Imminent Dangers of Auto-destruction and a Simple Solution

The title seems dramatic but I can't stress enough how dangerous the next few years are for Humanity in general.  People are aware of the danger at a subconscious level because the signs are here and there.  Unfortunately, we've been desensitized by risk for such a long time that most people just dismiss the signs.

The trouble is, we're more likely now to destroy life on Earth as we know it than the coldest part of the cold war.  We're just not seeing it openly in the news.  All our attention is focused on anti-terrorism and political posturing, sometimes leading to a small number of deaths... and we think that's reason to be afraid and to stress out.

Not so my friends.

In reality, the biggest threats right now are from tensions between countries around cyber attacks, artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons.  The combination of all three is deadly along with foreign policies of keeping offensive military forces around states that we perceive as potentially dangerous.

The U.N. has been warning about these dangers earlier this year, in particular about the global nuclear threat.  In fact, as I mentioned a couple months ago, there is a vote to attempt to universally ban nuclear weapons at the U.N. on July 7th 2017.

There is also an apparent unwillingness to negotiate any kind of significant ban on the development of automated killer robots for military use as well.  Most countries, in particular the U.S. want to keep developing deadly automated vehicles, unimpeded, while European countries would prefer setting up regulations and limits on such devices.

The combination of these technologies, i.e. nuclear weapons, automated killer robots used as delivery systems and the use of automated control systems (AI or without) makes it much easier for the military to act without putting soldiers in harms way, as well as be more efficient in killing targets.  On the other hand, these systems can start behaving differently than programmed or be hacked into by belligerent forces, causing potentially terrifying effects.  (The SkyNet principle comes to mind).

I discuss more about the implications of this and solutions in the video below:

As mentioned in a previous blog, the whole SkyNet scenario can be avoided entirely if we as people choose to ban these weapons as a first step.  No weapon is ever created without the intention of possibly using it.  As a society and voters, we have the power to refuse to develop or keep such weapons.  We can also choose to stop developing those weapons and instead develop more effective modern defenses and make efforts to reduce our own and our neighbor's aggressive tendencies.

How you ask?  Well, we need to become better people and become unafraid.  That way, we can help our leaders make proper decisions that don't involve blowing up other people and nations, or building up stockpiles of weapons that can one day reduce the Earth to a smoldering pile of ash. How about that?

Sounds crazy right?  Not so much.  There are plenty of studies that show that personal balance and meditation (making healthy stable minds) significantly decrease the likelihood of aggressive behaviors surrounding the groups that meditate.  We're talking about 20% impact in the US based on several peer-reviewed papers.

This principle has been well known for years and some armies in other countries, like Nepal, have even started using such techniques to reduce the stress levels and aggressiveness among their own troops, but also in their potential enemies, preventing incursions before they can even start.

I may be dreaming, but what if the US military would take this stance of being defensive, and meditating for peace in order to calm themselves, stabilize their own minds (health) and prevent others from feeling so aggressive towards them as well.  What would happen if all armies around the world would use meditation as a primary defensive measure, and weapons second?  What would happen if the population of each country would meditate for peace more as well as peacefully protest the development of new automated nuclear weapon platforms?

Most likely, we'd find out that we'd be collaborating with other powers to protect populations against the few pockets of aggressive people that remain.  Some initiatives have existed to help populations join up and meditate together, such as those of the Raelian Movement, called the "Meditate 1 Minute for Peace" action.

Ultimately, the development of new technologies will continue, but it is now the time for our society to choose to not develop some of those technologies into weapons.

We'll be much better off without those and instead we could build a paradise on Earth where everyone could have basic needs met. In those conditions, organized aggression would be undesirable by all, thus most large scale dangers would be eliminated as well.

This is a dream I'm willing to fight for.  How about you?