George Dvorsky

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George Dvorsky
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Born (1970-05-11) May 11, 1970 (age 54)
Website www.sentientdevelopments.com

George P. Dvorsky (born May 11, 1970) is a Canadian bioethicist, transhumanist and futurist. He is a contributing editor at io9 [1] and producer of the Sentient Developments blog and podcast. He was chair of the board for the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) [2] [3] and is the founder and chair of the IEET's Rights of Non-Human Persons Program, [4] a group that is working to secure human-equivalent rights and protections for highly sapient animals. He also serves on the Advisory Council of METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence).

Contents

Dvorsky is a secular Buddhist, [5] [6] progressive environmentalist, [7] ancestral health advocate, [8] and animal rights activist. [9] [ non-primary source needed ] Primarily concerned with the ethical and sociological impacts of emerging technologies, specifically, "human enhancement" technologies; he seeks to promote open discussion for the purposes of education and foresight.[ citation needed ] He writes and speaks on a wide range of topics, including technoscience, ethics, existential risks, artificial intelligence, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and futurology, from a democratic transhumanist perspective. [2] [3]

Nonhuman rights and ethics

Uplift ethics

Dvorsky presented an argument for non-human animal biological uplift at the IEET Human Enhancement Technologies and Human Rights conference at Stanford University in May 2006; [10] [11] and wrote the first published article in defence of the Ashley Treatment in November 2006, [12] [ non-primary source needed ] and subsequently the only bioethicist cited by Ashley X's parents in their defense. [13]

Existential risk

Dvorsky also presented an argument warning of the decline of democratic values and institutions in the face of existential and catastrophic risks at the Global Catastrophic Risks: Building a Resilient Civilization conference in November 2008. [14] [ non-primary source needed ]

Dysonian SETI

Dvorsky, along with Milan M. Ćirković and Robert Bradbury, published a critique of SETI in the May 2012 Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS) arguing that SETI techniques and practices have become outdated. In its place, Dvorsky, Ćirković, and Bradbury advocated for what they called Dysonian SETI, namely the search for those signatures and artefacts indicative of highly advanced extraterrestrial life. [15] [ non-primary source needed ]

Space development

Dvorsky has written extensively in favor of space exploration and has both promoted and criticized various Megascale engineering concepts. [16] [17] [18] [19] [ non-primary source needed ]

Dyson sphere

Dvorsky gained some notoriety in 2012 after writing about Dyson spheres, hypothetical structures intended to collect the entire energetic output of a star with solar power collectors. While Dvorsky presented it as a solution to humanity's resource needs including power and living space, [17] Forbes blogger Alex Knapp and astronomer Phil Plait, among others, have criticized Dvorsky's article.

Dismantling Mercury, just to start, will take 2 x 1030 joules, [note 1] or an amount of energy 100 billion times the US annual energy consumption ... [Dvorsky] kinda glosses over that point. And how long until his solar collectors gather that much energy back, and we’re in the black?

—  Phil Plait, in an email cited in [20]

At one AU – which is the distance of the orbit of the Earth, the Sun emits 1.4 x 103 J/sec per square meter. [note 2] That’s 1.4 x 109 J/sec per square kilometer. At one-third efficiency, that’s 4.67 x 108 J/sec for the entire Dyson sphere. That sounds like a lot, right? But here’s the thing – if you work it out, it will take 4.28 x 1028 seconds for the solar collectors to obtain the energy needed to dismantle Mercury. That’s about 120 trillion years. [note 3]

— Alex Knapp [20]

Other publications including Popular Science, Vice, and skeptical blog Weird Things followed up on this exchange. [21] [22] [23] None of them note the above numerical inaccuracies, although Weird Things does point out Plait's misunderstanding regarding bootstrapping, which Knapp agreed with in an update to his post. [20] [23] James Nicoll noted in his blog that Knapp seriously underestimated the area of a sphere. [24]

Notes

  1. ↑ This is a close approximation to the number given by Wolfram Alpha which is 1.789×1030 J (joules)
  2. ↑ This is related to how far we are from the sun, and if we know the energy output of the sun (3.846x1026 W) we can calculate based on distance using the formula for surface area of a sphere 3.846*1026W/(4pi * au2/m2) = ~1400W/m2
  3. ↑ This underestimates the time by a factor of 11 million, but also only applies to the energy harvested by one square kilometer at 1.0 AU.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dyson sphere</span> Hypothetical megastructure around a star

A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its power output. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to imagine how a spacefaring civilization would meet its energy requirements once those requirements exceed what can be generated from the home planet's resources alone. Because only a tiny fraction of a star's energy emissions reaches the surface of any orbiting planet, building structures encircling a star would enable a civilization to harvest far more energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fermi paradox</span> Problem of the lack of evidence for alien life despite its apparent likelihood

The Fermi paradox is the discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life and the apparently high likelihood of its existence. Those affirming the paradox generally conclude that if the conditions required for life to arise from non-living matter are as permissive as the available evidence on Earth indicates, then extraterrestrial life would be sufficiently common such that it would be implausible for it not to have been detected yet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space colonization</span> Concept of permanent human habitation outside of Earth

Space colonization is the colonization of outer space and astronomical bodies. As such it is a process of occupation or control for exploitation, such as extraterrestrial mining, and possibly extraterrestrial settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transhumanism</span> Philosophical movement

Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available new and future technologies that can greatly enhance longevity, cognition, and well-being.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kardashev scale</span> Measure of a civilizations evolution

The Kardashev scale is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is capable of harnessing and using. The measure was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964, and was named after him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sievert</span> SI unit of equivalent dose of ionizing radiation

The sievert is a unit in the International System of Units (SI) intended to represent the stochastic health risk of ionizing radiation, which is defined as the probability of causing radiation-induced cancer and genetic damage. The sievert is important in dosimetry and radiation protection. It is named after Rolf Maximilian Sievert, a Swedish medical physicist renowned for work on radiation dose measurement and research into the biological effects of radiation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Pearce (philosopher)</span> British transhumanist

David Pearce is a British transhumanist philosopher. He is the co-founder of the World Transhumanist Association, currently rebranded and incorporated as Humanity+. Pearce approaches ethical issues from a lexical negative utilitarian perspective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humanity+</span> International non-profit organization

Humanity+ is a non-profit international educational organization that advocates the ethical use of technologies and evidence-based science to improve the human condition.

A matrioshka brain is a hypothetical megastructure of immense computational capacity powered by a Dyson sphere. It was proposed in 1997 by Robert J. Bradbury (1956–2011). It is an example of a class-B stellar engine, employing the entire energy output of a star to drive computer systems. This concept derives its name from the nesting Russian matryoshka dolls. The concept was deployed by Bradbury in the anthology Year Million: Science at the Far Edge of Knowledge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hill sphere</span> Region in which an astronomical body dominates the attraction of satellites

The Hill sphere is a common model for the calculation of a gravitational sphere of influence. It is the most commonly used model to calculate the spatial extent of gravitational influence of an astronomical body (m) in which it dominates over the gravitational influence of other bodies, particularly a primary (M). It is sometimes confused with other models of gravitational influence, such as the Laplace sphere or being named the Roche sphere, the latter causing confusion with the Roche limit. It was defined by the American astronomer George William Hill, based on the work of the French astronomer Édouard Roche.

Xenoarchaeology, a branch of xenology dealing with extraterrestrial cultures, is a hypothetical form of archaeology that exists mainly in works of science fiction. The field is concerned with the study of the material remains to reconstruct and interpret past life-ways of alien civilizations. Xenoarchaeology is not currently practiced by mainstream archaeologists due to the current lack of any material for the discipline to study.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hughes (sociologist)</span> American sociologist and bioethicist

James J. Hughes is an American sociologist, bioethicist and futurist. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and is the Associate Provost for institutional research, assessment, and planning at University of Massachusetts Boston. He is the author of Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future and is currently writing a book on secular Buddhism and moral bioenhancement tentatively titled Cyborg Buddha: Using Neurotechnology to Become Better People.

The Great Filter is the idea that, in the development of life from the earliest stages of abiogenesis to reaching the highest levels of development on the Kardashev scale, there is a barrier to development that makes detectable extraterrestrial life exceedingly rare. The Great Filter is one possible resolution of the Fermi paradox.

The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) is a technoprogressive think tank that seeks to "promote ideas about how technological progress can increase freedom, happiness, and human flourishing in democratic societies." It was incorporated in the United States in 2004, as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, by philosopher Nick Bostrom and bioethicist James Hughes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence</span> Branch of SETI

The communication with extraterrestrial intelligence (CETI) is a branch of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) that focuses on composing and deciphering interstellar messages that theoretically could be understood by another technological civilization. The best-known CETI experiment of its kind was the 1974 Arecibo message composed by Frank Drake.

Technogaianism is a bright green environmentalist stance of active support for the research, development and use of emerging and future technologies to help restore Earth's environment. Technogaianists argue that developing safe, clean, alternative technology should be an important goal of environmentalists and environmentalism.

The cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact is the corpus of changes to terrestrial science, technology, religion, politics, and ecosystems resulting from contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. This concept is closely related to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), which attempts to locate intelligent life as opposed to analyzing the implications of contact with that life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technosignature</span> Property that provides scientific evidence for the presence of technology

Technosignature or technomarker is any measurable property or effect that provides scientific evidence of past or present technology. Technosignatures are analogous to biosignatures, which signal the presence of life, whether intelligent or not. Some authors prefer to exclude radio transmissions from the definition, but such restrictive usage is not widespread. Jill Tarter has proposed that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) be renamed "the search for technosignatures". Various types of technosignatures, such as radiation leakage from megascale astroengineering installations such as Dyson spheres, the light from an extraterrestrial ecumenopolis, or Shkadov thrusters with the power to alter the orbits of stars around the Galactic Center, may be detectable with hypertelescopes. Some examples of technosignatures are described in Paul Davies's 2010 book The Eerie Silence, although the terms "technosignature" and "technomarker" do not appear in the book.

Hypothetical technology is technology that does not exist yet, but that could exist in the future. This article presents examples of technologies that have been hypothesized or proposed, but that have not been developed yet. An example of hypothetical technology is teleportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transhumanist politics</span> Political ideologies based on Transhumanism

Transhumanist politics constitutes a group of political ideologies that generally express the belief in improving human individuals through science and technology. Specific topics include space migration, and cryogenic suspension. It is considered the opposing ideal to the concept of bioconservatism, as Transhumanist politics argue for the use of all technology to enhance human individuals.

References

  1. ↑ "George Dvorsky is now a Contributing Editor at io9". ieet.org. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
  2. 1 2 Humphrey, Stephen (2004). "No Death, Please, I'm Bionic: Cyborg-Obsessed Transhumanists Push Bioethical Limits While Fending Off Foes From All Sides" . Retrieved 2015-06-12.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. 1 2 Mayer, Andre (2005). "The Great Byte Hope". Archived from the original on 2007-01-01. Retrieved 2007-03-03.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ↑ "IEET Rights of Non-Human Persons Program". Archived from the original on 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
  5. ↑ "Cyborg Buddha Project". Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies . Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  6. ↑ Dvorsky, George (September 2008). "Better Living through Transhumanism". Journal of Evolution & Technology. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  7. ↑ Dvorsky, George (2003). "Technophiles and Greens of the World, Unite!". Archived from the original on 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2007-03-19.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ↑ Dvorsky, George (2011). "Primal Transhumanism" . Retrieved 2011-06-07.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ↑ Dvorsky, George (2006). "The myth of our exalted human place" . Retrieved 2007-03-19.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ↑ Dvorsky, George (2006). "IEET Monograph Series: All Together Now: Developmental and ethical considerations for biologically uplifting non human animals" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2007-02-09.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ↑ Bailey, Ronald (2006). "The Right to Human Enhancement: And also uplifting animals and the rapture of the nerds" . Retrieved 2007-03-03.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. ↑ Dvorsky, George (2006). "Helping families care for the helpless" . Retrieved 2007-02-09.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ↑ Dvorsky, George (2007). "The "Ashley Treatment": Towards a Better Quality of Life for "Pillow Angels"". Archived from the original on 2007-06-11. Retrieved 2007-02-09.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)[ non-primary source needed ]
  14. ↑ Dvorsky, George (2008). "Future Risks and the Challenge to Democracy".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. ↑ Dvorsky, George (2012). "Dysonian Approach To SETI: A Fruitful Middle Ground?". Archived from the original on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2012-03-16.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ↑ Dvorsky, George (2008-03-05). "Seven ways to control the Galaxy with self-replicating probes".
  17. 1 2 Dvorsky, George (2012-03-20). "How to build a Dyson sphere in five (relatively) easy steps". Let's build a Dyson sphere! And why wouldn't we want to? By enveloping the sun with a massive array of solar panels, humanity would graduate to a Type 2 Kardashev civilization capable of utilizing nearly 100% of the sun's energy output. A Dyson sphere would provide us with more energy than we would ever know what to do with while dramatically increasing our living space. Given that our resources here on Earth are starting to dwindle, and combined with the problem of increasing demand for more energy and living space, this would seem to a good long-term plan for our species.
  18. ↑ Dvorsky, George (2014-02-12). "Here's what a Martian space elevator might actually look like".
  19. ↑ Dvorsky, George (2013-02-15). "Why we'll probably never build a space elevator".
  20. 1 2 3 Alex Knapp Destroying Mercury To Build A Dyson Sphere Is A Bad Idea
  21. ↑ Boyle, Rebecca (April 2012). "Why Turning Mercury Into a Dyson Sphere to Harvest Solar Energy Is Not Worth It". Forbes writer Alex Knapp takes his argument apart instead, crunching some numbers with the help of astronomer Phil Plait. Click through to Knapp's argument for the breakdown of joules needed to dismantle Mercury versus joules obtained by solar collectors. But the gist is that it would take 174 years to recover the energy input that it would take to blow up the lovely, geologically interesting innermost planet.
  22. ↑ Mead, Derek (April 2012). "Forget Wimpy Plans and NIMBYs, Let's Solve the Energy Crisis by Blowing Up Mercury". Archived from the original on 2015-05-04. Knapp calculated (brilliantly, I might add) that, at its earliest stage, the Dyson sphere would take 120 trillion years to produce the energy needed to pillage Mercury. Even at full, Sun-encircling power, the sphere itself would take 174 years to dismantle Mercury. Knapp thus flips the kill switch: "If we're capable of generating the amount of energy right now that would take a Dyson Sphere 174 years to recover, why would we need to build a Dyson Sphere in the first place?"
  23. 1 2 Fish, Greg (April 2012). "Why we won't build a dyson sphere soon". Dvorsky proposed an unworkable plan weren't included in their calculations. Instead, they worked out that it would take so much energy to disassemble Mercury, that a 100% efficient Dyson shell of satellites would take us some 174 years to balance the energy budget. Now this would've been fine if we were talking about warp drives and negative energy/mass constructs, but we're not, and even after having it pointed out that Dvorsky was proposing a very energy amortized bootstrapping scenario, Alex Knapp was still sticking to his energy balancing guns."
  24. ↑ Nicoll, James (April 4, 2012). ""I emailed Astronomer Phil Plait" now officially a red flag". More Words, Deeper Hole.[ permanent dead link ]
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