Welcome to my blog

Hi, and welcome to my blog. It's only just starting, so there's not much to see yet, but that should change.

I aim to post a mix of news and commentary, along with links to the writings and videos of others whose ideas interest me.

I've titled my blog Alien Megastructures, but the theme will be a more general mix of my interests in artificial intelligence, space exploration, and futurism.

Perhaps some actual alien megastructures might make an appearance, too, there have been a couple of candidates in recent years, Tabby's star and Oumuamua, both now considered natural phenomena, but let's what else shows up. The technology to spot them is improving, and besides, natural phenomena can be of interest, too.

Also, alien does not always equate to extra-terrestrial, and megastructures need not always be huge engineering constructions. While any object that fell into both of those categories is the image that most readily comes to mind, and one that would make for the most dramatic of discoveries, the phrase can have a broader meaning.

Advances in technology could result in inventions almost alien in their design, power, and operation, while progress in the field of artificial intelligence could emerge into something beyond human scale, control, or comprehension. Just because artificial intelligence is built by humans doesn't mean it will think like humans.

If, as L.P. Hartley wrote; the past is a foreign country, then the future might well be an alien world. With novel sources of power, constructions, transport systems, methods of food production and the like, the earth could change radically. Especially the areas humanity inhabits.

Even humanity itself could change, with gene modification, cybernetics and neural implants altering how we look and think.

Then there is the possible habitation of the moon and mars, both requiring human megastructures in alien and inhospitable environments.

These are some of the ideas I hope to explore in this blog. Perhaps they will be of interest to others.

Comments

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