This Algorithm Could Save Your Life

What single thing can any individual do to maximally increase the probability that humans thrive beyond what we can imagine? There are three main ideas. Number one. Blueprint. Blueprint is an algorithm that takes better care of me than I can care for myself. We humans struggle to act in our best interests. We will look both ways before crossing the street to avoid getting hit by a car. But we will do so while smoking a cigarette. Every day we do things that accelerate aging. And while we may think we can stop those things anytime we want, we are powerless to stop them all. Don't believe me? Try stopping all of your self destructive behaviors. These include eating too much food or junk food, not exercising, smoking, excessive drinking, drugs, staying up past our bedtimes, pornography, excessive social media, and dozens more. All of these things shorten our lives. All of them make life less enjoyable in the long run. They are payday loans and the interest is taken from the well being, happiness and health of future you. To protect ourselves from the raw reality that we are powerless to stop these behaviors, we create pretty stories to justify them. Live a little. We're all going to die anyway. We are masters at hiding the truth. We don't want to see. Blueprint plays a new game called Don't Die. We in fact play it every day right now. We wear seatbelts. We change the batteries in our smoke alarms and throw out moldy food. This is how I personally play the game Don't Die. My team and I gather hundreds of biomarkers from my body. This allows my heart, lungs, liver and 70 other organs to speak for themselves. After evaluating hundreds of scientific papers, we then create a health protocol. This algorithm determines what and when I. E. When I go to bed, and so forth. My mind does not have the authority to order from a menu, eat a gallon of ice cream because it's nighttime, or peruse the pantry because I'm bored. My body's organs and biological processes overseed the whole thing, not my mind. Sounds dystopic, right? This isn't the future you imagined. Just wait. It gets worse. Number two, the autonomous self. The goal of Blueprint is the autonomous self where each of us improves at the speed of science and technology. Every year, we get new versions of almost everything. Meanwhile, every day, we humans reliably get one day closer to death. Your autonomous self reverses this trend by building upon the foundation of Blueprint to interconnect your well being with and personal growth with the progress of science and technology. Zeroism. You can think of zeroism as a version of future literacy, a mindset and toolkit to navigate a rapidly changing and completely unknown future. Let's put future literacy in context. In 1820, only 12% of the world's population could read and write. Imagine what our daily lives would look like right now if we hadn't achieved 86% basic literacy over the past two centuries. We'd probably be significantly less prosperous, healthy and interesting. Historically, future literacy was not imminently needed. Things changed slowly over the course of generations. Knowing seasonal weather patterns was good enough for most people Today. There are tectonic technological and cultural shifts that happen on the timescales of weeks, months and years. Pace of change will continue to accelerate. We are accustomed to thinking about human evolution on the timescale of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, not in single lifetimes. But that's where we are now. We need to be alert to the changes in store for individuals and humanity to triage the right path forward. This is a question of survival. Personally, after observing my own thoughts and behavior for 46 years, I do not trust my conscious mind. Not in a pantry full of junk food, not with my best long term interests, not in explaining away my irrational behaviors. I do not think that humanity, as we are configured today, can cooperate well enough and fast enough to avoid catastrophic outcomes. I think we need to hand over the reins of power. Humanity has reached its cognitive and attentional limits in managing a complex, ultra interconnected world. Zeroism is a way to understand, think and behave in a rapidly changing future. A way to anticipate and prepare for the unknown. Throughout history, the number and concept of zero revolutionized math and physics, art, philosophy and religion. Our modern society depends on the power of zero, enabling computers, gaming, social media, GPS and medical technology. Some of history's most monumental breakthroughs are, as I like to call them, zero discoveries. In the past, discoveries of zero happened every few decades or centuries. For example, that the earth was not the center of the universe. A few decades or even a century was enough time for society to reconfigure and update its beliefs, technology and culture. Zero discoveries are now happening at a much faster pace. That is because AI is a zero manufacturer. Insights generated by AI will introduce reality bending zeros and demand that we quicken our adaptation. So there you have it. Three ideas. Blueprint. We humans are going to be run by algorithms because they are superior to us autonomous self. We will begin improving ourselves at the speed of science and technology because we can. Zeroism In a rapidly changing future, our best attribute is learning a new form of intelligence which is not knowing Also known as future literacy. Zeroism is a response to the fact that humanity is facing at least three imminent and existential risks. The risk of an unsustainable biosphere, misaligned AI, mass destruction via nukes, biowarfare, societal collapse, etc. Could it be the case that humanity would be better off rethinking how we make decisions going forward in the same way that I did with my health? Empowering science to care for me better than I can care for myself? Imagine empowering Earth's biosphere to manage its own well being. We humans are currently in charge of deciding how much pollution and toxicity we generate, and whether the oceans become more acidic, the planet warms, and more life becomes extinct. If our biosphere were in charge, we'd use the same blueprint process to fix its problems. Measuring the biosphere via oceans, atmosphere, land, etc. Via millions of data points. Our biosphere sets the standards for pollution, toxins, wildlife and weather. Humanity deals with it and adapts. In hearing these ideas, many confidently assert that my motivation for blueprint is a fear of death. I do not fear death. I sat at its doorstep for a decade alongside chronic depression, desperately wishing I didn't exist. Had it not been for my three children, I probably would have taken my own life. I know what it's like to be locked into a staring contest with death here right now. Wanting life can be hard for so many reasons. The depths of depression taught me a thing or two about this. I dream of an existence where we all want to keep playing the game of life, even in our darkest moments. For thousands of years, it's been the same story. We're born and then we die in predictable fashion. Don't die is the ultimate game to play. Existence is the highest virtue. Blueprint is not just for me. It is for everyone. Blueprint is a plan to save ourselves. May we have the courage to believe that right now may be the very beginning. It.