Are we parasites? The human species.

[Don Cool]

I asked Gemini, Chat GPT´s cousin, whether Earth would consider us to be parasites if it was sentient. Hypothetical question of course and somewhat thought provoking.

Here is the answer:

From the viewpoint of a sentient planet, there's a strong case to be made that humans are currently acting like parasites. Here's why:

Unsustainable Consumption: Our consumption of resources far exceeds the planet's ability to replenish them. We're using up resources like water, fossil fuels, and fertile land at an alarming rate.

Ecological Damage: Our actions are causing widespread environmental damage. Deforestation, pollution, and climate change all disrupt ecosystems and threaten biodiversity.

Focus on Short-Term Gains: Many human actions prioritize immediate gain over long-term consequences. This shortsighted approach can exacerbate environmental problems.


I am a happy little parasite though, will continue to consume until everything falls apart or my demise, whatever comes first.

[steven1mac]

All living things that do not produce their own food could be considered parasitic.

[Naedmi]

Short answer? No.

Every living organism consumes something to survive so through machine learning to need to consume something to survive could be a determining factor for them in claiming you're a parasite or not.

But realistically a parasite is something that survives and does nothing to improve life in any way, their own or other people around them. Only deeply nihilistic or people suffering from depression would feel like they've never done anything to help in some way.

And being a parasite is a politicians job, not many of those around.

[Ye]

Origineel geplaatst door Don Cool:

Unsustainable Consumption: Our consumption of resources far exceeds the planet's ability to replenish them. We're using up resources like water, fossil fuels, and fertile land at an alarming rate.

Ecological Damage: Our actions are causing widespread environmental damage. Deforestation, pollution, and climate change all disrupt ecosystems and threaten biodiversity.

Thats not parasitic behavior, if anything its invasive species behavior.

I'll give you an example of parasitic behavior: First Worlders have been building structures for 1,000s of years that are far superior than mud huts that Third Worlders have been building despite Firsts having less natural resources than Thirds.

Then after 1,000s of years, 10% of Thirds move into the Firsts land. They receive more money and assistance from the government than they put back into the system via taxes unlike Firsts, have an extremely high percentage that don't work/contribute at all compared to Firsts, and waste natural resources doing meaningless things that would be better saved for future generations of Firsts. Finally, they would spend most of there energy reproducing instead of working, adding more strain on the host and brining the host nation and Firsts closer to their demise.

[Hobbit XIII]

a parasite is better than being a disease i suppose.

[Caldari Ghost]

Humans are a part of earth. To qualify as a parasite or disease we would have to be aliens

[Pierce Dalton]

Yes, Earth is a cow and we're the parasites sucking its resources.

[Pierce Dalton]

Origineel geplaatst door Caldari Ghost:

Humans are a part of earth. To qualify as a parasite or disease we would have to be aliens

But some parasites are born within their host, no?

[Caldari Ghost]

Origineel geplaatst door Pierce Dalton:

Origineel geplaatst door Caldari Ghost:

Humans are a part of earth. To qualify as a parasite or disease we would have to be aliens

But some parasites are born within their host, no?

Humans and earth are part of the same closed system, because humans are native to earth

[swillfly]

humans are a viral infestation to the planet

[Pierce Dalton]

Origineel geplaatst door Caldari Ghost:

Origineel geplaatst door Pierce Dalton:

But some parasites are born within their host, no?

Humans and earth are part of the same closed system, because humans are native to earth

Or so we think.

[Caldari Ghost]

Origineel geplaatst door Buckles:

You're only a parasite for the first 9 months. After that you become something more like a leech.

I don't understand this logic. Having offspring is the closest thing we have to immortality. The only thing that really dies is that individual mind and set of memories/personality

[Pierce Dalton]

Origineel geplaatst door Caldari Ghost:

Origineel geplaatst door Buckles:

You're only a parasite for the first 9 months. After that you become something more like a leech.

I don't understand this logic. Having offspring is the closest thing we have to immortality. The only thing that really dies is that individual mind and set of memories/personality

Nah, the closest thing to immortality is being remembered by the stuff you did, like Beethoven or Shakespeare. These people will never be forgotten, unlike us.

[C4Warr10r]

Origineel geplaatst door apathy:

Origineel geplaatst door C4Warr10r:

What parasite is capable of saving its host? No kidding, we have the technology and ability today, to gravity tractor the whole damn solar system to another star so it won't die when the sun does.

We don't have that kind of technology. Technology has its limits. Moving entire solar systems is physically and economically, impossible.

It would take a couple billion years,

We don't have a couple of billion years. I don't even have 50 years left on this miserable planet of the apes.

I'm very glad that you know clearly know nothing about physics, lest I take your doomsaying a bit more seriously. Gravity tractors are extraordinarily easy to make. Just put something in geostationary or elliptical orbit, and the law of gravity, wherein objects with mass are attracted to each other, causes the larger mass to move slightly towards the satellite.

If we put a couple million solar collectors and habitats in just such an orbit, the sun itself would begin to move at a measurable velocity. Then we just point the solar system where we want it to go, along a galactic orbital track. Odds are, we'd want to plot an intercept to a younger star, closer to the galactic core, since that would be faster and we'd get another gravity assist.

That whole time, people would still be making more people, so a couple million Dyson objects could easily grow into a swarm of trillions. In that event, the entire solar system isn't making it. We have a lot of junk planets and asteroids to consume along the way, like Mercury. It's basically a worthless rock. Nobody would miss it. Yet it is a little bit of a gravity tractor, just in the wrong place for now. Three hundred twenty-eight quintillion five hundred quadrillion kilograms of mass can build a LOT of very useful orbital infrastructure. That's more than the mass of all buildings currently on Earth by a factor of about a trillion. Mars, the whole asteroid belt, most of the moons around the gas giants, maybe Neptune, etc, those can go, too. They're just a waste of space for now. . We've got plenty to work with, and a moving stellar shield in the form of the Kuiper belt while we're at it. Totally doable.

But okay, I'll humor you. Given your complete lack of comprehension when it comes to scale, what's going to doom this planet in 50 years? What would doom the most adaptable species living on it?

[talemore]

How many aliens do we have on this spaceship we call earth?

[Original Cast Recording]

No. We're the Earth's autoimmune defense against all the other parasites. Plants, ants, elephants, etc.