Realm Separation is a framework in which different ways of life can form voluntary, autonomous Realms and coexist without forcing one another to live by the same values.
Wait, what?...
Yeah, I know. You may be puzzled. You may wonder why I even need to define something like this in the first place. Of course you would.
Let me put it this way.
Technology keeps advancing.
As technology improves, we can produce more output from the same amount of resources. But the problem of distributing that enormous wealth remains unresolved. The gap exists not only between developed and less-developed countries. Wealth inequality is also growing within developed countries themselves.
There used to be at least some possibility of moving upward through effort and narrowing that gap. AI is gradually reducing even that possibility.
And technology may create new gaps in intelligence, physical ability, and lifespan.
If things continue in the current direction, people who already have a lot of money will live longer, become stronger, and become smarter.
Almost like people with superpowers.
Do we really have to live in the same competitive society as them?
If so, why?
Why should people who can buy intelligence and people who cannot afford it compete in the same society?
If those people can solve extremely difficult problems, or run incredibly fast, are the rest of us supposed to be amazed by them, envy them, feel jealous of them, and look up to them?
Especially when there is no realistic possibility that we could become like them simply through our own effort?
Even if society eventually provides such services at a low price, people who do not want to adopt technology beyond a certain level should have the right to refuse it.
And refusing it should not eventually become impossible just because society changes around them until they have no choice but to accept it.
Kiosks and QR codes are convenient. Smartphone authentication is convenient too.
But in exchange for that convenience, we have to learn how to use them, and we need to own the devices required to participate.
Technology will continue developing rapidly, and we will increasingly be expected to change ourselves just as rapidly.
Technology alone cannot solve social problems.
Social problems also require institutional change and changes in public attitudes.
And some technologies, such as BCI for intelligence enhancement, may trigger conflict and cause extreme disruption within conventional society.
Realm Separation in a Nutshell
Realm Separation begins with the idea that there may need to be separate domains for people who want lives like that and people who want to continue living in more conventional ways.
A Realm is a domain built around a particular way of life.
EE — Entropy Exodus — is one Realm.
The kind of life described in Ray Kurzweil's post-2045 Singularity vision could also be another Realm. Since there is no widely accepted name for that kind of life yet, I currently call it Valley Life.
There is also The Cage. Like Valley Life, it involves confining the imperfect human body to a virtual reality capsule until humans can exist as digital entities. The difference is that one cannot leave the capsule, nor does it aim for intelligence expansion or anything of the sort. Its purpose is to preserve human life in a state of stasis while using as little energy as possible.
Realm Separation is the division and organization of those Realms.
See?
That's why I came up with this concept.
Principles of Realm
A Realm is not a replacement for a nation.
Individual countries may contain communities similar in function to Amish communities, Native American territories, or communities created for LGBTQ+ people. A Realm is not created through forced segregation by the system. It is formed through the active request of a sufficiently large number of people who want a place where they can pursue a particular way of life. International institutions may also have organizations responsible for individual Realms.Such an international institution could examine questions such as:
Can people actually enter and leave this Realm?
Can residents access information from outside?
Does the Realm exercise aggression or coercion against other Realms?
Are the rights of children and dependent members protected?
Is the Realm understating or concealing the extent of its actual influence?
Realms should not simply emerge like competing warlord territories.
Their creation requires sufficient discussion. This is necessary to prevent the creation of Realms that clearly harm other Realms, Realms with a serious risk of becoming closed societies, or Realms that become vehicles for gaining power and cultivating a sense of superiority. The same applies to my own idea, EE. If I already expect that large numbers of people would never agree to it, then what can I do about that?Even if your way of life fits within a particular Realm, you are not required to enter it.
You may belong completely, partially, or merely find the Realm useful. If it helps you live the way you want, you may choose to enter. The way of life inside a Realm will naturally be shaped around that Realm. This may include its legal arrangements, policing, and level of internet access. However, if your way of life has a high externality level, as described below — meaning that it may harm other people or create serious social disruption — then belonging to an appropriate Realm may become necessary.There needs to be a measure of how much influence a Realm can exert on the outside world: an “externality level.”
A Kurzweilian way of life could create extreme feelings of deprivation among people who do not participate in it and potentially cause global disruption. Such a Realm should therefore receive a high externality level. And that would inevitably require some form of distributed, independent oversight.Not every unusual way of life needs to take the form of a Realm.
If all you want is to grow tulips in a field full of tulips, then you can simply earn enough money to do so without harming others, reduce your own desires until it becomes affordable, or use VR.Some people have a tendency to exclude or look down on others once boundaries appear.
There is no “exclusion” here. We respect each other's ways of life. We simply do not have to become close.A Realm is a way of life, not an underground rebel army.
If it separates itself from the system, then it separates. It should never attempt to overthrow it. At least in technological terms, no Realm should possess capabilities beyond those of the central government responsible for maintaining peace between Realms.
Do You Plan to Take Responsibility for RS — Realm Separation — as Well as EE?
No.
I am only thinking about EE.
I am not responsible for other people's ways of life.
Realm Separation is simply a concept I developed together with AI because there is a significant possibility that my preferred way of life could be disrupted by other ways of life — especially ways of life that seem to seek unlimited expansion, with no obvious brake on that expansion.
You create your own ways of life.
You live them.
Perhaps one day, if we reach a point where we need some shared principles simply to protect one another's different ways of life, this concept may be useful as a reference for that discussion.