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LIFEBOAT FOUNDATION SPECIAL REPORT
LIFEBOAT FOUNDATION SPECIAL REPORT
THE STRATEGIC BRAIN
By Lifeboat Foundation Scientific Advisory Board member Natasha Vita-More.
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OVERVIEW
Each one of us has been entrusted with the care and nourishment of what
might be the most extraordinary and complex creation in the universe.
Home to your mind and personality, the brain is the archives or our
most cherished memories and our hopes for the future. It arranges and
coordinates the elements of consciousness that gives us purpose,
passion, motion and emotion.
In order to prepare for the future of our brain, we need to know what
it likes, the challenges it craves, the rest it requires, and the
protection it deserves.
But the brain is too fragile — too vulnerable to continue in its
current
state. The brain needs to adapt to the future trends. The brain needs
a strategy for its future.
The most important question to ask at the onset of a strategic planning
process is "Why are you taking action now?" The most obvious answer is
that NOW something has occurred which has changed the day-to-day
operations of the enterprise. An event or series of events have
occurred in the marketplace affecting the external and internal
environments of the enterprise and how it will perform its operations
has changed irrevocably. Now is the time to take action in order to
establish a new vision, a set of goals, and the actions to implement
them.
A strategy for the brain will take into account how the brain is
currently challenged by the (1) demand to produce better cognitive
capabilities; (2) a demand for more of its free time and energy; (3)
expectations to perform operations for an expected extension of years
far beyond what it has known in the past; (4) an increasing rate of
neurological degeneration as a result of an increased lifespan; and (2)
the need to keep up with the acceleration of competitive new super
intelligences.
Developing a strategy for the brain is a balance of several elements
— a
compelling vision for its future, what strategic goals it sets in
realizing its vision, how it puts its strategy into action, and the
results of achieving or not achieving its goals. The brain needs to
decide what it wants to be in the next decades, what it wants to
accomplish in the next decades, and why — its
mission.
Its
mission
will reflect its core ideology — its values. Many a brain has not
been
able to keep up with the pace of the future, run into psychological
slumps, lost time and energy wasting away on the past rather than the
future. NOW is the time to look ahead and to develop a
strategic plan
that balances all the elements necessary to realize a visionary yet
realistic future. The future that will allow the brain to be the best
that it can be.
But before we can develop a strategic plan for the brain, we would have
to know a more about its services, its customers' needs, and if it is
meeting those needs.
A BRAIN'S EXECUTIVE STATEMENT
The Brain develops best practices for cognitive and creative processes.
The enterprise's main office is located in the neocortex, and has
connections through the internal and external network of society.
The Brain's quality services are unique and exclusive, and its target
consumers are nerve cells and synapses and with upper-end job-related
responsibilities. The brain's competitive edge is that its services are
100% man-made, unlike competitor's products.
By this
fact, the
enterprise hopes to attract investors that value the artistry of
producing neurological connections and their emergent properties such
as critical thinking, imagination, day-dreaming, problem-solving, humor
and importantly intellection. Since the Brain's services are mostly to
serve the day to day functions of the mind as well as elaborate
networking and communications assistance, it considers itself to be in
the communications market, although some consumers purchase the
end-result products, such as ideas, for themselves.
For the starting year 2006, the enterprise plans to develop strategic
initiatives to protect its future and gain a competitive edge in the
marketplace. Over the past few decades, the Brain's longevity has
increased along with its competitors, causing a reevaluation of its
position and its future.
The Brain's future is uncertain due to advancing cogitative systems
such as AI, and Superintelligence. Adding to the external environment
of The Brain is the fact that new enterprises entering the marketplace
are drawing business from The Brain. Brain Virus and other invasive
viral infections are eating away at the resources of The Brain's
affiliates. This pending shortage has created an immense demand for
increased memory.
Earlier this century, Memory
Management, located in
the Cortex conference room, became aware of different groups of neurons
beginning to break down causing a leakage in perception. Subsequently
a reconstruction temp crew worked around the clock to develop parallel
processing to improve the relationship. This type of weak management
is showing up more and more. Medulla department experiences too much
overtime and depleting the snack bar, cerebellum has been complaining
about too much lifting and carrying and we are concerned about worker's
compensation, thalamus has been spending more time on the phone and
surfing the net than being an effective executive assistant, and
hypothalamus may very well get us a sexual harassment lawsuit and an
excess of unexpected neuron firings.
Regardless of some on the internal flaws of the enterprise, there is
great potential for continued success.
The enterprise plans to expand to direct mind-linkup ubiquitous
computing networks, error-correction memory replay, global Net
connection with remote neural access guarded by security protocol and
embedded high-throughput contradiction detectors. During 2007, The
Brain plans to work collaboratively with super computers, virtual
systems, and Uploads, Inc. The Brain family of cells will expand in
2008 by adding 10 different kinds of augmentations and add-on
arrangements.
BIGGER
VISION
In order to understand its future, The Brain needs to ask itself who it
wants to be in the next decades, what it wants to accomplish, and why.
It needs a bigger vision:
- Working to be better, smarter, and more capable.
- Evolving faster than the speed of technology.
- The human brain, unlike fabricated substitutes, provides impeccable
intelligence, flawless memory, great wit, endless understanding and
compassion.
Or maybe one word, "Enlightened" might say it all and that might give
it an edge in the marketplace, unless competing intelligences claim a
more developed enlightenment.
The brain's mission must fulfill its vision. But before we move ahead
with an action plan, we have to first as three questions: Where is it
today, where does it want to be in the future; and what should it focus
on today to make its future possible?
TODAY: The brain is vulnerable. It is vulnerable to
physical
and mental diseases, and accidental damage. But it is primarily
vulnerable because it is not backed-up — not just on a daily
basis, but
on a continuous basis to preserve every thought.
The current era covers a series of biotechnological events:
neurosurgery, neuroinformatics, neuromarketing, brain technology for
transferring mind data to the inactive limbs. Most immediately the
current era is creating an expected increase in machine intelligence,
overcoming human intelligence.
QUESTIONS
1. What difference did that event make in
the
external
environment?
| Previous era(Before Event) | Current era
(Now) |
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a. Changes to the brain were considered science fiction
and bioconservatives said superintelligence would never come about.
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Well known corporations are currently working on
next-generation supercomputing. It has been stated by experts that
supercomputing power will outperform the human brain. This is a very
big threat to the future of the brain.
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2. What trends will affect this enterprise
in the next 5-10 years?
a. Increase in biotechnologies for extending human lifespan will
have to take a hard look at the cognitive capabilities of people living
well past 100.
b. Increase in legislation governing application of technology for
augmenting the brain may increase in lawsuits concerning outcomes of
such augmentations.
3. What potential future events would
radically change the future
for this enterprise?
a. Successfully isolating genes that trigger brain cell
degeneration and depression.
b. Developing the means to restore and enhance
memory.
c. Demand for better brains by people living longer.
d. People opting for a synthetic brain over a biological brain
over a human brain.
4. What issue is being debated in the
environment
that could
change the future for this enterprise?
a. The moral consequences of tampering with the human condition,
affecting what it means to be intelligent.
ASSESSMENT
As a result, then, what opportunities exist in the
environment for
this
enterprise?
a. Develop a marketing campaign to booster the need for better
cognitive abilities for humans and an outreach to help people
understand the benefits of a highly functioning brain for those who
want to live to be 100+.
b. Strengthen its network with nanorobots and engage virtual
environments.
As a result, what threats exist in the environment
for
this
enterprise?
c. Unknown and unforeseeable virus causing communicating breakdown
which could sorely affecting the brain's ability to keep up with the
changes ahead.
d. Unknown and unforeseeable virus causing supercomputing power to
come to a halt.
e. New enterprise gaining momentum and competing aggressively,
such as superintelligences.
f. Strong emotional reaction to change — becoming more than
human
intelligence.
STRATEGIC ISSUES
Finally, based on the opportunities and threats listed above, what
three external strategic issues should the plan address. Among these
three is probably at least one opportunity and one threat.
a. How the brain is going to keep up with the advent of
accelerated technologies and the fact that people are living longer,
therefore needing better brains?
b. How to strategically address competitive forces that will
affect the ability for the brain to continue the lead in the
marketplace. Since new organizations coming into the domain compete
aggressively, the chances of implementing and actualizing strategic
goals is diminished. Alternative for the organization might be to
develop a new enterprise out of the organization by selecting what
works and eliminating what does not work and regrouping under a new
name and take ownership of a new mission.
The Mission of the Brain
is to serve its cells
by adopting the advantages
of emerging technologies to ensure a
smart, safe and sustainable environment.
STRATEGIC PLAN
Achieving the three goals necessary for longevity: "an optimally
functioning brain in a sound mind; favorable social support systems;
financial security."
Strategic Priority A: Health and
Longevity
Eat well, get sleep, avoid stress, keep the cognitive processes active,
and avoid negative thoughts.
Strategic Priority B: Competitive Edge in the
Marketplace
Strategic Priority 1.0 — Develop Organizational Stability by
working
with mind to adapt to change.
Strategic Priority 2.0 — Continually scan the environment for
positive
and negative affects of emerging technologies.
Strategic Priority 3.0 — Enhance Memory and back up brain/mind
continuously.
Strategic Priority 4.0 — Create a ubiquitous, open, fluid
environment
for
intellection.
Strategic Priority 5.0 — Collaborate with emerging
superintelligences.
CONCLUSION
We must convince society that the brain needs to keep up with the
changes
ahead.
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