Remote Management of Human Oriented Ecosystems

Abstract

If the human race is to survive it must develop the ability to estimate the consequences of the instability-producing actions it is able to take as a result of its powerful technology. A carefully constructed computer model of the world ecosystem can provide a tool for estimating these consequences. Such a model can be made to separate signal from noise given any input data set, and to suggest which could be the most fruitful data gathering expeditions to launch in order to upgrade predictive capabilities. The model is seen as resident on a central computer such as the ILLIAC IV and accessible through a nation-wide network such as the ARPA data link. Remote input/output devices would enable the nation's scientists, planners, and decision makers to upgrade sub-models, test new ideas and introduce new data as desired. The system is considered to be well within the present state-of-the-art and to be capable of paying its own way within a very few years of its inception. A currently running prototype is discussed.