Safe Acension for Baseline Bob

[Drashner1]

Hey, I've been reading OA for awhile and it's great.

I'm curious on how a modosophont bionts safely becomes a transapient.

My best understanding of the process is that it involves augmentations and practicing a radical new way of thinking. What specifically is involved?

The answer to this is somewhat involved...

As a bit of background: At one level, minds in the OA setting seem to be largely based on some sort of neural network that has to grow and 'learn' to form a conscious being or to change, rather than being written completely into existence the way we currently write a computer program. AIs are described as being created as neural network type entities, and biological minds are often described as being subject to personality change due to sufficiently radical biological changes, or even being totally lost if a sufficiently large change (such as an unsupervised ascension attempt, or a forced ascension via godseed) takes place.

This is the case for beings of a given S-level, whether dealing with modifications to themselves or creating new minds (AI). With thousands of years of experience, there are a host of tools and techniques to make new mind creation or mind modification highly reliable, but there is still an element of uncertainty. At one S-level above the mind that is being modded/created the level of uncertainty is greatly reduced, and at two levels above it completely disappears. A modo can create an AI with a high level of confidence it will turn out (mostly) the way they want it to. An S1 can do much better at creating an S0 mind, but will have a level of uncertainty if creating another S1 mind. An S2 can basically create an S0 mind 'from the top down' with total certainty of how it will turn out and total understanding of every aspect of it. But will be less certain if creating an S1 mind, and even less certain still if creating (growing) an S2 AI.

Because of the neural network nature of minds in the setting, a number of technologies that interface with them are designed to be 'self-adapting' or actively able to adjust their hardware and software to work with the users mind - particularly when first being introduced and pairing up with that mind. This happens with DNI implants, uploading systems, and exoselves. Each mind is broadly similar, but unique in the details and these machines have to adjust and restructure themselves on the fly in order to work properly with the user after initial activation.

When considering augmentation and transapience there is also the issue of growing complexity leading to diminishing returns. Most SF works on the theory that all you have to do is keep on adding processing power/memory/etc. and your mind will get better and better, eventually becoming something superhuman or 'godlike'. In OA we basically say that it is not a straightforward progression. Rather we postulate two major differences from 'standard' SF.

1) As more and more processing power is added and complexity increases, it becomes increasing difficult to coordinate all the extra capability.

2) If enough processing power is added, and the coordination issues can be staved off, you may suddenly undergo a sort of mental 'phase change' that results in a whole new level of mind. This means that not only is there a massive increase in all the different mental capabilities we are familiar with, but also that whole new ways of thinking and mental abilities manifest themselves, making the result literally incomprehensible to us. However, there are many many many possible ways that the phase change can go, and while some lead to massive increased intelligence, others can lead to decreased intelligence. Or insanity. Or the operating system for the technology wiping out or overwhelming the original mind. Or the resulting being being a sociopath or incredibly hostile to other minds. Or various other unpleasant things.

So, if you just pile on processors you may eventually hit a point of diminishing returns and plateau out. Or the whole unwieldy edifice of your augmented mind may lock up or crash.

Or, you might have an uncontrolled singularity jump and become an S1 or higher transapient - or a drooling idiot - or catatonic - or an S1 or higher transapient that is a blight or perversion that kills your entire civilization for the fun of it. Etc.

So how to ascend safely?

Based on the bits and pieces we described over the years (although we don't - but should create - a formal article on this), it would probably go something like this:

A sophont goes through some amount of training (lasting years to decades or more) that is somewhat analogous to what a person does to become a master of meditation or martial arts - but focused on mind and consciousness. At the same time, they undergo a series of augmentation, adding cybernetic hardware to boost the power of their mind and add on new capabilities. Basically, they are working to restructure their neural network from the inside out into a form that can accommodate the addition of augmentations that greatly increase their mental abilities without either crashing when the complexity gets sufficiently high or going nuts/up in smoke when the augmentation finally triggers a jump to the next S-level. All this generally supervised by another transapient, ideally. If all goes as planned the new being has essentially the same personality, is essentially the same person, as the lower mind that started the process (although that may rapidly change). This is called 'ascension'. If, however, the jump to a new S-level results in a being that may have all the original's memories but is otherwise a completely different entity from what you started with - you have a 'transcension'. If the new being is can get along with civilized beings, it is a transcenion. If it can't or won't and is hostile then you may have a blight or perversion.

Note that there are techs in the setting (godseeds) that can rapidly convert a modo into a transapient (or a transapient into a higher transapient). But these are essentially forcefully restructuring the user's mind into a new form without really bothering to adapt to their unique structure - it's more of a cookie-cutter/mass production process. This sometimes works - but other times it results in radical personality changes, or insanity, or the user's mind basically boiling away like fog in the sun and the godseeds operating system becoming the new transapient with all the user's memories or the like.

Anyway, that's my take on how this process works: Self-rewriting of one's neural net via a series of mental exercises and education combined with some amount of augmentation of one one's mind and body. Both of these operating together to allow a (mostly) safe jump to the next S-level.

Hope this helps,

Todd