AI in the noosphere: an alignment of scientific and wisdom traditions

Excerpt

The international lockdowns are a reminder of the intimate interconnectedness of planet earth, as noted by Vernadsky and de Chardin, in their concept of noosphere (Bischof 2007; de Chardin 1959), or mind sheath emerging from the biosphere. Today, this includes enveloping technological communication and information systems, such as the internet, Skype, smartphones and Global Consciousness Project (Nelson 2011), which registers significant statistical effects in relation to notable global events, such as the death of Nelson Mandela, and international peace days. Whilst we anxiously await for a vaccine for Covid-19, many of us find solace and freedom of spirit in healing meditation and related reflections. Freedom to be what we are and to become what we can become. This guiding philosophy has always been sustaining when going through tough times or constraining conditions. Memories arise of Shakespearian quotes: “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, roughew them as we may” and “This above all, to thine own self be true” (Quotes from Hamlet and Polonius respectively). Other constraining situations in the past surface in relation to when the soul—in the sense of psyche—longs for freedom. Viktor Frankl, who survived as a Nazi prisoner of war, and noticed how survivors were those with meaning and/or purpose in life, remains a great resource. …