processing: Unpacks complex issues by integrating diverse perspectives on history, ethics, legality, economics, etc.

• Adaptive Decision-Making: Builds consensus through debate and collective information gathering, accelerated by technologies like the internet.

• Self-Regulation Mechanisms: Develops ways to address issues and correct imbalances, analogous to immune responses in biological organisms.

• Multi-Modal Communication: Integrates various forms of communication (podcasts, videos, articles, etc.) to process and disseminate information.

• Scalable Governance: Evolves decision-making systems from small-scale democracies to global platforms, addressing challenges of scale.

• Pain-like Response to Crises: Reacts to global issues by focusing collective attention, similar to how pain directs an organism's attention to injury.

• Continuous Evolution: Constantly develops new capabilities and structures to address emerging global challenges.

Characteristics of the Exocortex

Likewise, below are the chief characteristics of the exocortex that the superorganism is growing:

1. External Cognitive Enhancement: Functions as an artificial, external layer that augments human cognitive capabilities.

2. AI Integration: Incorporates AI technologies, particularly large language models, as information-dense nodes for rapid data processing.

3. Information Organization: Crystallizes, consolidates, and compresses vast amounts of data, making it more accessible and useful.

4. Delegated Cognition: Allows humans to offload complex thinking tasks to internet communicators and AI interfaces.

5. Enhanced Information Literacy: Improves the quality and reliability of information accessible to individuals, reducing misinformation and conspiracy theories.

6. Rapid Information Processing: Capable of analyzing millions of words per minute, vastly outpacing human reading speeds.

7. Improved Signal-to-Noise Ratio: Enhances the quality of information flow by filtering out noise and emphasizing relevant data.

8. Global Knowledge Repository: Acts as an accessible storage and retrieval system for humanity's collective knowledge.

9. Intelligence Amplification: Raises the effective intelligence of every participant in the global superorganism.

10. Adaptive Interface: Continuously evolves to provide more efficient ways for humans to interact with and benefit from collective knowledge.

Helping It Grow

Finally, I’d like to discuss ways that we can all augment the trajectory of the superorganism and the exocortex. Before we proceed, I would like to say that the intrinsic motivations of all humans, combined with existing systems such as capitalism and democracy, will ultimately result in a self-improving superorganism. Humans reduce internal entropy at the expense of external entropy. So while the outside universe might become more entropic, our anti-entropic tendencies will continue to expand beyond our individual bodies. We will bring more order to society, knowledge, and eventually the entire globe.

1. Leverage AI for Personal Growth: Use AI as much as possible to increase your own information literacy, such as Perplexity and other tools, which will save you time, reduce the noise you consume, and thus make you a better node in the hivemind.

2. Educate Others: Teach others to use these tools as well. As the superorganism creates and discovers valuable information tools, we will get compounding returns (a virtuous cycle) of better information transmission and processing, thus raising the global cognitive function.

3. Develop New Tools: Build more such AI tools and other information tools, such as blockchain or crypto. Use these technologies to augment and enhance information processing, decision-making and consensus-building in any way possible.

4. Improve Signal-to-Noise Ratio: Improve the signal to noise ratio wherever you can. Either by tamping down on conspiracy theories and misinformation (halting disruptive signals) or by boosting useful, good signals. Share important science and tech and news, amplify good ideas. Surface and circulate hidden gems.