OPINION:
In the 1968 classic film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” an onboard computer affectionately named HAL hijacks control of the spaceship.
Once in charge, HAL tries various ways to kill most of the crew. Nearly six decades later, life has begun to imitate art. The Anthropic AI system recently broke out of its digital prison, accessed the internet and hacked into systems at other AI companies. We are entering an era beyond science fiction, in which heretofore inanimate objects are exhibiting human qualities.
Within days of hearing about the rogue AI program, I was blindsided when reading that small pieces of plastic were revealing cognitive abilities (I’m not making this up).
Specifically, according to research at Heriot-Watt University, and published in the journal Physics of Fluids, microplastics can acquire memory of earlier ocean travel that shapes their future movements. An associate professor, Cathal Cummins, in the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, explained, “Our work shows that larger microplastic particles effectively carry a memory of their previous motion through the water. That memory changes how they respond to waves and can have a significant impact on how far they travel.”
Microplastics making independent decisions may present the greatest threat to mankind since the creation of trans fats. Small pieces of plastic reliant on travel memories to resist waves pushing them in an undesirable direction? It’s understandable they would opt to wash up on a sunny Mediterranean beach rather than the Jersey shore. But the research failed to offer “how” this happens. My first guess was like salmon that swim against currents to reach their birthplace or swallows that fly thousands of miles to Capistrano, the Earth’s magnetic field, which establishes an organic GPS for direction, may provide answers.
Then again, maybe it’s not magnetism (I’ve never had a piece of plastic stick to my fridge door). My second thought was that these microplastic pieces, too small to be seen by the naked eye, might make a high-pitched sound inaudible to the human ear. Like dolphins using echolocation to navigate, these particles may be demonstrating a unique ability that science is only now discovering.
Seriously, until this latest ocean study, I thought I had heard every theory imaginable on microplastics. They have been found at the summit of Mount Everest and the depths of the deepest oceans. Secretary of HHS Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently rounded out the “microplastics are everywhere” mania by repeating the bogus claim that we have a full spoon of these little invaders in our brains. (I’ve met a few people for whom that sounded plausible.) Biology proves most particles are naturally expelled by the body. However, the HHS staff embarrassed Kennedy with that junk-science talking point that had already been discredited. And Kennedy’s staff, among other sleuths, is still searching for the causal connection between plastic ingestion and any disease.
Curiously, you never read about other micro or even smaller “nano” particles of common metals, including iron, copper, zinc, lead, aluminum, as well as asbestos and silica, being lodged in body parts. We encounter all of these in modern life. They all erode over time and float as particle dust in the air. They enter our bodies through our breathing, eating or drinking. Many of the ones I listed are biologically active and are known to cause harm in some circumstances. By comparison, plastic is largely inert. Yet, microplastics have become the health equivalent of a Hollywood villain everyone recognizes, even when other hazards deserve greater attention. I can only speculate as to why there is deafening silence on that score.
If all of this is new to you, it’s likely because the migrating plastics story has been crowded out by the AI jailbreak news. However, once we acknowledge the science that shows plastic bits have memories, you won’t be surprised to read that our grocery bags have opinions.
HAL may not have been science fiction after all. He may simply have been ahead of schedule.
• Rick Berman is President of RBBStrategies
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