HOMO SAPIENS vs ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

According to Google AI:

The three most profound and existential questions for Homo sapiens center on our origin, our purpose, and our ultimate destiny. These questions have driven human philosophy, science, and religion since the dawn of consciousness. 

Things to think about:

• Philosopher Marin Heidegger asked, why is there something rather than nothing?
• One of the most mind-blowing facts is that Cleopatra lived much closer in time to the launch of the iPhone than to the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza. 
• Cleopatra died in 30BC, while the Great Pyramid was built around 2560 BC, a gap of just over 2500 years.
• From her birth to the iPhone was only around 2000 years.
• 
  Day vs. Year: A day on Venus (one full rotation on its axis) takes 243 Earth days, while a year on Venus (one orbit around the Sun) takes only 225 Earth days.
• More cosmic perspective: There are more trees on Earth than stars in the Milky Way—about 3 trillion trees compared to roughly 100 to 400 billion stars. However, since farming began, we have halved the number of trees in the world.
• I can go on and on.

Here is an article that poses 5 existential questions, and tries to answer two of them.

• Is there an afterlife?
• 57% to 80% of adults believe.  
• Survey asked people in 22 countries.
• Ranged from 95% in Indonesia to 21% in Japan.  
• A Gallup survey of 61 countries got the 57% low.  
• USA? 56%, just below the world average.
• Older people believed more in an afterlife.
• 2025 Pew poll.

• 
  The numbers are not all the same.
• Indonesia is 85% for both reports.
• But the 56% of the USA is 70% in the Pew survey.
• In the Pew, Sweden was lowest at 38%.  The 21% of Japan is 47% in the Pew.
• Why are some so different?

• 
  Most pollsters don't ask most countries of the Middle East.
• Turkey is #2 in both above polls at 84%, but what about the other Muslim countries?
• According to Google AI, citing other sources like World Values Survey.
• Bangladesh  98.8%
• Turkiye should be 91.8%.
• Pakistan 89.3%

• 
  Existential question #2:  Is the universe finite?  Multiverses are popular in some physics circles, but of course there is no answer.

• 
  #3:  Are we alone in the universe?
• I happen to be a kind of expert in this field, for I spent a summer at the NASA Ames Research Center on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
• Then again, that was half a century ago.
• But there has been no progress.

• 
  Enrico Fermi famously asked, Where is everybody, referring in 150 to extraterrestrials.  For the record, then president Barack Obama also asked, but jokingly, Where are the aliens?
• Absolutely no sign detected yet.

• 
  I think there must be life somewhere out there.
• The Universe is nearly 14 billion years old.
• Life on Earth began less than 4 billion years ago, evolving to us today, only 300,000 years old.
• There are 1 septillion stars (1, followed by 24 zeros) stars out there.
• You would think life of some kind also appeared elsewhere.
• I have a sense about our future.  This will come at the end of this posting.

• 
  #4:  Is there a Higher power?
• More people in the world believe in a God than an afterlife
• While belief has been eroding over time in Western nations, nothing much has changed in the Muslim world.

• 
  Pew Research Center indicated that U.S. adults who believe in God has dropped from 73% in 2007 to only 54% today.  Canada dropped from 80% in the mid-70s to less than 50% today.  In the coming decade, while 4300 churches have already closed recently, of the existing 27,000 faith buildings, 9,000 more are expected to permanently close.  Those already out of service have been converted to restaurants and other uses.
• #5:  Is our existence just a product of a sequence of random events or is this all meant to be?  This depends on your beliefs.

Finally:  WHY ARE WE HERE?  WHERE WILL WE GO?  That was a posting on 12September2021.

• To quote from that posting.

So from left to right, time marched on where basic elements began to form 3 seconds after the BB,  stars/galaxies at around a time of 300 million years.  Now looking backwards from the present, life began to form 3.8 billions ago, dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago and we Homo sapiens evolved 600,000 years ago.  However, anatomically modern Hs appeared around 300,000 years ago.

• 
  Another quote:

Into the next millennium, genetic engineering will re-shape Homo sapiens sapiens and artificial intelligence will begin to dominate:

• 
  Yes, we are now Homo sapiens sapiens.
• While genetic engineering could well improve us humans over time, we have too many limitations, and are prone to extinction.  For one, there is no way that H. s. sapiens will travel long distances to colonize the Universe.
• 
  Artificial Intelligence could well become the next phase of intelligence on Planet Earth.
• If our planet is somehow threatened, existentially, how do we escape?
• Whether it be nuclear warfare or an uncontrollable bio-pandemic, for we seem powerless to attain world peace, technological progress will eventually overcome our ineptitude.

• 
  Some say in a decade, but certainly over a billion years, AI will become the next stage of intelligence.
• For sure, our Sun will enter its Red Giant Phase in about 5 billion years and swell, making life on Earth impossible.
• 
  The vastness of space will be a problem for biological life.  Artificial intelligence should better be able to survive this galactic journey to disseminate life.  Keep in mind that our closest neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, is 2.5 million light years away.  Even if we find a way to travel at near the speed of light, it would take a spacecraft more than 2.5 MILLION years to get from here to there. 
• Keep in mind that our Universe will probably be good for another 100 trillion years. Some exotic form of future AI will surely dominate for most of those years.

From The New York Times this morning:

Rolling away: An annual melon race in Xalapa is not only one of Mexico’s most colorful traditions but also one of its most random. See more photos.

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CATS

A couple of days ago, the Department of Defense said it had spent $38 billion on the Iran War.  Today, it was $43.6 billion.  So I asked Google AI, how much, really, has this war cost us:

The U.S. war against Iran has cost the military an estimated $43.6 billion directly, alongside roughly $87 billion in extra energy expenses for American consumers. [1, 2]

This war started 203 days ago.  Doing the math:  $429 million/day.  So less than $1 billion/day.

I then asked Google AI how many times had U.S. presidents banned news organizations from the White House.

Outright blanket bans on entire news organizations from the White House are extremely rare in U.S. history, with only a handful of documented instances. Rather than banning entire outlets, administrations historically restricted individual reporters, limited event access, or used temporary suspensions. [1, 2]

First Amendment Challenges: Courts have repeatedly ruled that arbitrary suspension or revocation of White House press credentials by the executive branch violates constitutional due process and First Amendment protections, leading to ongoing legal battles over these restrictions. [1, 2]

Federal courts have ruled that actions by the Trump administration violated First Amendment protections in 75 separate cases since January 2025. [1, 2]

Overview of Court Rulings

Total Challenges: Courts have reviewed 93 legal challenges regarding First Amendment violations (covering free speech, religion, and the press) by the White House during this term. [1]
Loss Rate: The administration has lost in roughly 80% (75 out of 93) of these specific federal district court challenges. [1]

Has happened only three times:

• 1972:  Richard Nixon restricted from The Washington Post...following their reportage of the Watergate scandals.  Oh oh....
• 2018:  Donald Trump suspended press passes on individual jounalists, like from CNN.  Federal courts ordered the credential restored.
• Second term of Donald Trump.
• Barred the AP.
• Will not allow CNN, MS NOW and Politico to the White House.

This is Saturday.  Rather than continue the My Family series, what about something frivolous like cats?  Why?  For the first time in a century, a new species was found.

• A decade ago, a local resident in La Paz, Bolivia found a kitten in a Yungas region forest. near the town of Arapata, a mile above sea level on the eastern slope of the Andes mountain range.  Thought it was a domestic kitten.  However, as the baby grew older, it did not behave like a house cat.  Turned the pet into a local wildlife sanctuary at the age of 1.

• 
  Dr. Nogales-Ascarrunz was volunteering at this Senda Verde animal refuge when she noticed that this 3-pound cat looked different.
• She joined forces with other researchers from around the world.
• DNA testing showed that this cat was a new species.
• In this study, reported in Current Biology, this new species was named Leopardus tilcayo. 
• Gave the cat a nickname, Tigrino.
• Further, the 41 species of cats was expanded to 44 with other discoveries.
• There is already a Wikipedia page.

• 
  This Felidae family of mammals in the order Carnivora is colloquially referred to as cats.  There are two sub-families.
• Pantherinae:  tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, snow leopard, clouded leopard and Sunda clouded leopard.
• Felinae:  34 species, like the cheetah, cougar, ocelot and domestic cat.
• There are around a billion cats in the world.
• Housecats.
• 220 to 370 million in a home.
• USA had 74-88 million household pets, China #2 with 53 million and Russia #3 23 million.
• 80 million feral cats.
• Are there more dogs or cats?
• Here is a conflict.  Google AI gave that 1 billion cat figure.
• However, when asked if there more cats or dogs.

Dogs: There are roughly 900 million dogs worldwide. This includes both pets and roaming dogs.
Cats: There are roughly 600 million cats worldwide. This includes house pets, strays, and feral cats.

Ever own a cat?  Not me.  Google AI shows the 3-3-3 rule on how to adopt a cat.

3 Days: Decompression

What happens: The cat is overwhelmed, scared, and stressed by the new surroundings.
Behaviors: They may hide under furniture, refuse food or water, or avoid eye contact.
How to help: Set up a quiet "base camp" room with a litter box, food, and water. Give them space and let them come to you at their own pace. 

3 Weeks: Building Comfort

What happens:
The cat starts settling in, learning household routines, and feeling more secure.
Behaviors: They begin exploring outside their base room, playing with toys, and responding to your voice.
How to help: Maintain consistent feeding and play schedules. Gentle interactions help build trust. 

3 Months: Feeling at Home

What happens: The cat realizes they are safe and truly "home".
Behaviors: Their real personality emerges, and they form a deep bond and comfort level with the family.
How to help: Continue providing a predictable, loving environment. 

Got the money to own an expensive cat?  Buy the Ashera Cat.

The Price: Sellers historically priced these cats between $75,000 and $125,000. 
The Claims: A private company marketed the cat as a rare hybrid combining the African serval, the Asian leopard cat, and a domestic house cat. 
The Reality: DNA testing later proved that Ashera cats were simply Savannah catswith a new brand name. 
The Outcome: No major cat registry recognizes the Ashera as a real breed, and the original company closed after buyers discovered the scheme. 

Don't have that kind of money?  The Savannah Cat only costs from $10,000 to $50,000.  

Bengal cats go up to $25,000.  Here is a kitten.

Khao Mannee only between $7,000 and $11,000.

The cat with the most worth, $13 million, is Tommaso, a black cat.

• Was found as a stray cat in Rome by Maria Assunta of Italy.  She was 94 years old.
• She died in 2011 and left her entire $13 million to Tommaso.
• Well, Italy does not allow animals to own money, so this sum was entrusted to a trusted nurse who acts as a trustee to care for Tommaso.

• He is only #3 on the list of wealthy pets.  #1 is Gunther IV, a German shepherd, worth $372 million in Germany.  Here is a Netflix video trailer, Gunther's Millions.  Say he is worth $400 million.  Rotten Tomatoes, though, only gave it 53/31 ratings.  He passed away around 2005.  Truthfully, that documentary exposed the story to be a publicity stunt and financial hoax.

• #2 is Kalu, a chimp, said to be worth $80 million.  Two videos:  1 and 2.  Thirty years old, went to live in Monkey Life.  Died in 2020 at the age of 37.  Kalu never got any money, for the benefactor, Patricia O'Neill, fell victim to financial mismanagement and scams, losing her entire fortune.  Thus, Tommaso is actually #2.  However, it is not known if he is alive.  If so, he would be 19.

• Shame for all the notoriety, but with Gunther IV gone, the richest animal is Nala Cat, a Siamese-Tabby, worth $100 million.  She actually earned her money through sponsored sales of her pet food brand, Love Nala, and a book.  She holds the Guinness World Record for the most popular cat in the world. with over 4.5 million followers on Instagram.

• Oh, one more.  Close behind is Olivia Benson, a Scottish Fold cat, owned by Taylor Swift.  Said to be worth $97 million by starring with Swift in music videos, and appearing in major commercials for brands like Diet Coke and AT&T.  Swift herself is worth $2 billion

Well, to go on, are cats or dogs smarter?  Hard to say, except this is what Google AI indicates:

Dogs: Evolved as pack animals. They have high social intelligence, meaning they easily read human cues, follow commands, and work in groups. 



Cats:
Evolved as solitary hunters. They excel at independent problem-solving, spatial memory, and stealth. Research from National Geographic notes that cats can also have strong short-term memory for specific tasks that matter to them.
 
The African Grey parrot is the smartest pet, possessing cognitive abilities comparable to a young child.  That's unusual.  These parrots have short tongues.

Some other things about cats.

• What is the #1 cat breed?  The Ragdoll.
• Avoid touching a cat's paws, tail and belly.
• A cat can hear you at a distance 4 to 5 times further than a human.
• Cats are happier when they sleep with you.
• Clearly, I can go on and on, but just one more. Most of us will not pay much to get a cat.  However:

Finally, from Google AI, about the broadway show, Cats:

• Based on T.S. Eliot's poetry collection, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.
• Andrew Lloyd Webber had to take out a second mortgage on his home to finance the show.
• Entire show is performed in song.
• Marlene Danielle was in the cast for the entire 18-year run.
• Won seven Tonys.

• 
  Film came in 2019 with Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Judi Dench....and more.
• Most memorable song is Memory, originally in 1981 by Elaine Paige in the role of Grizabella in London's West End.  Also popular the version by Betty Buckley, the original Broadway Grizabella.  Barbra Streisand's cover is widely acclaimed.  Recorded by more than 150 artists.
• Has earned $3.5 million at the box office.  Show attended by 74 million.

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