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added Category:Loose initiatives using HotCat
= The Philosophical Basis for ICANN =
= The Philosophical Basis for ICANN =
NOTE - This is in very early development. It wasn't supposed to be discovered yet. But enjoy and pass it around. Just don't edit it yet.
NOTE - This is in very early development. But enjoy and pass it around. Just don't edit it yet except for fixing spelling and grammar.
Thanks - Marc Perkel - marc@perkel.com
Thanks - [[Marc Perkel]] - marc@perkel.com
== How to use this document ==
== How to use this document ==
This document is the original work of Marc Perkel. The idea here is to put some ideas on the table that are hopefully clear enough to get the ICANN community excited about these concepts as the foundation for Internet Governance (IG). After people get interested in this as worthwhile then a PDP process should be started to incorporate these ideas into the official structure of ICANN.
This document is the original work of [[Marc Perkel]]. The idea here is to put some ideas on the table that are hopefully clear enough to get the [[ICANN]] community excited about these concepts as the foundation for [[Internet Governance]] (IG). After people get interested in this as worthwhile then a PDP process should be started to incorporate these ideas into the official structure of ICANN.
My hope is that people take these raw ideas and build on them to make it much more than what I have come up with. The Internet is expanding exponentially and it is never too early to start figuring this stuff out. It is my hope that by getting a good start on this it will have a positive effect on the eventual evolution of the human race and avoid plausible pitfalls for humanity as depicted in popular science fiction.
My hope is that people take these raw ideas and build on them to make it much more than what I have come up with. The Internet is expanding exponentially and it is never too early to start figuring this stuff out. It is my hope that by getting a good start on this it will have a positive effect on the eventual evolution of the human race and avoid plausible pitfalls for humanity as depicted in popular science fiction.
The ideas presented here is just a starting point. The idea here is to light a fire and get the process going. This is to be viewed as a starting point and the objective is to develop enough interest so that people smarter than me can run with it.
== What is ICANN and how does it fit into the story of the universe? ==
== What is ICANN and how does it fit into the story of the universe? ==
Just like everything evolution is evolving. Not just our understanding of evolution is evolving - but evolution itself is evolving.
Just like everything evolution is evolving. Not just our understanding of evolution is evolving - but evolution itself is evolving.
Evolution was first expressed in terms of "survival of the fittest." envoking images of to males fighting to the death and the survivor gets the prize of mating with the female. Or the eagle with the better eyesight gets more mice to eat than the eagle more nearsighted. Genetic mutation causing random differences and those that provide a benefit become the dominate trait over long periods of time.
Evolution was first expressed in terms of "survival of the fittest." envoking images of two males fighting to the death and the survivor gets the prize of mating with the female. Or the eagle with the better eyesight gets more mice to eat than the eagle more nearsighted. Genetic mutation causing random differences and those that provide a benefit become the dominate trait over long periods of time.
Humans evolved an ability that changed evolution. Unlike other species where most all knowledge learned by an individual dies with the individual, humans developed symbolic language which allowed knowledge to accumulate. Our ability to survive increased as the knowledge increased. As a result of the success of this new ability humans evolved around this new ability and our brains reconfigured to support verbal communication. This new ability forked a new evolutionary paradigm, the information was evolving too. As we invented new things our abilities increased without a corresponding improvement in the DNA based hardware.
Humans evolved an ability that changed evolution. Unlike other species where most all knowledge learned by an individual dies with the individual, humans developed symbolic language which allowed knowledge to accumulate. Our ability to survive increased as the knowledge increased. As a result of the success of this new ability humans evolved around this new ability and our brains reconfigured to support verbal communication. This new ability forked a new evolutionary paradigm, the information was evolving too. As we invented new things our abilities increased without a corresponding improvement in the DNA based hardware. This started information evolution.
We then applied our abilities to affect the evolution of other species. Farmers employed selective breeding so that we could change plants and animals we used for food. We took and evolutionary process and sped it up by applying our own selection criteria rather than the long process of survival of the fittest. This created a form of controlled evolution. This is a new paradigm.
We then applied our abilities to affect the evolution of other species. Farmers employed selective breeding so that we could change plants and animals we used for food. We took and evolutionary process and sped it up by applying our own selection criteria rather than the long process of survival of the fittest. This created a form of controlled evolution. This is a new paradigm.
In addition to altering our genetics we are now interfacing technology and biology so that these two technologies work together and talk to each other. This is opening up yet another paradigm, cybernetic evolution.
In addition to altering our genetics we are now interfacing technology and biology so that these two technologies work together and talk to each other. This is opening up yet another paradigm, cybernetic evolution.
Just as language started humanity on the path to information evolution new technologies expanded this form of evolution. Written language allowed the speaker and the listener to be separated by time and space. Allowed information to be preserved and reproduced. Paper became an external form of information storage enhancing and supplementing our biological brain. Information could be remembered even after death.
But today we have much more that mere paper. We have the Internet which has virtually infinite storage and instant communication worldwide. We have computers that let us offload our thinking and can think for us in ways that our brains could never process. This new paradigm is causing humanity to evolve exponentially and experience hyper-evolution.
All these new forms of evolution create a new evolutionary class paradigm called engineered evolution; the ability to use our knowledge to design the next generation. The next generation will have far greater abilities to engineer an even more advanced generation, and so on.
Different Kinds of Evolution List:
* Traditional Evolution - survival of the fittest
* Information Evolution - The ability to store and build knowledge through language
* Controlled Evolution - Selective Breeding of plants and Animals
* Genetic Engineering Evolution - Building Custom Life
* Cybernetic Evolution - Mixing Machinery with Biology
* Engineered Evolution - The sum effect of all the new forms of evolution
The important point here is that we need to look beyond the scope of traditional evolution we aren't blinded to the effect of new forms of evolution. It isn't accurate to say that humans aren't evolving - or evolving backward - based on our DNA alone. In fact the new evolutionary paradigms are making traditional evolution obsolete. We are quickly developing the ability to determine what we will evolve into. Because of that we not have to face the question, what should we evolve into?
And you might be wondering, "What does this have to do with ICANN?" ICANN is a logical result of the Internet which is a logical result of human evolution. DNS is like the first brain cells of the Internet. It's the point where a world government is spontaneously forming as an emergent property. So it is at least a logical place to start this kind of discussion.
=== The Internet causes Humans to experience Hyper-Evolution ===
=== The Internet causes Humans to experience Hyper-Evolution ===
One of the common conflicts in philosophy regarding the Internet from a commercial perspective is short term vs. big picture thinking. Something that has short term gain might have severe long term consequences. One has to find the balance and fine tune short term and long term decisions.
One of the common conflicts in philosophy regarding the Internet from a commercial perspective is short term vs. big picture thinking. Something that has short term gain might have severe long term consequences. One has to find the balance and fine tune short term and long term decisions.
=== Problem than need to be solved ===
What is the jurisdiction of Internet Governance? Here are some immediate issues that these standard can be applied to.
* Net Neutrality
* Government Spying
* Government Censorship
* Intellectually Property
* Law Enforcement
* Differences in laws between nations
=== Expanding the role of the GAC to other unrelated issues ===
ICANN provides an international forum 4 times a year where international issues can be worked out between countries. ICANN is a more efficient forum and more fairly balanced than the United Nations and therefore it is reasonable to consider that the structure could be used as a forum for negotiations between countries for issues like:
* International Banking Regulations - differences between laws have led to countries becoming tax havens to as to scam governments out of revenue and allow an oligarchy of super rich people to control the affiar of nations rather than to pay taxes due.
* International Corporations and Commerce - Standardization, especially regarding Internet related transactions, would be useful to make the Internet safe and consistent for all users of all countries.
* Internet Human Rights - Countries agree to basic human rights and commit to treating the citizens of other nations as they would expect other nations to treat their citizens.
* Global Visions - Forming task forces to understand emerging new technologies and make recommendation to the GAC for consistent international law.
Additionally ICANN can work on creating models to facilitate international cooperation. ICANN could provide arbitration and mediation services bringing in organization like JAMS and other kinds of experts in coordinating the development of better ways to get things done. ICANN can create both a philosophical foundation for cooperation between all the planets stakeholders and build the tools for which the Global Public Good can be accurately determined and implemented.
Even if ICANN isn't ultimately the organization that implements these goals we can create a blueprint for successor organizations that will follow us to use.
== What I want to see ICANN do ==
== What I want to see ICANN do ==
The alternative is to be reckless and petty and to end up becoming extinct and forgotten. And in 4 billion years when the Sun expands and destroys the Earth the only remnant of our existence will be the two Voyager spacecraft that are the only human made objects to leave our solar system.
The alternative is to be reckless and petty and to end up becoming extinct and forgotten. And in 4 billion years when the Sun expands and destroys the Earth the only remnant of our existence will be the two Voyager spacecraft that are the only human made objects to leave our solar system.
=== Is this only about the Internet ===
What is the scope of this proposal? Is it only about the Internet? Should it be about everything? Conversely, is it outside the scope of ICANN and we should be talking only about DNS related issues. Some people might think that world domination is mission creep, and they would be right.
The short answer is - I have no idea.
A longer answer is - it's all related. What is being proposed here is more of a thought experiment. Although ICANN is charged specifically with DNS which is a single technical aspect of the Internet, we have formed what is now the official world community where the world comes together to resolve policy conflicts between governments and between nations and non-government stakeholders. ICANN is to the Internet what the United Nations is to war. And as the UN branched out into social unrest, international law, disease control, and disaster relief. ICANN too has to branch out to deal with related issues.
One has to also look at the role of ICANN from the perspective of the future especially with the hyper-evolution of the Internet. It is easy to see that as technology creates a world community that the ball is moving into our court and that we are presently in a unique position to get it right from the start. We can, and should, at least come up with the philosophical framework for the future.
What we come up with can be applied to all aspects of life. For example, if we adopt the view that the positive evolution of humanity is a better path than extinction, and the the idea of the Global Public Interest is a good standard, then these ideas could be easily applied to decisions about the environment. Clean air and water is better than polluted air and water. Peace is better than war. Nuclear annihilation is a bad idea. We all sort of know this but if we have a solid philosophical infrastructure we can precisely explain why these statement are true and we can create testable outcomes to check our decisions against.
The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta Magna Carta] for example became the philosophical framework that lead to constitutional democracies. We don't know where our work will lead but it very well could happen that something we never dreamed of will be based on the work we do here, and that's why we should do it.
=== Write a philosophical preamble to the bylaws to define our mission in big picture terms ===
=== Write a philosophical preamble to the bylaws to define our mission in big picture terms ===
* Testing new ideas against fundamental principles
* Testing new ideas against fundamental principles
* Checking our work with tests that result in measurable outcomes.
* Checking our work with tests that result in measurable outcomes.
== Conclusion ==
We have a unique opportunity to form the basis of global society and get in on the ground floor and do it right. Humanity is at a critical point in the evolution of life on this planet and we are giving birth to a new future that is very different than anything this planet has ever been through before. This new future can be compared to a zygote, just a bunch of cells that are just beginning to an organism that we will eventually become.
We are in a unique position to start out right while this is forming. We can either act or not act. But if we don't act then someone else will, or flaws might develop (America's NSA, International Oligarchy) that might become the model for human development. Such a model could lead to extinction.
We have an opportunity to write the operating system for humanity's future and I think we should do it and do it right. Otherwise we could end up regretting our inaction.
It is at least worth serious discussion and consideration.
[[Category:Loose initiatives]]