When insects first appeared,  they formed a unique relationship with  plants that sustained them both and shaped much of the land.

Much later on, humanity formed relationships with animals, albeit one sided, that enabled the development of agriculture .

We tend to assume that any future relationships between species will involve us – in particular between ourselves and the new artificial intelligences.

But what if this is not the case? AI might decide to bypass humans as too noisy and self-destructive and instead seek alliance with trees or ants. If this were to happen, such a relationship would, once again, reshape reality.

Damian Mark Whittle