Novacene Quotes

“The pioneer and would-be spacefarer Elon Musk said he would like to die on Mars, though not on impact. Martian conditions suggest death on impact might be preferable.”
― James Lovelock, Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelligence

“The experience of watching your garden grow gives you some idea of how future AI systems will feel when observing human life.”
― James Lovelock, Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelligence

“As Newton found long ago, logical thinking does not work with dynamic systems, things that change over the course of time. Quite simply, you cannot explain the working of something alive by cause-and-effect logic. Most of us, especially women, have known this all along.”
― James Lovelock, Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelligence

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
― James Lovelock, Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelligence

“Even where we live, on the edge of the sea and far from any waste-disposal site, large vans come to collect the paper and other waste that is part of modern life. I have often wondered if the internet could serve the same purpose as these vans and take away useless and redundant information and dispose of it in some vast, unfathomed depth of the universe. I like to think of huge transmitters sited at the poles broadcasting junk mail, unwanted advertisements, banal entertainment and misinformation. What a splendid way to keep cool!”
― James Lovelock, Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelligence