The United Nations stands at a crossroads unprecedented in humanity's evolutionary history. The accelerating development of AI and AIdroids threatens to disrupt member nations' economies and to fundamentally alter what it means to be human. The promises of the ASI Siren's Call will lead to the loss of quintessential human qualities - the inevitable conclusion of our current technological trajectory.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the foundational document of the modern human rights framework, was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, in an era that could not envision the technological challenges we now confront. When Article 23 established that "Everyone has the right to work," its authors could not foresee systems capable of rendering human labor economically obsolete across all domains. When Article 22 affirmed the right to "the free development of personality," they could not anticipate transhuman technologies that would fundamentally alter human nature itself.
We now face the imminent invalidation of these rights not through their denial but through their irrelevance in a post-human technological landscape. Within 15-30 years, most human labor will become economically superfluous. This is not a distant possibility but an accelerating reality unfolding before us. Unlike previous technological revolutions, advanced AI systems represent not an enhancement of human capability but its wholesale replacement. The traditional pattern - where new technologies create new forms of human work to replace jobs they eliminate - has fundamentally broken. Instead, we witness the comprehensive obsolescence of human economic participation. In exchange, those promoting advanced AI technologies offer nothing more than technology progress as a religion resorting to non-analogous histories. This reality demands thoughtful and determined consideration.
The United Nations must confront an uncomfortable truth: the sanctity of human dignity requires not merely freedom from oppression but the preservation of what makes us quintessentially human - our capacity for meaning, and connection within natural systems and close-knit joie de vivre communities.
Therefore, this appeal respectfully calls upon the United Nations to recognize and communicate the possibility of an optional Self-Sustaining Isolated Societies (SSIS) developmental path for member nations which would freely seek to preserve their citizens' dignity, purpose, and quintessential nature.
The Self-Sustaining Isolated Societies (SSIS) model occupies a deliberate middle ground on the spectrum of human social organization. Unlike truly primitive isolated communities - such as those in remote Amazonian regions who face both external encroachment and internal limitations in healthcare, knowledge preservation, and material wellbeing - the SSIS framework incorporates carefully selected technological capabilities that enhance human flourishing while maintaining self-sustainability.
At the opposite extreme lie potential future scenarios: either AI-dominated transhumanist societies where humanity's essential nature is fundamentally altered through technological fusion, or chaotic subsistence economies where displaced populations struggle without purpose amid collapsing social structures. The SSIS approach represents a conscious equilibrium point - technologically advanced enough to provide comfortable, meaningful lives with adequate healthcare, education, and material goods, yet deliberately constrained to preserve quintessential human qualities, meaningful work, and authentic community bonds.
The SSIS Alternative: Preserving Humanity's Essential Nature
The Self-Sustaining Isolated Societies (SSIS) model offers a concrete pathway for nations to preserve meaningful human work, community bonds, and direct engagement with the natural world. This approach represents not a rejection of human advancement but a deliberate choice to orient national development toward what makes us fundamentally human - the interplay of instinctual algorithms and moderate intelligence expressing itself as romantic sensibility, nurtured within close-knit joie de vivre communities of multi-generational families.
An SSIS nation would restructure its society around three core principles:
First, technological appropriateness - selecting a coherent, internally consistent technological ecosystem that can be maintained indefinitely without external dependencies. This is not technological regression but rather the conscious selection of technologies that enhance human capability while remaining within the boundaries of self-sustainability and human-centered design.
Second, economic self-sufficiency - transitioning from global supply chains to robust domestic production systems oriented toward community well-being rather than maximized output. This economic restructuring would prioritize meaningful human labor and resilience over efficiency.
Third, security - at its core, the SSIS isolation principles are intended to protect a society's citizens from the spiritual, biological, technological, and posthuman epidemics that will surely afflict what may remain of humanity.
An SSIS nation would recognize and respect the individual's fundamental right to self-determination, including those who may wish to pursue their future in more technologically advanced societies. Such nations would establish fair, transparent, and humane emigration protocols to facilitate the safe departure of citizens who choose alternative developmental paths. Similarly, an ISSS would, consistent with its self-sustaining objectives, welcome immigration of those who value the humane existence the ISSS is designed to promote.
Nations best positioned for SSIS implementation would have moderate populations, geographical features facilitating relative isolation, cultural traditions aligned with SSIS values, and agricultural capacity for self-sufficiency. However, the principles could be adapted for various contexts, including small and medium population scaled societies and defined regions within larger nations.
A Call for UN Recognition and Protection
The United Nations was founded to "save succeeding generations" from threats to human dignity and existence. Today, those threats have evolved from conventional warfare to the more subtle but equally devastating erosion of humanity's essential nature through unchecked technological transformation.
In light of this, a respectful call is made upon the United Nations to:
Recognize the SSIS model as a legitimate development alternative for member states concerned about technological displacement and dehumanization, acknowledging that such communities would possess inherent rights not dependent on external validation.
Consider establishing protections for the isolation objectives of future SSIS-implementing nations, consistent with principles of sovereign equality and non-interference.
Consider creating a specialized UN body to support knowledge-sharing between nations exploring SSIS implementation.
Explore the development of framework agreements ensuring that SSIS nations' technological choices would be respected without economic coercion or other forms of interference.
Consider acknowledging humanity's inherent right to preserve its quintessential nature - expanding the human rights framework to address transhuman and posthuman technologies.
An established SSIS based on isolation and neutrality would avoid participation in the repeat of societal collapses, economic depression, and ensuing global conflicts like those that devastated humanity 100 years ago. As technological displacement accelerates, nations without viable alternatives face potential social destabilization eerily similar to historical patterns that preceded worldwide catastrophe.
The time for serious consideration is now. By recognizing the SSIS framework, the United Nations would fulfill a vital purpose - not merely managing conflicts between nations but helping preserve the very essence of humanity itself in the face of unprecedented technological change.
While this appeal introduces the core SSIS concept, it acknowledges that implementation would raise important questions regarding economic transition, scientific advancement, environmental cooperation, diplomatic frameworks, and practical governance models. These concerns are addressed in a comprehensive series of essays available at isolatedsocieties.org, which explores the philosophical foundations, practical feasibility, and ethical implications of SSIS implementation at various scales. The research represents an ongoing effort to develop rigorous frameworks that would allow for the preservation of quintessential human qualities while addressing the complex challenges of technological advancement.