The Biosphere in Question

The result of the analysis by the artificial intelligence system Globe Expert is unequivocal. The state of the living system of our planet, its biosphere, is the root cause which would motivate human expansion into outer space, and it can be already said that the biosphere is at stake regardless of the questions asked. This key role of the Earth indicates immediately the time in which the whole process takes place. This is a long cycle. Centuries would be required for the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere to return to its 1850 level, assuming that all emissions of greenhouse gases are stopped right now, and that no break occurs in the cycle of carbon and ocean for example, as a result of rising temperatures. This is also the long cycle of space exploration and expansion. Between the history of the original cradle and what could be a new world, there is temporal unity. And this is not the only thing in common. Indeed, regarding the “Biosphere” area of analysis, Globe Expert indicates two critical issues: the vital resources – water, food – and energy, whose role is particularly crucial because, in 2011, it appears as a “factor of imbalance “, that is to say, as the element that breaks the overall balance of the system simulated in the analysis and triggers its dynamics.

Energy: The Crucial Issue

It just so happens that the issue of energy is also central and decisive in the field of space exploration. It is the very obstacle that makes the endeavour impossible, both now and in the long run if considering only our current knowledge. Thus, in the diptych of time and energy where the land cradle and the new possible worlds look at each other, the mirror effect resolves the initial contradiction noted by Prof. Urs Luterbacher of the Graduate Institute of International Studies and Development in Geneva, in response to those who say, “Why worry about the outer space when it is urgent to take care of the Earth?” There is a special urgency to carry out work in the energy field, to serve on earth… as in the heavens for the welbeing of ocnophiles and the delight of philobates. While awaiting such solutions, Globe Expert, beyond the abstract paintings of its maps in the game of information signals that it identifies and quantifies says – if no break occurs – quite a terrible story will occur. It is the story of a planet that has found no solution to any of its current environmental challenges and ends up confronted with outright inhabitability of areas like sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, the insular regions, while all other geo-cultural areas, with the exception of Latin America, face a convergence of energy, economic, vital resources and social stability issues. Faced with this situation, two groups of countries are formed. Some have no direct access to space research and industry, the others yes, but they lack what is essential to consider human settlements on exoplanets: energy. There is no way out.

The dynamics of convergence triggered by the vital resources and energy (red circle) in 2111.

The green arrow, at the top-left, indicates the convergences of the Muslim geo-cultural area.

Terrible But Not Apocalyptic Story

In this dark landscape, however humankind does not withdrawal into itself. It does not give into apocalyptic fundamentalism. It is through knowledge and development that it faces this. Thus, by 2111, knowledge economy is involved in the field of habitability, notably through the bio-nano-info sciences applications. So, by targeting regions such as Subsaharan Africa, their concerns converge with ones of the religious authorities. The latter are consistent with what is already known from them, whether the Vatican concerns about environmental issues, the presence of Christian – Catholic or Protestant – and Muslim NGOs in SSA or Southeast Asian countries. If religions are concerned about the Earth and are alongside the most vulnerable of its people, they do not necessarily reject the perspective of outer space. There is no conflict between religious authorities and those for whom the evolution of humanity is not limited to Homo Sapiens, whether considering biological, mental or environmental issues. The religious authorities can be seen as thereby supporting the space effort. Better yet, Globe Expert, by applying the equation of Lotka – Volterra to the relations of influences of the different players, shows that religious protagonists do not just speak in favor of the major victims of climate change, they also foster space research and exploration.

The Return of the Arab-Muslim World in the Field of Knowledge

The religious subject, as seen by artificial intelligence, cannot be concluded without noticing that the Muslim geo-cultural area is one which fully participates in the process of openness and evolution. Would one see here the possibility of a return of the Arab-Muslim world in the field of knowledge after eight centuries of absence? Moreover it is essential to emphasize that artificial intelligence, in its answer to the question of what could be the cause of space exploration in a hundred years, raises two observations, one negative and one positive. The bad news regards biosphere and energy. The good news concerns the knowledge society as envisioned by the French epistemologist Alain-Marc Rieu, “Not simply a society as a carrier of scientific innovations, but a society capable of societal innovations, that is to say, to invent itself. “ Notwithstanding the margin of error inherent in the system with respect to such a long forward look, it is certain that, despite all the appearances, the dynamics along this line are already at work as they are so clearly revealed by Globe Expert .