Is Earth smart?<\/strong><\/h2>\nIn an article for The Atlantic<\/em><\/a>, Adam Frank and his coauthors trace their attempt to account for the collective intelligence of all life on the planet. \u201cMaking sense of how a planet\u2019s intelligence might be defined and understood helps shine a little light on humanity\u2019s future on this planet\u2014or lack thereof,\u201d they write.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThese are questions posed by Adam Frank<\/a>, the Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Rochester<\/a>, and his colleagues David Grinspoon <\/a>at the Planetary Science Institute and Sara Walker<\/a>\u00a0at Arizona State University,\u00a0in a paper published in the International Journal of Astrobiology<\/em><\/a>. Their self-described \u201cthought experiment\u201d combines current scientific understanding about the Earth with broader questions about how life alters a planet. In the paper, the researchers discuss what they call \u201cplanetary intelligence\u201d\u2014the idea of cognitive activity operating on a planetary scale\u2014to raise new ideas about the ways in which humans might tackle global issues such as climate change.<\/p>\nAs Frank says, \u201cIf we ever hope to survive as a species, we must use our intelligence for the greater good of the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n
An \u2018immature technosphere\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\nFrank, Grinspoon, and Walker draw from ideas such as the Gaia hypothesis\u2014which proposes that the biosphere interacts strongly with the non-living geological systems of air, water, and land to maintain Earth\u2019s habitable state\u2014to explain that even a non-technologically capable species can display planetary Intelligence. The key is that the collective activity of life creates a system that is self-maintaining.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we ever hope to survive as a species, we must use our intelligence for the greater good of the planet,” says Adam Frank.<\/div>\nFor example, Frank says, many recent studies have shown how the roots of the trees in a forest connect via underground networks of fungi known as mycorrhizal networks. If one part of the forest needs nutrients, the other parts send the stressed portions the nutrients they need to survive, via the mycorrhizal network. In this way, the forest maintains its own viability.<\/p>\n
Right now, our civilization is what the researchers call an \u201cimmature technosphere,\u201d a conglomeration of human-generated systems and technology that directly affects the planet but is not self-maintaining. For instance, the majority of our energy usage involves consuming fossil fuels that degrade Earth\u2019s oceans and atmosphere. The technology and energy we consume to survive are destroying our home planet, which will, in turn, destroy our species.<\/p>\n
To survive as a species, then, we need to collectively work in the best interest of the planet.<\/p>\n
But, Frank says, \u201cwe don\u2019t yet have the ability to communally respond in the best interests of the planet. There is intelligence on Earth, but there isn\u2019t planetary intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toward a mature technosphere<\/strong><\/h3>\nThe researchers posit four stages of Earth\u2019s past and possible future to illustrate how planetary intelligence might play a role in humanity\u2019s long-term future. They also show how these stages of evolution driven by planetary intelligence may be a feature of any planet in the galaxy that evolves life and a sustainable technological civilization.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/3509_spheresmockup-scaled.jpg\")
University of Rochester illustration \/ Michael Osadciw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n- Stage 1 \u2013 Immature biosphere<\/strong>: characteristic of very early Earth, billions of years ago and \u00a0before a technological species, when microbes were present but vegetation had not yet come about. There were few global feedbacks because life couldn\u2019t exert forces on Earth\u2019s atmosphere, hydrosphere, and other planetary systems.<\/li>\n
- Stage 2 \u2013 Mature biosphere: <\/strong>characteristic of Earth, also before a technological species, from about 2.5 billion to 540 million years ago. Stable continents formed, vegetation and photosynthesis developed, oxygen built up in the atmosphere, and the ozone layer emerged. The biosphere exerted a strong influence on the Earth, perhaps helping to maintain Earth\u2019s habitability.<\/li>\n
- Stage 3 \u2013 Immature technosphere:<\/strong> characteristic of Earth now, with interlinked systems of communication, transportation, technology, electricity, and computers. The technosphere is still immature, however, because it is not integrated into other Earth systems, such as the atmosphere. Instead, it draws matter and energy from Earth\u2019s systems in ways that will drive the whole into a new state that likely doesn\u2019t include the technosphere itself. Our current technosphere is, in the long run, working against itself.<\/li>\n
- Stage 4 \u2013 Mature technosphere:<\/strong> where Earth should aim to be in the future, Frank says, with technological systems in place that benefit the entire planet, including globally harvesting energy in forms like solar that do not harm the biosphere. The mature technosphere is one that has co-evolved with the biosphere into a form that allows both the technosphere and the biosphere to thrive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cPlanets evolve through immature and mature stages, and planetary intelligence is indicative of when you get to a mature planet,\u201d Frank says. \u201cThe million-dollar question is figuring out what planetary intelligence looks like and means for us in practice because we don\u2019t know how to move to a mature technosphere yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
The complex system of planetary intelligence<\/strong><\/h3>\nAlthough we don\u2019t yet know specifically how planetary intelligence might manifest itself, the researchers note that a mature technosphere involves integrating technological systems with Earth through a network of feedback loops that make up a complex system.<\/p>\n
Put simply, a complex system is anything built from smaller parts that interact in such a fashion that the overall behavior of the system is entirely dependent on the interaction. That is, the sum is more than the whole of its parts. Examples of complex systems include forests, the Internet, financial markets, and the human brain.<\/p>\n
By its very nature, a complex system has entirely new properties that emerge when individual pieces are interacting. It is difficult to discern the personality of a human being, for instance, solely by examining the neurons in her brain.<\/p>\n
That means it is difficult to predict exactly what properties might emerge when individuals form a planetary intelligence. However, a complex system like planetary intelligence will, according to the researchers, have two defining characteristics: it will have emergent behavior and will need to be self-maintaining.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biosphere figured out how to host life by itself billions of years ago by creating systems for moving around nitrogen and transporting carbon,\u201d Frank says. \u201cNow we have to figure out how to have the same kind of self-maintaining characteristics with the technosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n
The search for extraterrestrial life<\/strong><\/h3>\nDespite some efforts, including global bans on certain chemicals that harm the environment and a move toward using more solar energy,\u00a0\u201cwe don\u2019t have planetary intelligence or a mature technosphere yet,\u201d he says. \u201cBut the whole purpose of this research is to point out where we should be headed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raising these questions, Frank says, will not only provide information about the past, present, and future survival of life on Earth but will also help in the search for life and civilizations outside our solar system. Frank, for instance, is the principal investigator on a NASA grant to search for technosignatures<\/a> of civilizations on planets orbiting distant stars.<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re saying the only technological civilizations we may ever see\u2014the ones we should expect<\/em> to see\u2014are the ones that didn’t kill themselves, meaning they must have reached the stage of a true planetary intelligence,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s the power of this line of inquiry: it unites what we need to know to survive the climate crisis with what might happen on any planet where life and intelligence evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/2018-06-04_Adam_Frank_063-3-2-165.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nAstrophysicist Adam Frank<\/strong><\/h4>\nA self-described \u201cevangelist of science,\u201d Frank regularly writes\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0speaks\u00a0about subjects like intelligent life forms in the universe, high-energy-density physics, space exploration and missions, climate change, and more.<\/p>\nExplore full profile \u00bb<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nRead more<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n![\"Overhead](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/fea-complex-systems-traffic.jpg\")
Can the laws of physics untangle traffic jams, stock markets, and other complex systems?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nGourab Ghoshal is using the fundamental laws of physics to untangle the complex systems behind human behavior, urban planning, and social networks.<\/span><\/div>\n
These are questions posed by Adam Frank<\/a>, the Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Rochester<\/a>, and his colleagues David Grinspoon <\/a>at the Planetary Science Institute and Sara Walker<\/a>\u00a0at Arizona State University,\u00a0in a paper published in the International Journal of Astrobiology<\/em><\/a>. Their self-described \u201cthought experiment\u201d combines current scientific understanding about the Earth with broader questions about how life alters a planet. In the paper, the researchers discuss what they call \u201cplanetary intelligence\u201d\u2014the idea of cognitive activity operating on a planetary scale\u2014to raise new ideas about the ways in which humans might tackle global issues such as climate change.<\/p>\n As Frank says, \u201cIf we ever hope to survive as a species, we must use our intelligence for the greater good of the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n Frank, Grinspoon, and Walker draw from ideas such as the Gaia hypothesis\u2014which proposes that the biosphere interacts strongly with the non-living geological systems of air, water, and land to maintain Earth\u2019s habitable state\u2014to explain that even a non-technologically capable species can display planetary Intelligence. The key is that the collective activity of life creates a system that is self-maintaining.<\/p>\n For example, Frank says, many recent studies have shown how the roots of the trees in a forest connect via underground networks of fungi known as mycorrhizal networks. If one part of the forest needs nutrients, the other parts send the stressed portions the nutrients they need to survive, via the mycorrhizal network. In this way, the forest maintains its own viability.<\/p>\n Right now, our civilization is what the researchers call an \u201cimmature technosphere,\u201d a conglomeration of human-generated systems and technology that directly affects the planet but is not self-maintaining. For instance, the majority of our energy usage involves consuming fossil fuels that degrade Earth\u2019s oceans and atmosphere. The technology and energy we consume to survive are destroying our home planet, which will, in turn, destroy our species.<\/p>\n To survive as a species, then, we need to collectively work in the best interest of the planet.<\/p>\n But, Frank says, \u201cwe don\u2019t yet have the ability to communally respond in the best interests of the planet. There is intelligence on Earth, but there isn\u2019t planetary intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n The researchers posit four stages of Earth\u2019s past and possible future to illustrate how planetary intelligence might play a role in humanity\u2019s long-term future. They also show how these stages of evolution driven by planetary intelligence may be a feature of any planet in the galaxy that evolves life and a sustainable technological civilization.<\/p>\n \u201cPlanets evolve through immature and mature stages, and planetary intelligence is indicative of when you get to a mature planet,\u201d Frank says. \u201cThe million-dollar question is figuring out what planetary intelligence looks like and means for us in practice because we don\u2019t know how to move to a mature technosphere yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Although we don\u2019t yet know specifically how planetary intelligence might manifest itself, the researchers note that a mature technosphere involves integrating technological systems with Earth through a network of feedback loops that make up a complex system.<\/p>\n Put simply, a complex system is anything built from smaller parts that interact in such a fashion that the overall behavior of the system is entirely dependent on the interaction. That is, the sum is more than the whole of its parts. Examples of complex systems include forests, the Internet, financial markets, and the human brain.<\/p>\n By its very nature, a complex system has entirely new properties that emerge when individual pieces are interacting. It is difficult to discern the personality of a human being, for instance, solely by examining the neurons in her brain.<\/p>\n That means it is difficult to predict exactly what properties might emerge when individuals form a planetary intelligence. However, a complex system like planetary intelligence will, according to the researchers, have two defining characteristics: it will have emergent behavior and will need to be self-maintaining.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biosphere figured out how to host life by itself billions of years ago by creating systems for moving around nitrogen and transporting carbon,\u201d Frank says. \u201cNow we have to figure out how to have the same kind of self-maintaining characteristics with the technosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite some efforts, including global bans on certain chemicals that harm the environment and a move toward using more solar energy,\u00a0\u201cwe don\u2019t have planetary intelligence or a mature technosphere yet,\u201d he says. \u201cBut the whole purpose of this research is to point out where we should be headed.\u201d<\/p>\n Raising these questions, Frank says, will not only provide information about the past, present, and future survival of life on Earth but will also help in the search for life and civilizations outside our solar system. Frank, for instance, is the principal investigator on a NASA grant to search for technosignatures<\/a> of civilizations on planets orbiting distant stars.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re saying the only technological civilizations we may ever see\u2014the ones we should expect<\/em> to see\u2014are the ones that didn’t kill themselves, meaning they must have reached the stage of a true planetary intelligence,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s the power of this line of inquiry: it unites what we need to know to survive the climate crisis with what might happen on any planet where life and intelligence evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n A self-described \u201cevangelist of science,\u201d Frank regularly writes\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0speaks\u00a0about subjects like intelligent life forms in the universe, high-energy-density physics, space exploration and missions, climate change, and more.<\/p>\n Explore full profile \u00bb<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Gourab Ghoshal is using the fundamental laws of physics to untangle the complex systems behind human behavior, urban planning, and social networks.<\/span><\/div>\nAn \u2018immature technosphere\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Toward a mature technosphere<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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The complex system of planetary intelligence<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The search for extraterrestrial life<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAstrophysicist Adam Frank<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nRead more<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Can the laws of physics untangle traffic jams, stock markets, and other complex systems?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
![\"Several](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/fea-nasa-technosignature-frank-1.jpg\")
Do aliens exist? Are aliens real? Technosignatures may hold new clues<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n![\"Cartoon](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2660_DinoStreet_FeatureImage.jpg\")
We think we\u2019re the first advanced earthlings\u2014but how do we really know?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n