United Federation of Planets as a Model For the Future

Spoiler alert for a movie that came out in 1997 (shame if you haven’t seen it).

In Star Trek canon (Star Trek First Contact, specifically), humans endure a brutal world war in the mid-21st century, leaving humanity divided and battered. In the aftermath, one brilliant guy - Zefram Cochrane (nod to Trekkies) - builds a warp drive: a hypothetical faster-than-light engine that kicks off a new age of human expansion.

Cochrane’s maiden voyage - humanity’s first warp flight - attracts the attention of a more advanced yet peaceful species: the Vulcans (yes, Spock). They make first contact, and that contact helps uplift humanity into what eventually becomes the utopian vision of the United Federation of Planets.

Let’s avoid the “The Federation is communist” discussion - that’s beside the point. The Federation is a unifying principle for humans (and, in Star Trek, aliens): a vehicle for creating and cultivating abundance, and exploring the mysteries of the universe. And it’s also a defense pact against Borg assholes (and other hostile species).

Now imagine a different hypothetical: AI is our warp drive. It’s our “faster-than-light” travel, but for intelligence. It’s our first real step into that kind of future. (And it would be nice if it also catalyzed alien discovery, because that might actually unite us.)

So why are we so afraid of it?

Mainly because our society is competitive. Your ability to earn money - to win in a capitalist world - is predicated on your ability to outcompete the other guy in your niche. AI flips the equation. It’s smarter than you. It’s smarter than the other guy, too. It’s even worse if the other guy has a smarter AI than you do.

But what’s the difference between Star Trek and reality?

In Star Trek, humans no longer compete with one another (at least not in the same economic, zero-sum way). Once you make that shift, AI (and warp drives) becomes a tool for exploration. And there are an infinite number of things to explore, research, and understand - more than there are business niches to exploit.

If AI is available to everyone, anyone can be an engineer, a scientist, a captain.

Star Trek has AI in spades. Each ship has a central computer that can do almost anything you can imagine: beam people and objects from point A to point B, replicate matter into any form (“Tea, Earl Grey, hot”), run simulations, analyze anomalies, translate languages, model civilizations.

The characters use it for science, engineering, philosophy, and history.

But do you know what they don’t use it for (at least, in the show)?

“Ship! I want to outcompete Geordi. Build me a clone of his SaaS product, but price it cheaper!”

Because in an infinite universe - especially under conditions of surplus - why would you? There’s enough for everyone.

Yes, we still need to get from HERE (I don’t have enough money!!!!), to THERE (I’m exploring whatever I am inclined to explore). I think it will happen once human vs human competition will stop being viable. Then we will be able to move forward.

Or perhaps we could all unite against a common external force. Would be a good time for the aliens to come, right?

Oh wait… Isn’t the US government declassifying UFO materials and admitting aliens exist?

😮