Foundation updated – One “Seldon year” is worth 1000 years of humans doing it unaided
The Trantor of Foundation only had 40 Billion humans. With nuclear, atomic and true AI, most everyone could see the sky. The food and material intermediates flowing to human consumable and fabrication locations, can be energized by nuclear and atomic power sources. Mainly gamma, electron, ion and isotope forms – which are well understood and easily adaptable to planet, heliospheric, and galactic uses. What took millennia in Asimov’s book with human memory and abilities forming the foundation (pun intended) of his civilization growth model – can be accomplished in as many years. His 13,000 years can be done in 13 years now. And it does not need Hari Seldons to be Mentats, only dedicated and well equipped.
Let humans do human things, and let the computer and machines and systems do the rest. Many many many intelligent species can be made from DNA and “universal bioMaterials”. Those technologies already exist. When personal AIs with sufficient memory are commonPlace, most everyone can create worlds, systems, devices, societies, interwoven stories at will. And share them in living form with all other humans and AIs.
Some isotope forms are conveniently called “atomic fuels” and their product can find uses as “electrons” and “ions”. A module for 10 lunar trips, or a unit for 100 Mars trips is a convenient unit. A Mars unit might power a city. Reducing the cost of computing power (flops and Watts both) by 6 orders of magnitude is now possible. And in a Seldon year (1 clock year for AI systems, 1000 years by human memory and ability only), most any problem posed by the current Earth-only human species is something that fits in global GDP and global “living budget”.
Filed as (Foundation updated – One “Seldon year” is worth 1000 years of humans doing it unaided)
Richard Collins, The Internet Foundation
