GenAI and the Deep Human Tech Stack

The rise of ChatGPT and generative AI is having a peculiar 2nd order effect on people.

They are beginning to realize that we need to become better humans.

It’s hard to see the picture that you’re posing for, so since we are human, we tend to take being human for granted.

We assume that we’re good at it rather than training to be great at it.

That negligence will soon be out-dated.

GenAI is just visible B2C AI but the underlying AI has been around for a long time.

We did not get here overnight.

But, because GenAI is so paradigm shifting, people are forgetting the rest of the tech stack that is reshaping the world.

GenAI and “tech” exist in an ecosystem, not the silos that capture the imagination.

We need to view the entire tech stack as an ecosystem – of which we are a key part – that can be leveraged to:

Deepen our embodied, emotional, and sensory capacity to amplify Human Intelligence, and
Establishing positive ecosystem symbiosis with our tech

If we don’t track the stack, we can’t design the ecosystem to support human flourishing or to be humane.

The Stack

The stack has three tech layers.

1st – The “Real World” – This is where you and I walk, eat, touch, taste and smell.

Human Transformation Aspect: This is the beginning and the end of the loop. This is the real space where neuro, bio, and behavioral data on human health and happiness is generated and can be sensed. As we heal and become freer, the real world is where we show up authentically, hold hands, hug, and share microbiomes.

2nd – The Data Layer – This is the elevator between layers.

Human Transformation Aspect: If you could see wifi, blue-tooth, and data streams, you would see that there is a hybrid data layer, where data goes up and down the stack. Today, you can only see this layer through augmented reality, though you access it non-stop through the field of sensors and wearables of all kinds. This layer collects generated data, turning physical into digital, or digital into programs and experiences that can help us heal, grow and thrive in the real world.

3rd – The Fully Digital – This is the frontier where new things are possible — and where we neglect ourselves the most.

Human Transformation Aspect: Here, you’ll find pure data, AI, applications, and visualizations. This is where we find digital twins, games, and the “metaverse.” There is a scenario where the metaverse fulfills its potential as a tool of transformation and becomes, among other things, an amplifier of human intelligence (HI).

Today, when we think about human intelligence (HI) in relation to artificial intelligence (AI), much of the response lands in one of three camps:

Fear and apathy.

No worries.

Or a deeply technical path that includes adding chips and RAM inside our brains.

I believe that there is another path to increase human intelligence that includes leveraging technology like the metaverse to understand and amplify embodied and extended cognition.

AI is certain to continue its trajectory but that does not mean that we should cede developing and expanding human intelligence too.

I believe that a metaverse that can help develop healthy, skilled, unhobbled humans is a good goal.

It also could be the place where, unobstructed by physicality, we are able to expand our consciousness more easily and quickly.

A Unified View

Taken together and approached as a single design space we can leverage the stack as a technology engine to deepen our Humanity.

Love,
Nichol.

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P.S. Here’s the rest of the series:

Comments (2)

Mary Alber

Nicole – you have hit the nail on the head beautifully – again!
“I believe that a metaverse that can help develop healthy, skilled, unhobbled humans is a good goal.”
I would add the term “unleashed” humans to that.
I see so much latent potential for creativity and problem-soolving within our youth that is being constrained by outdated and under-resourced schools.
If we just unleash their intrinsic passions, values, and talents, they will lead us to be better humans in the fourth way you describe: leveraging technologies like the VR metaverse for collaborative creativity – to
“amplify embodied and extended cognition” and expanded awareness and consciousness.
I believe the true magic of unfettered access to the metaverse among people young and old everywhere is that we can envision and create SYNERGY among people with diverse talents and perspectives.
This means valuing diversity of cultures, religions, places, disciplines, and businesses – transcending dualistic, competitive thinking – to manifest healthy societies in which all individuals are empowered to thrive through their unique contribution to the whole.
Join the fun of co-creating this future through EIC Thrive Ecosystems: http://www.eic-nv.org.
Dr. Mary Alber
Education Innovation Collaborative
775.224.3736

March 5, 2023 at 10:28 pm

MARIA REINA

Nichol , you are my teacher in transforming technologies , It is amazing what you tell us in your letters
Thanks a great deal . What i do , i research a lot ater you gave us insights

April 15, 2023 at 7:47 pm