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Earth's new era
The leader
Earth’s new era
NASA
Is our technology shifting us and the planet into a different age? 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’s 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
Earthrise, taken during the Apollo 8 mission, evokes the idea of our planet being a selfregulating entity
the photo (shown above) by several years. In this, as in much of his thinking, he was ahead of his time. So we shouldn’t be surprised that while earth scientists still argue about how Gaia might work – and there is evidence that Gaia may be more robust than imagined (23 March, p 34) – Lovelock has moved on. His thoughts have turned to the future of humanity (page 45). As he sees it, we are entering a new era in which “cyborg-type people” 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’s new venture, Neuralink, which recently revealed plans for mind-controlled gadgets for the masses (page 15). The company wants to use thousands of tiny electrodes surgically implanted by a robot to read people’s 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. ❚
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© 2019 New Scientist Ltd, England. New Scientist is published weekly by New Scientist Ltd. ISSN 0262 4079. New Scientist (Online) ISSN 2059 5387. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper and printed in England by Precision Colour Printing Ltd
Non-exec chair Bernard Gray Senior non-exec director Louise Rogers
CONTACT US newscientist.com/contact General & media enquiries Tel+44 (0)20 7611 1202 UK Tel+44 (0)20 7611 1200 25 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ES Australia PO Box 2315, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012 US Tel +1 617 283 3213 210 Broadway #201, Cambridge, MA 02139 UK Newsstand Marketforce UK Ltd Tel +44 (0)20 3787 9001 Syndication Tribune Content Agency Tel +44 (0)20 7588 7588 Email [email protected] Subscriptions newscientist.com/subscribe Tel +44 (0)330 333 9470 Email [email protected] Post New Scientist, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH
27 July 2019 | New Scientist | 3
Earth’s new era
NASA
Is our technology shifting us and the planet into a different age? 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’s 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
Earthrise, taken during the Apollo 8 mission, evokes the idea of our planet being a selfregulating entity
the photo (shown above) by several years. In this, as in much of his thinking, he was ahead of his time. So we shouldn’t be surprised that while earth scientists still argue about how Gaia might work – and there is evidence that Gaia may be more robust than imagined (23 March, p 34) – Lovelock has moved on. His thoughts have turned to the future of humanity (page 45). As he sees it, we are entering a new era in which “cyborg-type people” 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’s new venture, Neuralink, which recently revealed plans for mind-controlled gadgets for the masses (page 15). The company wants to use thousands of tiny electrodes surgically implanted by a robot to read people’s 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. ❚
PUBLISHING & COMMERCIAL
MANAGEMENT
EDITORIAL
Display advertising Tel +44 (0)20 7611 1291 Email [email protected] Commercial director Chris Martin Display sales manager Justin Viljoen Lynne Garcia, Henry Vowden, (ANZ) Richard Holliman Recruitment advertising Tel +44 (0)20 7611 1204 Email [email protected] Recruitment sales manager Mike Black Nicola Cubeddu, Viren Vadgama, (US) Jeanne Shapiro New Scientist Live Tel +44 (0)20 7611 1206 Email [email protected] Events director Adrian Newton Creative director Valerie Jamieson Sales director Jacqui McCarron Exhibition sales manager Charles Mostyn Event manager Henry Gomm Marketing Head of campaign marketing James Nicholson Poppy Lepora, Chloe Thompson Head of customer experience Emma Robinson Email/CRM Manager Rachna Sheth Head of data analytics Tom Tiner Web development Maria Moreno Garrido, Tom McQuillan, Amardeep Sian
Chief executive Nina Wright Finance director Jenni Prince Chief technology officer Chris Corderoy Marketing director Jo Adams Human resources Shirley Spencer HR coordinator Serena Robinson Facilities manager Ricci Welch Executive assistant Lorraine Lodge Receptionist Alice Catling
Editor Emily Wilson Executive editor Richard Webb Creative director Craig Mackie News News editor Penny Sarchet Editors Jacob Aron, Timothy Revell Reporters (UK) Jessica Hamzelou, Michael Le Page, Donna Lu, Adam Vaughan, Clare Wilson (US) Leah Crane, Chelsea Whyte (Aus) Alice Klein, Ruby Prosser Scully Digital Digital editor Conrad Quilty-Harper Web team Lilian Anekwe, Anne Marie Conlon, David Stock, Sam Wong Features Head of features Catherine de Lange (parental leave) and Rowan Hooper Acting head of features Tiffany O’Callaghan Editors Gilead Amit, Julia Brown, Kate Douglas, Alison George, Joshua Howgego Feature writers Daniel Cossins, Graham Lawton Culture and Community Editors Liz Else, Mike Holderness, Simon Ings Subeditors Chief subeditor Eleanor Parsons Bethan Ackerley, Tom Campbell, Chris Simms, Jon White Design Art editor Kathryn Brazier Joe Hetzel, Dave Johnston, Ryan Wills Picture desk Chief picture editor Adam Goff Kirstin Kidd Production Production manager Alan Blagrove Robin Burton, Melanie Green
© 2019 New Scientist Ltd, England. New Scientist is published weekly by New Scientist Ltd. ISSN 0262 4079. New Scientist (Online) ISSN 2059 5387. Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper and printed in England by Precision Colour Printing Ltd
Non-exec chair Bernard Gray Senior non-exec director Louise Rogers
CONTACT US newscientist.com/contact General & media enquiries Tel+44 (0)20 7611 1202 UK Tel+44 (0)20 7611 1200 25 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ES Australia PO Box 2315, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012 US Tel +1 617 283 3213 210 Broadway #201, Cambridge, MA 02139 UK Newsstand Marketforce UK Ltd Tel +44 (0)20 3787 9001 Syndication Tribune Content Agency Tel +44 (0)20 7588 7588 Email [email protected] Subscriptions newscientist.com/subscribe Tel +44 (0)330 333 9470 Email [email protected] Post New Scientist, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 3DH
27 July 2019 | New Scientist | 3