Is AI the biggest thing since the Big Bang?

February 15, 2024

Organic life on planet Earth is a complex system of organic compounds seeking electromagnetic stability. Living organisms developed intelligence, which is the ability to acquire knowledge and skills to address environmental situations and solve problems. Homo sapiens (modern humans) developed sufficient intelligence develop many clever technologies (tools and methods). These technologies allowed humans to accumulate knowledge and skills, increasing the collective intelligence of the species. Humans were able to create artificial (i.e. human-made) intelligence. This artificial intelligence (AI) will help humans continue increasing and expanding the collective intelligence of humanity. 

This article takes a quick look at how humans got to this point, and where is AI taking them next. 

As far as humans can observe, this universe is a stage for a "tug of war" between different forces acting on energy. Some forces pull energy in one direction. Other forces push energy in other direction. Some forces are attractive while some are repulsive. The universe seems to be in a constant state of change and transformation seeking balance or equilibrium between opposing forces. 

The Beginning 

As far as humans can look back, there was a time when everything that exists in the universe today was more densely packed and hot. At what humans refer to as time zero, for reasons yet unknown, everything began to expand, separate and cool off. Humans refer to that moment as the big bang. It was not an explosion, but rather the beginning of an expansion and cooling process that is still going on today. Yes, the universe keeps expanding and cooling off to this day, approximately 13.8 billion Earth years since the "big bang".

The Big Bang is not the absolute beginning of the universe, but rather the beginning of a segment that humans can account for with the human concept of time. Time itself does not exist in the universe. Time is a human measurement of motion and change. The universe is in a constant state of motion and change. Humans set the "big bang" as the beginning point of their current measure of time. 

Time and Other Human Fictions

Time is a measure of relative motion and dynamic change. Even before the arbitrary beginning point of time set by humans at the big bang, the universe was in motion and was of course already in existence. The universe has always existed in one form or another. At time "zero" it was already a dense and hot accumulation of stuff that began to expand at the moment of the big bang, approximately 13.8 billion years ago. The universe was already there at the time of the big bang, tightly packed and high motion (high temperature), always moving and always changing. Nothing was ever perfect nor perfectly still.

Stillness does not exist other than in the human imagination. There are various fundamental concepts that only exist in the human imagination including perfection, stillness, and the concept of nothing or nothingness. The universe has always been something and has never been nothing. The concept of perfection, stillness, and nothing are illusions or inventions of the human mind. Remember that human imagination is infinite, and by definition is infinitely larger than reality. 

Concepts such as stillness, perfection, and nothingness exist only in the realm of human imagination. Everything in the universe is always in motion, never still, and always changing negating the possibility of perfection. Since something does exist, that reality also negates the possibility of nothingness. Something cannot be produced from nothing. Something can only be produced from something that is transformed or changed into something else. Even if "nothing" existed, that "nothing" would be by definition "something" that is transformed into something. The confusion, if any, comes from human imagination (or ignorance) that creates an artificial construct of "nothingness" that is not possible in the real world. The same applies to mythological constructs of perfection.

Nothing in the universe is perfect because it is always changing. Nothing is ever still. Nothing is created or destroyed, but merely transformed. Something always existed in one form or another, in one palce or another because something does exist and this something cannot come from nothing unless that "nothing" is also something that can be transformed into this something. 

Change is the only constant 

In this universe, everything is moving and changing. Nothing is still. Stillness does not exist. Perfection does not exist. Nothing does not exist because something does exist. That something that exists is always moving and changing, being transformed by competing forces.

Everything that exists in this universe is in a tug of war between opposing forces. Energy and matter, which are the same thing, are constantly seeking equilibrium or balance between those competing forces. The systems of the universe, from the solar systems to the organic systems of life are energy bundles seeking balance and equilibrium. When equilibrium is lost, things change quickly.

Humans begin to count the current segment of time from a moment referred to as the big bang when things began to expand and move away from each other very quickly. At that moment, arbitrarily defined by humans as time zero, 13.8 billion Earth years ago, everything that exists in the universe today was tightly packed in a super dense and super hot state. NASA scientists estimate that the size was about the size of a peach, and the temperature was about 10 billion degrees fahrenheit. 

The big bang marks of a period or segment of time characterized by an expansion (things moving away from each other) that is still going strong today. This universe has been expanding and cooling down since time zero, 13.8 billion years ago. As things began to move away from each other and the universe began becoming less dense and less hot, subatomic waves/particles called fermions formed.

Fermions 

Fermions include quarks and leptons. Quarks get together in trios (combinations of three) that are called either protons or neutrons depending on their charge. Protons are positively charged. Neutrons have no charge. Leptons include electrons, which are negatively charged particles. Charge is a property of matter that comes in at least two opposite classes. Humans call one positive and another one negative to reflect their opposing natures. 

Charges and Opposing Forces

In this universe, opposite charges attract and similar charges repel. That is called electromagnetism, one of the four fundamental forces commonly recognized by humans today. The other three forces are the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, and gravity. The strong nuclear force holds the protons together in atoms despite or in dominance of the their electromagnetic repulsion for having similar charge. The weak nuclear force decays or chips off portions of protons and neutrons. Gravity is all about masses moving in revolving fashion, curving or drilling the negative energy field of the "empty" fabric of spacetime. 

Atoms

Since protons and electrons have opposite charges, they attract each other. The combination of protons and electrons is what humans call atoms. Protons are at the nucleus or center of the atom. Electrons revolve around the nucleus because their negative charge is attracted to the positive charge of protons. 

The amount of protons in the nucleus is called the atomic number. The atomic number (amount of protons in the nucleus) dictate the type of element formed. One neutron in the nucleus with electrons around is the element called hydrogen. Two protons (and neutrons) in the nucleus with electrons around it form the element called helium. Three protons form lithium. Six protons form carbon. Seven form nitrogen. Eight form oxygen. See chart with entire list at the end. 

In the early times of the universe, only hydrogen and helium--and tiny amounts of lithium--were present. Gravity made these clouds of this gases gravitate close to each other forming the gas clusters that humans call stars. Stars are pressured inwards by gravity. The pressure fuses hydrogen atoms together into helium atoms. Atomic fusion generates outward pressure that counters the inward pressure of gravity within the star. There is a battle of opposite forces inside every star. Gravity creating revolving massive movement that puts inward pressure on the star, and fusion emitting blasts of energy that puts outward pressure on the star. 

Stars

Stars are atomic fusion factories. Two hydrogen atoms fuse into one helium atom. Two atoms of hydrogen alone have a little bit more energy than one helium atom. The extra energy is lost in the fusion is the energy emitted by the star in the form of light and heat. That atomic fusion mechanism is what produces the light and heat energy emitted by our sun, which has been fusing helium from hydrogen for about 5 billion years and will continue doing so for about 5 more billion years.In our sun, gravity fuses hydrogen atoms into helium. Helium has slightly less energy than two hydrogen atoms. The extra energy is shed off or emitted in the form of light and heat.

All stars are nuclear fusion factories. Gravity's inward pressure keeps fusing atoms together converting lighter elements into heavier elements (higher atomic number). Fusing protons together generates outward pressure because similar charges repel each other. However, gravity puts them so close to each other that the strong nuclear force binds them together like velcro. Fusion generates outward pressure than counters the inward pressure of gravity keeping the star in equilibrium. 

For most of their lives, stars are in energy equilibrium between the inward pressure of gravity and the outward pressure of fusion. However, when the star goes past the creation of iron (26 positively charged protons jammed packed repelling each other), the together in the nucleus), it takes more energy to fuse the elements and the star runs technically out of "fuel" or energy to keep fusing elements. At that point, gravity overcomes fusion and the star loses equilibrium. This loss of energy equilibrium creates a loss of pressure that ends up in an super outward explosion called a supernova. 

A supernova explosion generates so much energy that it promotes nuclear fusion reactions that create elements heavier than iron. All those elements are cast away into space. As all that stardust debris is caught up in gravitation motion, the stardust can form rocks that float in space. One of such floating rocks is called planet Earth. Another rocking float is the moon. Asteroids are smaller pieces of floating rocks. All celestial bodies are floating rocks that resulted from the stardust produced by the super explosions of stars.  

Life on Earth 

Earth is a piece of rock gravitating around a star, the sun. Earth was formed out of gravitating stardust or debris around 4.54 billion years ago. Initially it was a melting rock, full of active volcanoes. The gasses emitted by the volcanoes created the Earth's initial atmosphere. The initial atmosphere was made up of gases like carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. As the cooled down, volcanic eruptions pumped water vapor, ammonia, and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. After about half a billion years, Earth's surface cooled and solidified enough for water to collect on it.

Water, a molecule composed of two parts hydrogen per one part of oxygen, is essential for organic life on Earth. Water is a universal solvent that enables chemical reactions that produce organic compounds. Two organic polymers (long molecular strands) interacting with water are the key to life. The two polymers are ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). 

RNA and DNA 

RNA and DNA are composed of carbohydrates (sugar), phosphate groups (salt), and nitrogenous bases. The sugars have five carbon atoms. The sugar in RNA is ribose. The sugar in DNA lacks an oxygen on the 2" carbon atom, and is thus called deoxyribose. The phosphate group is a phosphorus atom bound to four oxygen atoms. The nitrogenous bases in DNA are adenine (A), guanine (G), thymine (T), and cytosine (C). The nitrogenous bases in RNA are the same, except that instead of thymine (T), there is uracil (U). These nitrogenous bases are in pairs. A pairs with T (A-T), and C pairs G (C-G), or with U (C-U). 

The carbohydrates and the phosphate group in (sugar and salt) pair up, forming a long strand. The nitrogenous bases bond perpendicularly as vertical hairs on a horizontal brush. RNA is a single strand. DNA is made of two strands bounded by the hydrogen atoms by the nitrogenous bases forming what it looks like a double helix ladder. The sugar and phosphate strands are the sides of the DNA "ladder", and the nitrogenous bases bound by the hydrogen atoms are the steps or rungs of the "ladder". DNA twists itself and is rolled in proteins called histones are string rolls in a Yo-Yo. A whole bunch of tiny histone "Yo-Yos" are stacked together in a sac called chromosome. Each cell carries 23 pairs of chromosomes. 

The nitrogenous bases interact electromagnetically with other organic compounds called amino acids. Amino acids are made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. They are composed of a central carbon atom bound to a carboxylic acid group, an amine group, a hydrogen atom, and an "R group" side chain. The difference in the R group determines the unique properties of each amino acid. The R group, or side chain, gives each amino acid its own characteristics, including size, polarity, pH, shape, charge, and reactivity. That makes the different amino acids interact electromagnetically differently with different sequences of nitrogenous bases in RNA and DNA. Those interactions result in the formation of conglomerates of amino acids that fold in specific three dimensioal (3D) shapes seeking balance or equilibrium found in the lowest energy state. Those self-folding 3D structures are called proteins.

Proteins are formed in different shapes that end up determining their potential functionality.Protein functionality is determined by shape. Proteins end up becoming the building blocks of the systems of life. For example, billions of proteins bound together form a structure that ends up serving as shelter for RNA and DNA. Those shelters are called cells. All living organisms on Earth, from the most simple to the most complex are composed of cells. That runs from unicellular organisms to organisms with trillions of cells like humans. In average, humans are composed of 37 trillion cells. Females have 38 trillion cells, and males have 36 trillion cells. Cells make up tissue. Tissue make up organs. Organs make up systems. Systems make up what is known as life. 

Water brings nutrients to the cells, making them grow and replicate. Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, minerals, and so on provide fuel for metabolic reactions that make cells grow and replicate. Interactions between RNA and DNA replicate RNA and DNA prior to the cell replication. When the cells replicate, the new cells carry with them copies of RNA and DNA. This creates a cycle of self-replicating cells that keep causing the building of proteins according to the sequences of nitrogenous bases in DNA. Those sequences of nitrogenous bases are what humans metaphorically refer to as the genetic "code". 

The so-called genetic "code" is the sequence of nitrogenous bases that ends up attracting electromagnetically amino acids in sequences that generate specific proteins. The possible configurations of nitrogenous bases and the resulting proteins is vast. 

RNA and DNA replication are key to the life cycle on Earth. From aging to evolution, everything is related to the DNA replication process. DNA is typically replicated as it is. If the DNA has suffered damages or changes, the new copies will be be damaged or changed. In addition, there may be random errors in the replication process. Errors and damages accumulated over time lead to what humans refer as aging. Changes passed over from one generation to the next are mutations that lead to what humans refer to as evolution. Changes that increase the fitness for survival help the organism survive, which increases its chances for procreation. Conversely, changes that decrease the fitness for hurt the organism's chances for survival and procreation. That dynamic leads to what humans refer to as natural selection. 

Evolution and Natural Selection

After 4 billion years of random evolution and blind natural selection, life on Earth has generated a wide and wild variety of living organisms. The traditional system of classification divides life forms into six kingdoms: (i) Archaea, prokaryotic organisms distinct from bacteria in terms of genetics, biochemistry, and ecology. They inhabit extreme environments such as hot springs, deep-sea vents, and acidic soils; (ii) Eubacteria (Bacteria), prokaryotic organisms that are typically unicellular and have a simple cellular structure lacking a nucleus. Bacteria are found almost everywhere including inside the human body; (iii) Protista, a diverse group of mostly unicellular organisms like algae, protozoa, and slime molds; (iv) Fung, heterotrophic organisms that absorb nutrients from their environment like mushrooms, molds, and yeasts; (v) Plantae (plants), multicellular, autotrophic (synthesize their own food through photosynthesis), and typically planted on soil like trees, flowers, and grasses; and (vi) Animalia (animals), multicellular organisms that are heterotrophic (obtain nutrients by consuming other organisms) and typically capable of locomotion, ranging from simple sponges to highly complex organisms like humans. 

Humans are at the top of the animal kingdom thanks to their intelligence and ability for collaboration. Imagination and collaboration set humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. Humans are creative storytelling primates. Perhaps the greatest human invention of all times is language. Language allows humans to communicate share ideas, the product of imagination, with other humans to foster collaboration. Human creative imagination is infinite, and by definition infinitely larger than reality. Humans can imagine fictional concepts like gods, the divine, the perfect, the omnipotent, the omnisapient, the omnipresent, the still, the empty, the nothing, and much more. Human creativity allows for the development of technologies (tools and methods) that facilitate survival and the development of civilization. Human technologies also help with the acquisition of knowledge and skills, and the expansion of intelligence.

Computers

Besides language, computers are perhaps the greatest human invention of all times. Computers are electronic devices that process data by manipulating the binary number system at the speed of electrons. Electronic transistors that turn on or off the conduction of electricity on semiconductors (materials that can be turned on or off to conduct electricity) allow for the manipulation of electricity to perform binary mathematical computations and logical comparisons. 

Traditional computer programming dictates the algorithms (step by step rules) that computers apply on data return output (produce answers). Artificial intelligence (AI) programming turns programming on its head. Instead of providing the rules to follow, AI programming provides the answers. AI programs identify patterns in the answers to learn the data rules that produce the answers. This reverse data processing is what humans refer to as AI machine learning. 

Artificial Intelligence

AI can be fed big data sets of answers for the machine to learn what are the applicable rules involved. Since AI can process big data (super large amounts of data) significantly faster that the human brain, AI already surpasses human intelligence in identifying the cause and effect rules embedded in data sets. Identifying causality (cause and effect rules) is the essence of knowledge and applied intelligence. Understanding what causes an effect allows to make predictions about future events, and allows to alter the causes to alter future events. 

AI promises to be the most transformative technology in the history of humanity and of life on planet Earth. Humans arrived to the top of the food chain due to their superior intelligence. AI will help humans develop more intelligence and further advance their dominance on the planet. It is not inconceivable that AI can help humans transcend parts of their organic life into more advanced artificial life forms. 

AI will most likely move humans gradually into transhumanism. Future humans will learn how to transcend their biology, replacing it with technology. For example, humans will learn how to detect and repair the genetic causes of all diseases, including the most pervasive genetic disease of all, which is aging. AI will help humans decipher all the applicable neural programming involved in the formation of consciousness and memory that makes up an individual human, which will allow for the digitization of humanity. Brains can be uploaded into servers for digital living or for download into new artificial or bionic bodies. AI will help humans transcend the biological limitations of their organic bodies to be able to survive not only on Earth, but also anywhere in outer space.  AI will help humans finally find the proverbial fountain of youth and practical immortality life throughout the solar system and other areas of the galaxy. 

The AI Era is just beginning. Big transformative changes will not happen overnight, but gradually over the next centuries and millennia. For life on planet Earth and beyond, the best is yet to come.

Stay tuned. 

Creatix.one, AI for everyone.

Atomic Number	Symbol	Name	Atomic Mass (amu, g/mol)
1	H	Hydrogen	1.00797
2	He	Helium	4.00260
3	Li	Lithium	6.941
4	Be	Beryllium	9.01218
5	B	Boron	10.81
6	C	Carbon	12.011
7	N	Nitrogen	14.0067
8	O	Oxygen	15.9994
9	F	Fluorine	18.998403
10	Ne	Neon	20.179
11	Na	Sodium	22.98977
12	Mg	Magnesium	24.305
13	Al	Aluminum	26.98154
14	Si	Silicon	28.0855
15	P	Phosphorus	30.97376
16	S	Sulfur	32.06
17	Cl	Chlorine	35.453
18	Ar	Argon	39.948
19	K	Potassium	39.0983
20	Ca	Calcium	40.08
21	Sc	Scandium	44.9559
22	Ti	Titanium	47.90
23	V	Vanadium	50.9415
24	Cr	Chromium	51.996
25	Mn	Manganese	54.9380
26	Fe	Iron	55.847
27	Co	Cobalt	58.9332
28	Ni	Nickel	58.70
29	Cu	Copper	63.546
30	Zn	Zinc	65.38
31	Ga	Gallium	69.72
32	Ge	Germanium	72.59
33	As	Arsenic	74.9216
34	Se	Selenium	78.96
35	Br	Bromine	79.904
36	Kr	Krypton	83.80
37	Rb	Rubidium	85.4678
38	Sr	Strontium	87.62
39	Y	Yttrium	88.9059
40	Zr	Zirconium	91.22
41	Nb	Niobium	92.9064
42	Mo	Molybdenum	95.94
43	Tc	Technetium	(98)
44	Ru	Ruthenium	101.07
45	Rh	Rhodium	102.9055
46	Pd	Palladium	106.4
47	Ag	Silver	107.868
48	Cd	Cadmium	112.41
49	In	Indium	114.82
50	Sn	Tin	118.69
51	Sb	Antimony	121.75
52	Te	Tellurium	127.60
53	I	Iodine	126.9045
54	Xe	Xenon	131.30
55	Cs	Cesium	132.9054
56	Ba	Barium	137.33
57	La	Lanthanum	138.9055
58	Ce	Cerium	140.12
59	Pr	Praseodymium	140.9077
60	Nd	Neodymium	144.24
61	Pm	Promethium	(145)
62	Sm	Samarium	150.4
63	Eu	Europium	151.96
64	Gd	Gadolinium	157.25
65	Tb	Terbium	158.9254
66	Dy	Dysprosium	162.50
67	Ho	Holmium	164.9304
68	Er	Erbium	167.26
69	Tm	Thulium	168.9342
70	Yb	Ytterbium	173.04
71	Lu	Lutetium	174.967
72	Hf	Hafnium	178.49
73	Ta	Tantalum	180.9479
74	W	Tungsten	183.85
75	Re	Rhenium	186.207
76	Os	Osmium	190.2
77	Ir	Iridium	192.22
78	Pt	Platinum	195.09
79	Au	Gold	196.9665
80	Hg	Mercury	200.59
81	Tl	Thallium	204.37
82	Pb	Lead	207.2
83	Bi	Bismuth	208.9804
84	Po	Polonium	(209)
85	At	Astatine	(210)
86	Rn	Radon	(222)
87	Fr	Francium	(223)
88	Ra	Radium	226.0254
89	Ac	Actinium	227.0278
90	Th	Thorium	232.0381
91	Pa	Protactinium	231.0359
92	U	Uranium	238.029
93	Np	Neptunium	237.0482
94	Pu	Plutonium	(242)
95	Am	Americium	(243)
96	Cm	Curium	(247)
97	Bk	Berkelium	(247)
98	Cf	Californium	(251)
99	Es	Einsteinium	(252)
100	Fm	Fermium	(257)
101	Md	Mendelevium	(258)
102	No	Nobelium	(250)
103	Lr	Lawrencium	(260)
104	Rf	Rutherfordium	(261)
105	Db	Dubnium	(262)
106	Sg	Seaborgium	(263)
107	Bh	Bohrium	(262)
108	Hs	Hassium	(255)
109	Mt	Meitnerium	(256)
110	Ds	Darmstadtium	(269)
111	Rg	Roentgenium	(272)
112	Uub	Ununbiium	(277)
113	—	——	———
114	Uuq	Ununquadium