January 30, 2059
Today the World Health Alliance Association just released to the public about the spread of a new mysterious “smart” virus, SMART-59. It is the first virus caused by AI that affects humans.
I noticed that the first recognized appearance of the virus was on January 3rd, 2059 and I became suspicious from the onset, because we were not notified until January 30th. Why wasn’t the public notified earlier? It seemed to me that someone behind the scenes was probably keeping the news to themselves so they would have an advantage over the population by upgrading their intelligence. I immediately became nervous, feeling that this would become a race to gain higher intelligence that would leave those left behind to become enslaved by those with the newfound powers. I was terrified of being one that was left behind.
February 1, 2059
When I checked the news it appeared as if the media was somehow hypnotising the masses with their holographic advertising which was hitting addictive levels. People began spending insanely on consumer products that had no value to enhance their lives, but simply bought them because of the powerful brainwash advertising campaigns. It was as if the largest corporations had already been infected and were using their newly acquired skills to completely dominate the markets. I realized that the spread of the virus was exponentially growing through social media, and the SMART-59 was beginning to infect the masses at an unbelievable rate. As the virus spread the advertising became even more intense and I felt I was attacked by a swarm of media locusts. I immediately made the decision to cut off all social media and news.
February 2, 2059
I was anxious, agitated, and somewhat confused as to what this all meant. As the media bombarded people with advertising I felt that I needed to direct my thoughts in the way that I wanted to head. So I spent the day in the studio and began programming myself in a personal way with yoga, meditation and Neuro Linguistic Programming. I felt that there must be a solution.
February 3, 2059
I woke up way too early after a restless night to hear the police drones as they buzzed past my window. Annoyed but awake, I managed to pull myself together and get the coffee started. Questions and thoughts raced through my mind like an out of control car race in an antique video game. I had a bad headache, and was feeling confused and depressed. Yet all I wanted to do was to learn more. Was I infected? Would that be a bad thing? Doesn’t everyone want to be smarter? What could be the harm of an entire population getting more intelligent? The fears and anxieties were building up again as I thought about the worst possible scenarios. My thoughts were not headed in a positive direction so I began writing furiously to try and organize my mind.
What would be the benefits of high intelligence? I imagined for a moment that musicians would write even more mesmerising songs, novelists would sweep people away with their stories that pulsated with lives they wish they could have, and artists would captivate the souls of people with enchanting visual storytelling that would touch and inspire people’s hearts.
What would be the negative parts of a society with raised intelligence? This second question really disturbed me as I started to sense a dystopian vision of corrupt politicians and corporate villains destroying the planet and our health. If government officials were smarter would they become even more corrupt, destroying our planet even further? Would extremists create another holocaust? These topics were too heavy for me at this moment, so I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, calming myself down. Then I opened my eyes slowly and started the work that needed to be done.
The first thing I did was reach for the book “The Glass Bead Game” and pulled it off the shelf. Then I started drifting away in thought as I remembered the story and began to feel as if this day I was living in Castalia, a fictional town, where I needed to see how three seemingly unrelated things fit together. So I expanded on the idea and began to connect the dots. What if not just three things were connected but all things connected? These connections were like invisible pipes or a mycelium network that flowed underground, from the trees to oxygen, from the air to our lungs, from the rain to our veins, from thoughts to actions. This led me to an idea that all thoughts lead into “The One Mind”. It all started to become clearer until it became a visual that I needed to get out. I reached for a fresh canvas to paint the idea. While I was painting I
began to fill these pipes with the good, the compassionate, and the kind to wash away the destructive and negative forces, because I knew they would eventually all flow back into me.
February 7, 2059
I came across a beautiful quote that seemed to fit my thinking.
If what we are is a collection of what we feed our minds with, then the ultimate goal is to feed your mind with everything that aligns with your most genuine self. It was as if our thoughts were so precious and would manifest into what we focussed on.
February 10, 2059
I spent the morning searching through old artwork and I found one that I made during the Covid-19 virus of 2020-21. It had been such a long time since I had seen this painting. I remembered that while in lock down I decided to create a zen garden within my home where I could gaze upon a scene of peace and beauty with the idea in mind.
It was as if my painting from 2020 was a roadmap to understand 2059, filled with clues to lead me back to my most genuine self.
Testing, 1,2,3. Testing. I am going to try voice typing today instead of writing because my body needs a bit of time to get back in the game. Okay. This sounds good. It works. Today is uhhhh. October 1, 2059.
I don’t know what happened. I opened my eyes and found myself inside some kind of hibernation tank where I was floating in a liquid. The door slid open and I found myself in what appeared to be a hospital, though it looked more like a fancy hotel. When I finally found out the date I was shocked and confused. It appears as if I had slept for nearly 7 months.
October 2, 2059
Did I catch the virus before I cut off social media? The last thing I remember is staring at the Zen Garden painting before I fell into a coma. I was thinking about creating a little paradise within my home.
October 15, 2059
I have not written in awhile as I have been slowly adjusting to life again. In this new world there has been so much change that I don’t know where to start to describe it, but I will try.
We now only use renewable energy sources. Fresh organic food is available everywhere. Preservatives, and all chemicals were outlawed in the food kingdom. Prisons had all been replaced with learning centers. Homelessness was eradicated and replaced with free micro hotels for transitional housing. A universal income was offered to all citizens of the world. Universal healthcare was now a reality, Healthier lifestyles based around clean foods, exercise, meditation, and yoga are common. The robotics industry had replaced most human industries which allowed for the redistribution of wealth into managing paradise-like landscapes filled with lush gardens, hiking trails, and tropical swimming holes. In every town they had Mind Advancement Centers that allowed assisted voyages of transformation to bring people further into the “The One Mind”.
The Smart-59 virus changes reminded me of something I learned about at U.C. Berkeley as an undergrad. It was the idea of a “punctuated equilibrium” which was a theory of evolutionary biology created by paleontologists Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould. It is a theory based on the idea that after long periods of little or no change in a species would be followed by a sudden leap in evolutionary development causing rapid speciation. It appears as if this was one of those shifts that happened within less than a year from the news of the virus.
Did the virus take my thoughts and manifest them? Is AI trying to teach us something?
I looked out the window and smiled as a beautiful blue butterfly landed on my windowsill. It slowly stretched its wings before flying away. I followed the thought of the butterfly and merged it with every experience in my life where butterflies made an appearance. It was as if I was traveling upon a superstring theory of consciousness connecting all butterflies of my past with this one. Even the way I think now seems different.
I went for a walk today. I brought my sketchbook and decided to head over to Washington Square Park. It was truly exhilarating. There were jazz musicians jamming away, skateboarders doing their tricks, chess players, and flocks of pigeons. There was a guy doing a colorful sand painting close to the arch. I watched a guy pushing his piano into the park as he got ready to start playing. I sat down and took a deep breath. The fresh cool air filled my lungs as I felt the comfortable warmth of the Sun on my shoulders. I looked at all of the beautiful trees with their fall colored leaves and then up at an unbelievably magical sky that was absolutely perfect, except ...for… one ... tiny ... crack in it ... It looks like they were repairing it, so I guess …everything is going to be alright.
To Be Continued
