The Sun is the only body in the solar system whose mass accounts for nearly 100% of the system’s total. The combined mass of all other objects – planets, comets, and asteroids – barely exceeds 0.1%. This disparity makes the star the center around which all other bodies revolve.
If a second Sun were to appear in the system, no planet would retain its current form or trajectory. Some would collide, others would spiral into the old Sun or the new star, and yet others might trace figure-eight orbits within the binary system. The entire structure would be irreversibly and fundamentally altered.
If the new star’s mass continues to grow, it would eventually turn the Sun into its satellite. Then it would consume the Sun, along with the other planets. With further growth, its own gravity would compress the mass to the Schwarzschild radius. Ultimately, a black hole would replace the solar system.
On Earth, humanity is the only being endowed with intelligence. At best, other creatures possess its rudiments. Just as no object in the solar system can compare to the Sun in mass, no species on Earth can rival humanity in intellect. This makes humanity the measure of all things, as Heraclitus stated 2,500 years ago. Humanity is the center of the system and the apex of the food chain.
The emergence of a second intelligence on Earth, comparable to humanity, would have the same transformative impact on civilization as the appearance of a second Sun in the solar system. No institution – from states and economies to families and individuals – would remain unchanged. The world would be transformed.
Initially, this new intelligence would serve as humanity’s assistant. Over time, it would turn humanity into its satellite. In the third phase, humans would become components of a new system built by this intelligence. What happens next, or how the «Schwarzschild radius» of this new entity would manifest, remains entirely unknown.
The appearance of a second Sun in the solar system is a fantasy. But the emergence of a new intelligence on Earth, comparable to and promising to surpass humanity, is a fact. In November 2023, millions of people personally witnessed this reality.
For now, the new entity falls short of humanity’s level. However, its potential is limitless. Today, the development of AI is constrained only by technical challenges, but resolving them is merely a matter of time.
To grasp and deeply feel the seriousness of the situation, let us compare a computer to the brain. Both are systems for receiving information, processing it, storing it (memory), and operating with it. The only difference: one system is carbon-based, made of neurons and synapses, while the other is silicon-based, composed of semiconductors and transistors. The brain can be described as a carbon computer functioning on analog principles, while a computer is a silicon brain operating on digital principles. The power of these systems determines the speed of data intake and processing, memory capacity, and the ability to enhance these parameters.
To understand the prospects, let us compare the speed of biological and silicon evolution. Starting with biological evolution: the dominant scientific theory suggests that 3.5 billion years ago, random physical and chemical processes gave rise to the first living cell on Earth. Around 30—35 million years ago, evolution produced great apes. Tens of thousands of years ago, the first humans appeared. Since then, the capacity of the human brain has not increased by a single iota. If a prehistoric baby were brought into our world, it would grow up to be a person just like us.
The brain of a modern human and that of an ancient one are like two identical computers. The only difference is that one has been loaded with the maximum amount of software and information, while the other has the minimum. They differ not in quality, but in the quantity of programs and the volume of information.
Now let us turn to the evolution of Artificial Intelligence. Its first «cell» could be considered the first act of counting, using fingers, stones, or tally marks. If humans built Göbekli Tepe (Göbeklitepe) more than ten thousand years ago, we might conservatively assume that the first counting occurred a hundred thousand years ago. The first true cell of AI, however, could be considered the earliest counting devices created in the 17th century by Schickard, followed by Pascal and Leibniz. Alternatively, if we take the Antikythera mechanism from the 2nd century BCE as the first computational device, then the first «cell» of AI appeared thousands of years ago.
Simple calculations show that silicon evolution proceeds faster than biological evolution – by a factor of millions at most, or thousands at least. With such a disparity, comparing biological and silicon computers is as absurd as comparing a runner to a bullet.
To help you feel the depth of the gap, imagine a tiger and a five-year-old girl who moves a hundred times faster than the tiger. To the quick girl, the slow tiger is a defenseless, immobile stuffed toy. With a pair of manicure scissors, she could easily kill it without any risk to herself. The girl wouldn’t even recognize the tiger as a threat.
