MOTHER EARTH. It is an idea stretching at least as far back as the ancient Greeks. Their Gaia was mythical: a goddess. Only in more recent decades has Gaia moved beyond metaphor to become a scientific hypothesis, thanks in large part to the visionary thinking of James Lovelock, who turns 100 this week. His conception of Earth as a self-regulating superorganism resonates more than ever in this age of concern over climate change and biodiversity loss.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, it is fitting that nothing is more evocative of Lovelock鈥檚 elegant and inspirational thinking than the Earthrise photograph taken during the Apollo programme.
You might think Earthrise inspired Lovelock, who worked for NASA in the 1960s. In fact, his hypothesis predates the photo (shown above) by several years. In this, as in much of his thinking, he was ahead of his time. So we shouldn鈥檛 be surprised that while earth scientists still argue about how Gaia might work 鈥� and there is evidence that Gaia may be more robust than imagined (23 March, p 34) 鈥� Lovelock has moved on.
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His thoughts have turned to the future of humanity (see鈥�James Lovelock at 100: The creator of Gaia theory on humanity鈥檚 future鈥�). As he sees it, we are entering a new era in which 鈥渃yborg-type people鈥� will replace us as the dominant species on Earth. This may sound rather fanciful, but there are signs he could be right.
Take Elon Musk鈥檚 new venture, Neuralink, which recently revealed plans for mind-controlled gadgets for the masses (see鈥�Elon Musk鈥檚 plans for mind-controlled gadgets: what we know so far鈥�). The company wants to use thousands of tiny electrodes surgically implanted by a robot to read people鈥檚 brainwaves.
Although Musk is known for his moonshot ideas, this one may be a little closer to home. People with debilitating conditions are already pioneering similar technology, with small trials seeing people use thought-controlled robotic arms to help them in their everyday lives. The technology is far from going mainstream, but the era of the cyborgs may indeed have already begun.
