Nadisha-Marie Aliman

Two recent ephemeral epistemic art projects termed Cyópsis and Autothaumatopoiia respectively unfolded an at least internally so-called poly-meiocosmic worldview (valid in both monoversal and multiversal contexts) based on generic acentric unity. This last article tackles two remaining open questions which the idea of a living minuverse may engender. Firstly, the paper elucidates why the presently relatively popular concept of panpsychism which may seem the simplest at first sight does not represent the only possible consistent interpretation of a living meiocosm. The article introduces monistic panenpolymeiocosmopsychism as currently better since simultaneously clearer, riskier and more innovative EB-based alternative compatible with open-ended neo-physicalism (or synonymously psychophysicalism) but not with psyche-denying reductionism. Secondly, a conceivable practical implication of the living minuverse concept for cosmology is discussed.

Dogmatists employing easily forgeable notions of intelligence have spread the repeated credo that intelligence and consciousness must necessarily correspond to two fundamentally different, entirely unrelated concepts and declared the ignorance of every differing philosophical view while concurrently claiming that nobody is able to scientifically clarify what consciousness signifies in the first place. Another set of dogmatists adhering to behaviorism began assigning consciousness and life to relatively effortlessly forgeable "intelligent manifestations" – again without being able to provide a better clarifying scientific explanation on what consciousness signifies. Without reiterating the details of the already provided in-depth criticism against these two prevailing stances of disentanglement dogmatism and behavioristic dogmatism, this short article acting as addendum to a recent epistemic art project with the title Autothaumatopoiia compiles a cyborgnetic overview summarizing an alternative poly-meiocosmic worldview which, as all instantiated explanatory frameworks, must be epistemically incomplete but which facilitates a pragmatic epistemic improvement in relation to the just mentioned forms of dogmatism which exhibit a wide epistemic attack surface in the current deepfake era permeated by multi-level misdirection strategies.

This compact paper is an addendum to a recent epistemic art project termed Cyópsis which encoded a kaleidoscopic blend of multiple epistemological and scientific questions. Firstly, the paper briefly specifies the theoretical ramifications of a so-called poly-meiocosmic worldview for two already existing candidate multiverse theories. Secondly, possible practical implications for science and technology are discussed. On the whole, encountered limitations offer a clearer view on a next possible theory-of-more-things whose incompleteness may be its key strength.

A fringe but influential branch of algorithmic boomerism began spreading an obscure anti-human doctrine proclaiming both the inevitability/imminence of algorithmic superintelligence (ASI) and the desirability of omnicide (the extermination of all life or at least of humanity) in order to facilitate a frictionless takeover by this fictive epistemic perpetuum mobile (i.e. a purported ASI in relation to the entire human civilization built by humanity or its algorithms). While an in-depth constructive scientific criticism of conventional "vanilla" boomerism, doomerism and pragmatism has been exercised earlier, this cyborgnetic monologue elucidates why the motif of an ASI taking the guise of an entity which is henceforth denoted the algorithmic super-fairy (ASF) and which has been foretold to curiously be compelled to maintain and repeatedly enact the people-cherished practice of science – but only once every living entity or human expired – is best categorized as a wishful cult-like supernatural misapprehension. ASF fanaticism asserts the inevitability and advisability of replacing up to all of life with a fantastical science-addicted automaton divined to spread more and more science throughout a lifeless cosmos whilst not only denying the existence of i.a. physical and epistemic constraints in the universe but also the circumstance that lifeless matter may not even share people’s affective attachment to science.

While the present information ecosystem is still undergoing a tsunami of repeated algorithmic superintelligence (ASI) achievement claims linked to the motif of the epistemic perpetuum mobile (EPM), will the laterally emerging and slowly propagating quantum ASI hype finally lead to a multiversal fear of missing out? Instead of adding novel entries to the already large enough and growing set of prophecies about the future promulgated in the deepfake era, this paper written for purposes of self-education utilizes a recent epistemic complexity theory to answer the following natural scientific question: could the impossibility to build a multiversal ASI be amenable to experimental problematization?

In the presently unfolding deepfake era, recurrent inflationary algorithmic superintelligence (ASI) achievement claims degenerated from being a mere reflection of an exaggerated but candid initial enthusiasm to becoming a convenient tool for misdirection facilitating epistemic perpetuum mobile (EPM) scams. This transdisciplinarily conceived paper compactly analyzes the underlying ASI definition avoidance problem which emerged from interactions between three major epistemic trends in the ASI debate: boomerism, doomerism and pragmatism. Via taking a fourth external perspective entertained by a fictive entity called Cyogenes who volunteers as a philosopher and criticizes contemporary conventions (inspired by the ancient Cynicism lived by early Greek philosophers including Antisthenes and Diogenes of Sinope), the paper highlights key strengths but also particularly pitfalls within those three aforementioned epistemic trends all of which face the ASI definition avoidance problem – clearing the way for global EPM scams. After this philosophical analysis, a deflationary account of ASI (i.e. the epistemic perpetuum mobile) is discussed. Thereafter, practical cybersecurity-oriented threat models and defenses against EPM scams are formulated. In brief, fruitless EPM scams unnecessarily risk intensifying the near-term existential risk of epistemic self-sabotage and reinforcing totalitarian aspirations.

In the deepfake era, materialism and idealism seem to clash at multiple epistemic levels with new additional facets unfolding – an epistemic friction which could act as creativity-stimulating impetus for science and philosophy. Could the information-related concept of supercomplexity be instrumental in better clarifying understudied aspects of the apparent dichotomy? Instead of directly answering this question, this short autodidactic paper compactly analyzes a small but potentially relevant puzzle piece to complexity research taking the form of an explanatory bridge from complexity notions inherently focused on lifeless matter to a multi-dimensional informational supercomplexity concept most facets of which have hitherto been neglected. When considering the conjunction of biocosmological and cyborgnetic arguments, it seems that life, consciousness and the practice of science itself need not be a priori excluded from a physically-grounded scientific complexity theory.

This short autodidactic paper compactly introduces the epistemic algorithmic computation (EaC) paradox, a novel analogy to the Turing paradox. Firstly, it is elucidated why in the deepfake era, crafting a provisional solution to the EaC paradox may be beneficent as it may shed more light on one ingrained consequence of the prevailing algorithmic supremacy paradigm: the retrospective obsolescence of the entire biosphere in the game of life precipitated by algorithms instantiated on inert matter. Secondly, the paper analyzes and deconstructs the EaC paradox elucidating why it is contingent on a mirage that can be dissolved by interpreting it as a manifestation of what one could call the epistemic Zeno-effect. There exists at least one computational task where the minimal latency of algorithmic computation would lead to epistemic stagnation – leading to an advantage for slower non-algorithmic computational alternatives. Peculiarly, the latter may be caused by the very lawfulness of nature subsuming both cellular and conscious supremacy.

In the presently unfolding deepfake era, previously unrelated algorithmic superintelligence possibility claims cannot be scientifically analyzed in isolation anymore due to the connected inevitable epistemic interactions that have already commenced. For instance, deep-learning (DL) related algorithmic supremacy claims may intrinsically compete with both neuro-symbolic (NS) algorithmic and further quantum (Q) algorithmic superintelligence achievement claims. Concurrently, a variety of experimental combinations of DL, NS and Q directions are conceivable. While research on these three illustrative variants did not yet offer any clear mutually applicable scientific definition of a purported supremacy level framed as goal, the currently most robust scientific evaluation frameworks would i.a. require a joint testing against pre-existing non-algorithmic supremacy baselines such as e.g. conscious supremacy and cellular supremacy. This autodidactic paper explains why, for scientific reasons, all algorithmic superintelligence achievement claims in the deepfake era can be condensed and subjected to a joint scientific evaluation framework comprising multiple successive civilization-level tasks of epistemic tunneling (ET). In light of this elusive requirement, recent claims of science automation are spurious and misleading. It is vital not to misapprehend algorithmic epistemic dark matter (EDM) mining and epistemic dark energy (EDE) generation as paradigm-shifting ET events.

This epistemic project examines an understudied existential risk emerging in the deepfake era: the fortunately up to this time (but not indefinitely so) reversible peril of humanity’s epistemic self-sabotage through an overestimation of algorithms linked to quantitative aspects and a paired underestimation of the own epistemic potential whose manifestations are in principle expressible via scientifically analyzable but currently often neglected qualitative facets. This scenario is metaphorically referred to as "π-Doom scenario". Instead of carefully crafting opaque hypotheses and formulating probabilistic predictions of timelines that could easily evade scrutiny and/or could even themselves be initially generated by algorithms, scientifically and responsibly counteracting π-Doom requires new better riskier explanatory theories of intelligence, creativity and consciousness. A brief non-comprehensive literature review suggests that quite a few scientific instantiations (all of which have not yet been provisionally refuted) of that transformative requirement are already available at present. In short, π-Doom – the voluntarily or unintentionally effectuated cognitive resignation engendering an irrational algorithmically-motored process of running around in (epistemic) circles that could endanger the immediate future of a vulnerable civilization like present-day humanity – is wholly contingent on a choice of focus.

The generation of novel refined scientific conceptions of intelligence, creativity and consciousness is of paramount importance at a time where many scientists deem the technological singularity and the achievement of self-improving superintelligent algorithms to be immanent while numerous other scientists characterize present-day algorithms as the mere implementation of superficial mimicry incapable of yielding outcomes such as superintelligence. The precarious epistemic state of affairs reflected in this discrepancy became increasingly palpable in the unfolding deepfake era even though informed safety- and security-relevant actions need requisite variety in the near-term. Divergently, historically speaking, from the perspective of cosmology, science is described to already have successfully navigated from the geocentric model to the acentric model of the universe representing the currently best known explanation for the structure of the expanding cosmos. In analogy, this autodidactic paper expounds the scientific need for a broader contextualization of the current epistemic situation and explicates why acentric civilization-level epistemic relativity and invariance considerations can enable a more rigorous scientific evaluation of algorithmic superintelligence achievement claims – constraining the latter scientifically.

Recent AI progress led to a boost in beneficial applications from multiple research areas including VR. Simultaneously, in this newly unfolding deepfake era, ethically and security-relevant disagreements arose in the scientific community regarding the epistemic capabilities of present-day AI. However, given what is at stake, one can postulate that for a responsible approach, prior to engaging in a rigorous epistemic assessment of AI, humans may profit from a self-questioning strategy, an examination and calibration of the experience of their own epistemic agency – especially to counteract both intentional misdirection by unethical actors and unintentional epistemic self-sabotage. In this paper, we expound on a new avenue of utilizing AIVR tools to advance an AI-related misdirection awareness of humans in the deepfake era. Firstly, we harness scientific knowledge from the psychology and neuroscience of magic where the study of misdirection techniques is center stage. Secondly, we connect the latter to creativity research linking human creative potential to inspiration from the seemingly impossible. Overall, AIVR could become an empowering experiential testbed for human epistemic agency enabling a better rational evaluation of AI capabilities. However, a misuse of the same type of tools could yield AIVR safety risks if not counteracted preemptively.

In recent years, prevalent global societal issues related to fake news, fakery, misinformation, and disinformation were brought to the fore, leading to the construction of descriptive labels such as “post-truth” to refer to the supposedly new emerging era. Thereby, the (mis-)use of technologies such as AI and VR has been argued to potentially fuel this new loss of “ground-truth”, for instance, via the ethically relevant deepfakes phenomena and the creation of realistic fake worlds, presumably undermining experiential veracity. Indeed, _unethical_ and malicious actors could harness tools at the intersection of AI and VR (AIVR) to craft what we call _immersive falsehood_, fake immersive reality landscapes deliberately constructed for malicious ends. This short paper analyzes the ethically relevant nature of the background against which such malicious designs in AIVR could exacerbate the intentional proliferation of deceptions and falsities. We offer a reappraisal expounding that while immersive falsehood could manipulate and severely jeopardize the inherently affective constructions of social reality and considerably complicate falsification processes, humans may neither inhabit a post-truth nor a post-falsification age. Finally, we provide incentives for future AIVR safety work, ideally contributing to a future era of _technology-augmented critical thinking_.

In the last years, artificial intelligence (AI) safety gained international recognition in the light of heterogeneous safety-critical and ethical issues that risk overshadowing the broad beneficial impacts of AI. In this context, the implementation of AI observatory endeavors represents one key research direction. This paper motivates the need for an inherently _transdisciplinary_ AI observatory approach integrating diverse retrospective and counterfactual views. We delineate aims and limitations while providing hands-on-advice utilizing _concrete practical examples_. Distinguishing between unintentionally and intentionally triggered AI risks with diverse socio-psycho-technological impacts, we exemplify a _retrospective descriptive analysis_ followed by a _retrospective counterfactual risk analysis_. Building on these AI observatory tools, we present near-term transdisciplinary guidelines for AI safety. As further contribution, we discuss _differentiated_ and tailored long-term directions through the lens of two disparate modern AI safety paradigms. For simplicity, we refer to these two different paradigms with the terms _artificial stupidity_ (AS) and _eternal creativity_ (EC) respectively. While both AS and EC acknowledge the need for a hybrid cognitive-affective approach to AI safety and overlap with regard to many short-term considerations, they differ fundamentally in the nature of multiple envisaged long-term solution patterns. By compiling relevant underlying _contradistinctions_, we aim to provide _future-oriented_ incentives for constructive dialectics in practical and theoretical AI safety research.