Man is a “Rope” Stretched Between Virosphere and Humanoid Robots: On the Urgent Need of an Ethical Code for Ecosystem Survival

Agnati, Luigi F.; Anderlini, Deanna; Guidolin, Diego; Marcoli, Manuela; Maura, Guido

doi:10.1007/s10699-021-09796-z

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 67 publications

(81 reference statements)

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“…The abundance and diversity of viruses, often in the apparent absence of disease, suggest that they are embedded into global ecosystems at all ecological scales [20]. As it was written elsewhere "Viruses, certainly, impact on ecosystem health, resilience, and function, but, in turn, host ecology impacts viral abundance and diversity" [21].…”

Section: The Elements Of the Ecosystemmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new definition and three categories for classifying ecosystems

Márquez

2023

Academia Biology

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The ecosystem is an essential biological concept that links the living and the inanimate. Its study has become pivotal to the analysis of global changes and environmental impacts caused by human activities and population growth. The simplest definition of ecosystem refers to a specific community of organisms that interact with each other and with their environment they inhabit. However, this definition says nothing about the open character of ecosystems, about the hierarchy among species and processes, or about their capacity to evolve as a whole throughout the history of life on this planet. Here, I first take a new look at the concept of ecosystem based on the elements that in my opinion characterize it, emphasizing the importance of viruses as components of biodiversity. Second, I propose three categories for the global categorization of ecosystems according to the degree of human intervention. Category 1 is any undisturbed natural ecosystem. Category 2 includes ecosystems altered by humans due to socioeconomic development and population growth, causing environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. Category 3 covers all ecosystems that have been altered by the introduction of synthetic or modified organisms generated in the laboratory, the consequences of which are much more difficult to predict. Knowledge of the global distribution of these categories would help to plan global environmental policies that would contribute to making our society compatible with the preservation of biodiversity.

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Section: The Elements Of the Ecosystemmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new definition and three categories for classifying ecosystems

Márquez

2023

Academia Biology

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“…Their exclusion from the tree of life, even though they played a key role in the history of life most likely from its origins, should be somehow reevaluated. Today virtually no one questions the importance of the virosphere in the evolution of species and ecosystems (Agnati et al, 2021) as well as in shaping the tree of life (Villarreal and Witzany, 2010).…”

Section: Virusesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lithbea, A New Domain outside the Tree of Life

Gómez-Márquez¹

2022

Preprint

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As synthetic/artificial life forms become more abundant and sophisticated, an increasing number of bizarre creatures - xenobots, robots, soft A-life entities, genetically engineered organisms, etc. - are invading our society. Therefore, we need to bring order to all this, to establish what is living and what is not. Here, I intend to classify all these non-natural entities and clarify their status with reference to their consideration or not as living beings, leaving the door open to an uncertain future in which perhaps we can see how "the artificial" and "the natural" merge to originate something new. To order all this "new biodiversity" and to also give entry to viruses (which are excluded of the three-domains tree of life), I propose the creation of a new domain, Lithbea (from the name: life-in-the-border entities), in which all these new human-made entities as well as the viruses will be included. Within this domain there would be two kingdoms, Virus and Humade (contraction of human-made), based on their origin, natural or human-made. A brief description of each component of Lithbea is included and the implications for society and biology of this “new biodiversity” is briefly discussed.

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Lithbea, a New Domain Outside the Tree of Life

Gómez-Márquez

2023

glob. Philosophy

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At this time when the development of synthetic biology and artificial intelligence are changing the world around us, philosophers and scientists, first of all, must converge to analyze the present and predict the ethical-social consequences and biological dangers associated with new “living entities” that are not the result of the natural evolutionary process. As synthetic/artificial life forms (xenobots, robots, transgenic organisms, etc.) become more and more abundant and sophisticated, it seems first of all necessary to bring some order to all this new biodiversity, establishing what is alive and what is not, and analyzing the consequences of this incessant creative activity. Here I intend to organize all these human-made entities and clarify their status as living beings or artificial elements, leaving the door open to an uncertain future in which we will be able to see how “the artificial” and “the natural” could merge to originate something different from everything known. Accordingly, I propose the creation of a new domain, Lithbea, which includes all synthetic and artificial entities within a new kingdom called Humade (derived from human-made). I have also included viruses in a new realm, the Viral kingdom, because they were excluded from the classical three-domain tree of life despite playing a fundamental role in the evolution of biodiversity on Earth. Finally, I make a brief comment on the unpredictability of the unknown, the implications of this new landscape of biodiversity, and the uncertain future of all these advances.

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Man is a “Rope” Stretched Between Virosphere and Humanoid Robots: On the Urgent Need of an Ethical Code for Ecosystem Survival

Cited by 5 publications

References 67 publications

A new definition and three categories for classifying ecosystems

A new definition and three categories for classifying ecosystems

Lithbea, A New Domain outside the Tree of Life

Lithbea, a New Domain Outside the Tree of Life

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