Potential Worldview Implications of Progress in the Study of Conscious Systems

If consciousness can one day be shown to emerge naturally from fundamental or evolving synergisms between complex electromagnetic systems and their virtual environment, it will no longer be possible to view consciousness as a freak accident of nature. Just as the universe supports atomic and galactic structure and the resulting potential for evolving life, it also may be shown to support the emergence of consciousness at many scales, possibly including the scale of the whole universe or multiverse. Perhaps God will be understood as the conscious system inherent in the whole universe or multiverse operating at a full-spectrum of interacting scales. Once we discover the coupling between system and virtual environment required for conscious experience, it will be possible to explore ways of enhancing or altering our own consciousness and that of other species by tuning that coupling. We may also be able to design new species and even robots that can enjoy conscious experience. Before we modify and create too many conscious systems, however, we will need to explore the possible role of conscious systems in the universe. If consciousness contributes to, as well as emerges from, the evolution of the universe or multiverse, we may have responsibilities as well as opportunities to consider. Certainly our empathy with other creatures and future generations and species who share our capacity for consciousness should motivate our preservation of the biosphere and ecological approach to populating the solar system and beyond. If consciousness at different scales is the inevitable outcome of evolution, we should be prepared for radically intercultural encounters with other forms of intelligent life throughout the universe. We may find that we are not only at home in the universe, but that we are not all alone. Our ethical and aesthetic, as well as our scientific vision will need to expand.