Metaman
Encyclopedia
Metaman: The Merging of Humans and Machines into a Global Superorganism (ISBN 067170723X) is a 1993 book by author Gregory Stock
. The title refers to the concept of a superorganism
comprising humanity and its technology.
While many people have had ideas about a global brain
, they have tended to suppose that this can be improved or altered by humans according to their will. Metaman can be seen as a development that directs humanity's will to its own ends, whether it likes it or not, through the operation of market forces. While it is difficult to think of making a life-form based on metals that can mine its own 'food', it is possible to imagine a superorganism that incorporates humans as its "cells" and entices them to sustain it (communalness
), just as our cells interwork to sustain us.
Gregory Stock
Gregory Stock is a biophysicist, best-selling author, biotech entrepreneur, and the former director of the Program on Medicine, Technology and Society at UCLA’s School of Medicine...
. The title refers to the concept of a superorganism
Superorganism
A superorganism is an organism consisting of many organisms. This is usually meant to be a social unit of eusocial animals, where division of labour is highly specialised and where individuals are not able to survive by themselves for extended periods of time. Ants are the best-known example of...
comprising humanity and its technology.
While many people have had ideas about a global brain
Global brain
The Global Brain is a metaphor for the worldwide intelligent network formed by people together with the information and communication technologies that connect them into an "organic" whole...
, they have tended to suppose that this can be improved or altered by humans according to their will. Metaman can be seen as a development that directs humanity's will to its own ends, whether it likes it or not, through the operation of market forces. While it is difficult to think of making a life-form based on metals that can mine its own 'food', it is possible to imagine a superorganism that incorporates humans as its "cells" and entices them to sustain it (communalness
Communalness
Communalness, as suggested by Robert A. Freitas Jr., is a level of an emergent phenomen which originates from Electronic sentience, and represents a broader mode of thinking than just normal consciousness. While consciousness is limited to the individual, communalness describes a complex...
), just as our cells interwork to sustain us.
External links
- Review of Metaman, by Hans MoravecHans MoravecHans Moravec is an adjunct faculty member at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University. He is known for his work on robotics, artificial intelligence, and writings on the impact of technology. Moravec also is a futurist with many of his publications and predictions focusing on...
- Review of Metaman, by Patric Hedlund