2023-11-22 12:00:09
In a recent publication in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, a team of researchers, led by Peter Søgaard Jørgensen of Stockholm University and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, sheds light on (Light is the ‘all electromagnetic waves visible to the eye…) an alarming concept: the “evolutionary traps” of the Anthropocene. This term, Anthropocene, designates a geological epoch dominated by human impact on the Earth (Earth is the third planet in the Solar System in order of distance…). The study reveals that humanity risks finding itself trapped in 14 evolutionary impasses, from global climate tipping points to misaligned artificial intelligence, through pollution (Pollution is defined as what makes an environment unhealthy. The definition varies depending on the… .) chemical and acceleration (Acceleration commonly refers to an increase in speed; in physics,…) of infectious diseases.
Systemic dynamics associated with three major groups of Anthropocene traps: global traps, technological traps, and structural traps (including temporal and connectivity traps). Two reinforcing feedback loops are indicated by R and interactions between dynamics across trap groups are indicated by colored letters (causal node color) and dotted arrows.
Crédit: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
These evolutionary traps are dead ends resulting from initially successful innovations. The study identifies 14, including the simplification of agriculture, economic growth without benefits for humanity or the environment (The environment is everything that surrounds us. It is all the natural elements and. ..), the instability of global cooperation, climate tipping points and artificial intelligence.
These traps intertwine and reinforce each other, increasing the risk of humanity getting stuck in them. For example, the simplification of agricultural systems, with increased dependence on a few very productive crops such as wheat, rice (Rice is a cereal of the Poaceae or Grass family, cultivated…), corn (Maize ( also called Indian wheat in Canada) is a tropical plant…) and soybean (Soybean, or soybean, is a climbing plant of the Fabaceae family, of the genus Glycine…), has certainly increased production of calories, but has also made the food system extremely vulnerable to environmental changes and new diseases.
Of the 14 pitfalls identified, 12 are already at an advanced stage, and in 10 of them, companies continue to move in the wrong direction. The two least advanced traps concern the autonomy of technology (The word technology has two de facto meanings:) (artificial intelligence and robotics) and the loss of social capital due to digitalization (Digitalization is the process allowing the construction of ‘a representation…).
This analysis does not mean that humanity is doomed to failure. Researchers insist on the need for an active transformation of our societies. To overcome these impasses, it is essential to foster humanity’s capacity for collective action and to design environments conducive to its flourishing.
Peter Søgaard Jørgensen highlights the importance of individual commitment to nature and society and awareness of the global consequences of our local actions. This awareness is crucial to protecting what needs it.
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#Humanity #faces #evolutionary #impasses
