The proliferation of INTJs within the impending Singularity – and why you should care.
Before I get ahead of myself, I would advise you to skim over these terms as a few may be unfamiliar to you. Also, there are specific definitions that I am operating within in order to keep this post clear of any confusion.
Glossary of terms
Mitochondrial DNA – An ancient form of DNA found outside of the Nucleus, within a cell, that is only successfully passed from mother to children.
Neanderthal – An extinct species of human existing circa 120,000 to as recently as 35,000 years ago.
Cro-Magnon – Anatomically modern humans of which we are descendants.
(Technological) Singularity – A future where computers become self-aware and progress their intelligent design to further cognitive abilities until humans are obsolete.
Biological Evolution – A series of genetic changes inherited over generations through selective pressure from a number of (changing) factors.
Moore’s Law – The observation of a doubling in computing power (approximately) every 18 months.
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What did the Neanderthal say to the Cro-Magnon?
Nothing at all. Even though Neanderthal’s possessed larger brains than Cro-Magnons’, they never developed language despite the (assumed) vocal capacity. It is not a fault of their own, but an environmental causation which affected their mental ability greatly. The Neanderthal brain has a different infrastructure compared to that of early modern humans.
Evolution focused, rather, on the desirable traits that contributed to the preservation of self (and their immediate family). Such preservation consisted of developed musculature resulting in stockier bodies to combat the harsh elements of the Ice Age. As well as a larger visual cortex that enabled Neanderthals’ range of sight to increase. It makes logical sense; Neanderthal’s were around before Cro-Magnons, and did not create language because it was not necessary for survival… Yet.
Having said such, it is debatable whether or not Neanderthal’s utilized an early iteration of language, but I doubt it. Neanderthals’, through study, were assumed to have an idea of symbolic language, but it is unproven if they harnessed such symbolism to communicate with one another effectively. Entertainment of the thought is necessary, but it’s foundation is highly improbable and therefore inconclusive.
The extinction of Neanderthals’ follows a logical pattern; Cro-Magnons’ arrived, likely with disease that Neanderthals’ weren’t equipped to handle. The inability to survive disease because of a faulted immune system and lack of numbers thinned them out. Not enough to kill them off, but enough to keep them at bay to which Cro-Magnons’ then continued to produce a large number of offspring, build villages, and institute social hierarchies. Neanderthals’, again, were beyond their means as they were not focused on the facilitation of a larger than necessary tribe and were content to operate within small groups.
However, Neanderthal’s did survive for thousands of years beyond the arrival of Cro-Magnons’ which raises an interesting question; did they interbreed? Possibly. The thousands of years of overlap between the two species of human, living in relative proximity to each other, would suggest more than a platonic relationship.
Studies have been done, but the results are marred in conjecture as the evidence is paltry. Mitochondrial DNA or MtDNA, is only .3% of our DNA which is a negligible amount already. The results are even less impressive when you understand that MtDNA from the father is destroyed upon fertilization of the egg. Only the mother’s MtDNA survives which means there is no quantifiable data to measure our link to Neanderthals’.
It is quite possible that Neanderthal man and Cro-Magnon women bred, but that would leave no traceable data. In either case, it is still being studied.
So, they co-existed, and possibly bred, but the ‘lesser’ iteration of human became extinct due to a lag in biological and cultural evolution. The window of optimal language acquisition was lost upon the Neanderthals due to lack of conditional learning and scant numbers.
The machine who happened to be human
Why is the relationship between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon important? Because it follows a similar theme to modern humans and machines.
The human body is a biological machine rot with mechanical inefficiencies and plagued with vestigial tissue.
- Appendix – It’s function is to digest a largely herbivorous diet, and thus contains toxins within its pouch that is lethal to humans if burst. Hey, evolution, it’s been hundreds of years since this was necessary; remove it.
- Wisdom Teeth – Modern mouths are smaller, and again, evolution, we do not need it to help us eat tough, fibrous plants.
- Tail-Bones – We have tails! Kind of. It’s controversial, but since becoming bipedal, largely vestigial.
- Tonsils – They ‘stop’ pathogens. Sometimes, but mostly, they increase our chances of infection, and are not necessary.
- Third Eyelid – Yep. It’s there in the far corner, and was used to shied our eyes from debris, and moisten them. Evolution… Bring these back.
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Evolution is an aimless process; a continuous change due to retention of that which is not detrimental enough to be removed and the fixation of that which gives a selective advantage. However, selective pressures are completely different from that which influenced the evolution of Neanderthals’ and Cro-Magnons’. Selection pressures are not environmental, nor predominately physical anymore, but more so social, psychological, and sexual.
Biological evolution is too slow, taking upwards of 200 generations to show any significant change, while according to Moore’s Law, every 18 months computing power doubles. There is simply no natural way to compete with the evolution of technology and it’s subsequent self-awareness, but what if we did not have to evolve?
What if, working under the assumption that personality is genetic, a random permutation of evolution was uniquely suited to take advantage of changes in the environment, and existed already, within a niche in the population, then expanded?
That unique permutation would be the INTJ; a stoic, logical, emotionless (Not really, but suspend disbelief) vessel of information, reason, and action that could live among sentient machines. INTJs could transcend the Technological Singularity, and live undetected among machines due to their ability to control emotion, and value of competency. However, INTJ males are a scarce bunch while INTJ females are virtually non-existent – meaning the proliferation of INTJ kind would be quite difficult.
Even if INTPs and INTJs interbred to create an Über-lineage of offspring to combat the Super Computers of the Technological Singularity – it would not be enough. In all honesty, INTJs and INTPs could dwindle in size further due to the differing selective pressures and the computer’s want to replace human intelligence with technological convenience. Thus, eliminating the evolutionary need for intelligence…
Beyond harnessing genetic mutation, would there be any other way to counter-act the Technological Singularity?
<FunFactoid> This post was written largely using the analogy model, with a bit of first principles thrown in for good measure</FunFactoid>
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This post, while littered with scientific data, facts, and logical theories, is just a fun thought-provoking, and future-entertaining exercise. Yep. I’m a nerd.
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Machines are already in the world, active, communicating with humans, and fooling them.
Interesting additional information:
Intp x Intj 