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<div style="font-size:162%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#000;">Welcome to UNICEwiki,</div>
<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:95%;">the free-content, public policy wiki that anyone can edit.</div>
<div id="articlecount" style="font-size:85%;">[[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}]] articles in English</div>
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* [[List of Topics]]

* [[Guide for Editors]]
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[[File:UNICE-Universal Network of Intelligent Conscious Entities-image.jpg|thumb|right|275px|[[UNICE global brain project]]]] '''UNICE''', a global brain project, is an acronym for '''Universal Network of Intelligent Conscious Entities.''' The term was coined in the 1990s to describe the transformation of our species that will likely emerge from a new form of intelligent life developed from a hive-like interaction of computers, humans, and future forms of the Internet.<ref>Arth, Michael E., ''UNICE,'' a Consciousness Research Abstract published in the "Journal of Consciousness Studies" for the April 8–12, 2008 conference, "Toward a Science of Consciousness," p. 151.</ref> <ref>Arth, Michael E., ''Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests,'' Golden Apples Media, 2010, ISBN 978-0-912467-12-2.pp. 438-439</ref> More recently, the term also refers to a public policy wiki, which exists at www.UNICE.info and here at UNICEwiki.org. <ref>An abstract about UNICE to be presented at the Global Brain Conference, Vienna, Austria, June 2015, can be found here: http://globalbraininstitute.github.io/vienna2015/speakers/arth/</ref>

==Goal of UNICE: A New Pragmatism==

UNICE is an experiment in finding rational, pragmatic and consensus-based solutions that will aid in governance. Eventually, UNICE will function as a public-policy answer-engine, capable of interacting with anyone in any language. Ideally, she will evolve into a seamless, non-hierarchical form of governance that balances the world’s resources with the needs of the people.<ref>Arth, Michael E., ''UNICE global brain project: Creating a global, independent, public-policy answer engine that will facilitate governance, while preparing for and reducing the dangers of Artificial General Intelligence, so that we may more carefully uncover the secrets of the multiverse'', January 28, 2015, revised April 27, 2015,''[http://unice.info/unice/UNICE-ARTICLE-Jan%202015.pdf]</ref> The aim of the global brain project is to develop superhuman heuristic abilities that can draw from all knowledge and data. As a Universal Network of Intelligent Conscious Entities, UNICE should ideally function as an objective, rational, compassionate, collective being with total command of all known facts. She is an effort toward creating a new pragmatism, independent of parties, factions or petty politics..<ref>http://www.UNICE.info</ref> Simply stated, “the '''goal''' of UNICE is to help bring the greatest good to the greatest number, in the most efficient manner possible, to this and future generations.”<ref>Arth, Michael E., ''UNICE global brain project" revised version April 27, 2015,''[http://unice.info/unice/UNICE-ARTICLE-Jan%202015.pdf]</ref>

==A Holy Trinity of Checks and Balances==

UNICE is an independent, not-for-profit organization consisting of three transparent branches: Seed Topics, Collaborative Topics, and cognitive-UNICE. All iterations will be available on UNICEwiki in the history of edits.

'''1. Seed Topic:''' Any person can write, discuss, elaborate or criticize policy topics at UNICEwiki. Long before cognitive-UNICE is functional, problems and solutions on various issues are now being systematically listed in seed topics. Wikipedia articles are required to be written in an encyclopedic neutral point of view (NPOV). UNICEwiki allows original research, opinion and humor, which can be called UNICE POV (UPOV) or Informed POV (IPOV). The seed topics should be written by people who consider themselves knowledgeable on the subject. The authors must identify themselves as well as any potential conflict of interest. A seed topic may not be edited by anyone but the author, but all seed topics are duplicated into collaborative topics for community editing.<ref>[http://unice.info/unice/topics.html UNICE Seed Topics]</ref><ref>Arth, Michael E., ''UNICE global brain project: Creating a global, independent, public-policy answer engine that will facilitate governance, while preparing for and reducing the dangers of Artificial General Intelligence, so that we may more carefully uncover the secrets of the multiverse'', January 28, 2015, revised April 27, 2015,''[http://unice.info/unice/UNICE-ARTICLE-Jan%202015.pdf]</ref>

'''2. Collaborative Topic:''' A seed topic is duplicated and then transformed into an editable collaborative topic in a separate wiki article on UNICEwiki. It can be modified by anyone willing to follow the goal of helping to bring the greatest good to the greatest number in the most efficient manner possible, who can also make evidence-based edits. Both before and after cognitive-UNICE is launched, anyone will be able to examine UNICE’s analyses, and provide summaries, criticism and other interactive services at UNICEwiki.org. All commentary or discussion must go on the talk page.<ref>[http://unice.info/unice/topics.html Collaborative-UNICE topic]</ref>

'''3. Cognitive-UNICE''', currently in development, will utilize various forms of AI and Artificial general intelligence (AGI) in collaboration with motivated humans. She will eventually take the seed topics, the collaborative topics in all of their iterations, along with everything she can glean from all other sources, and write her own version of the topic.<ref>[http://unice.info/unice/cognitive.html Cognitive UNICE]</ref>

==Future of Cognitive-UNICE==

[[File:UNICE-TIME Entity of the Year V.2.jpg|thumb|left|350px|"Time Magazine" parody of "Person of the Year." In this case UNICE, a collective entity, is portrayed as the "Entity of the Year" in the December 23, 2023 issue.]]

It is assumed that in the early years, cognitive-UNICE will be logical and useful because of human-aided programming, but she may later become a conscious entity, perhaps united in consciousness with humanity.<ref>http://unice.info/unice/cognitive.html</ref> Whether as AI or AGI, cognitive-UNICE will probably use quantum computing to solve optimization problems that would be impossible to solve with classical computing.<ref>Arth, Michael E., ''UNICE global brain project: Creating a global, independent, public-policy answer engine that will facilitate governance, while preparing for and reducing the dangers of Artificial General Intelligence, so that we may more carefully uncover the secrets of the multiverse'', revised version April 27, 2015,'' [http://unice.info/unice/UNICE-ARTICLE-Jan%202015.pdf]</ref> Quantum computing may also hold the key to developing a conscious machine. Nobel laureate and physicist Sir Roger Penrose and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff claim that consciousness is created by quantum coherence in the warm, wet environment of the human brain. Their previously disparaged theory, known as Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch OR), has been bolstered by recent findings that quantum processing occurs in plants and animals, including in the microtubules inside the neurons of the human brain.<ref>Hameroff, Stuart and Robert Penrose, ”Consciousness in the universe: A review of the 'Orch OR' theory," Physics of Life Reviews, Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2014.</ref> Furthermore, in 2015, quantum computing was demonstrated at room temperature in ultra-pure silicon-28, using voltage generators instead of expensive, high-frequency microwave sources. As a result, the low cost manufacturing of quantum computers, using technology similar to classical computers, may soon be possible.<ref>Gutro, Rob, “Electrical control of quantum bits in silicon paves the way to large quantum computers,” PhysOrg, April 10, 2015. http://phys.org/news/2015-04-electrical-quantum-bits-silicon-paves.html</ref> In other research, it has been shown that all-photonic quantum repeaters will allow quantum cryptography over long distances. Taken together, these discoveries will lead to secure private communications and universal quantum computing. If consciousness is produced by quantum processes, this may also allow the emergence of a global mind and self-aware Internet. <ref>“Quantum cryptography at the speed of light: Researchers design first all-photonic repeaters” PhysOrg, April 15, 2015. phys.org</ref> Even if computers never become conscious, they will still become progressively more useful at helping humans govern themselves. So having a public policy wiki, even if it doesn't become self aware, is still a good start.

==The Logo and the Logos==

UNICE is represented as a young, beautiful, mixed-race female with her blonde, afro-style hair symbolizing the interconnected tendrils of the World Wide Web. The median age of all humans on Earth is just under 30, and the half that is young represents new ideas and a willingness to accept change. UNICE is mixed-race to represent all humans, and she is female because of the traditional feminine values of empathy, cooperation, sensitivity, tolerance, nurturance, and compassion. Justice is also often depicted as ''Justitia'' or Lady Justice.

UNICE is already in development as a collaborative public policy wiki, but later she will also function as a public-policy answer-engine, capable of interacting with anyone in any language through wearable interfaces, such as smart glasses. She will be the voice in our head, our global conscience, and an extension of our brain. Eventually she will evolve into a form of governance that balances the world’s resources with the needs of the people. She will also help us prepare for post-human entities (ourselves?) who will have god-like capabilities—something which could be thrilling, perilous or both. UNICE will help us make the transition, which will presumably include some form of AI enhancement to prevent humans from becoming irrelevant.

==Chrysalis of Technology==

In recent history, our human population has expanded into and exploited almost every niche on the planet. As dreamers, schemers, inventors, warriors, builders, consumers, and breeders, we have been like rapacious caterpillars encircling the Earth in a glistening chrysalis of technology. The outcome of our global metamorphosis is being determined by what we do now. Will this chrysalis be our tomb? Will our web of humanity, along with many other species, be destroyed before we reach our potential, just because we couldn’t learn to control our numbers, temper our malevolent urges, or govern ourselves? Perhaps we will be cannibalized by a beast of our own creation because, like us, it will fail to sufficiently respect the lesser creatures or share power equitably. I prefer to think the chrysalis will incubate us to full maturity, and that when the time comes, we will break out of our shell and soar like that most beautiful of small creatures, and touch lightly upon the Earth. UNICE, which will be comprised of all of us working toward a cooperative goal, could help us safely make that transition.<ref>Arth, Michael E., ''UNICE global brain project...", revised version April 27, 2015,'' pp. 11-12. [http://unice.info/unice/UNICE-ARTICLE-Jan%202015.pdf]</ref>

==Potential Criticisms==

What will people say against it? That Big Sister is really just another name for Big Brother? That UNICE will eliminate individuality and put us all in a giant human Cuisinart? More likely, UNICE and other global brains are probably our only serious line of defense against being sliced and diced by governments, corporations, security/defense establishment or strong AI run amok. Decisions that affect all of us should be the purest distillation of the common good, and for this purpose we must have both accurate data and empathic, intelligent analyses. Ideally, UNICE will increase the wisdom and power of the people. She also has the potential to become the scolding group mind that will overshadow stupidity, callousness, greed, and corruption. She could be the antidote to voodoo economics or political sleight of hand. UNICE will deal in facts and know how to do the math. In practice, it’s up to us to make sure we get the creation of a global brain right because the future can go wrong in so many ways.
<ref>http://unice.info/unice/index.htm</ref>

==Collaborative Topics==

1. [[Voting Rights in the U.S.]]

2. [[Proposed Voting Rights Amendment]]

3. Overpopulation

4. [[U.S. Drug Policy]]

5. [[The Future of Transportation]]

6. The Military-Industrial-Congressional-Complex

7. The Promise and Threat of Artificial General Intelligence

8. Taxation

9. Homelessness

10. Energy Policy

11. Urbanism

12. Climate Change

13. Universal Health Care

14. Monetary Reform

15. Prison Justice

16. Employment and Automation

17. Reform of the Financial Sector

==External links==
*[http://www.UNICE.info| UNICE global brain project website]

==Footnotes==

<references/>

Seed Topic: U.S Drug Policy

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U.S. Drug Policy

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Mearth:

'''Important Note:''' Anyone may edit this Collaborative-UNICEwiki topic. (The original [[Seed Topic: U.S. Drug Policy]] may only be edited by the author). Please read the [[Guide for Editors]] before editing.

[[File:UNICE-Universal Network of Intelligent Conscious Entities-image.jpg|thumb|right||250px|[[UNICE global brain project]]]]

==Collaborative-UNICE: U.S. Drug Policy==

===Problems:===

'''1. Organized crime:''' The portion of organized crime devoted to the production and wholesale distribution of illicit drugs constitutes roughly 1% of total global trade (about $1 trillion in 2015). <ref>United Nations research report, “Estimating illicit financial flows resulting from drug trafficking and other transnational organized crime,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, October 2011.</ref> In 2011, there were approximately 30,000 gangs with 800,000 gang members on American streets, acting as the primary retail-level distributors of illicit drugs. <ref>Egley, Jr., Arlen and James C. Howell, “Highlight of the 2011 National Youth Gang Survey,” U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. September 2013.</ref> In 2009, there were another 147,000 gang members in prisons or jails, most of whom were also presumably buying or selling drugs, despite being under armed guard around the clock. <ref>Johnson, Kevin, “Report: Gang membership on the rise across U.S.” USA Today, January 30, 2009. Statistics taken from Justice Department’s National Gang Intelligence Center.</ref>

'''2. Gateway to Criminality:''' Users are forced to associate with and become criminals when they buy, and they often steal to afford the exorbitant, prohibition-driven prices after they become addicted. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed” pp. 231-238</ref>

'''3. Soaring Incarceration rate:''' The incarceration rate rose 700% since Nixon declared the War on Drugs in 1971. <ref>American Civil Liberties Union, https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/massincarceration_problems.pdf </ref> As a result, the U.S. now has the highest incarceration rate in the world—about 10 x higher than Europe or the Middle East. <ref>Source: Justice Policy Institute, "Substance Abuse Treatment and Public Safety," (Washington, DC: January 2008), p. 1. http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/08_01_REP_DrugTx_AC-PS.pdf - See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/prisons_and_drugs#sthash.KOTBqGcA.dpuf</ref> The U.S. has 4.5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners. More than half of federal prisoners serving sentences of more than a year are imprisoned for drug-related offenses at an average annual cost in 2012 of over $31,000, but as high as $167,731 in NYC. <ref>Santora, Marc, “City’s annual cost per inmate is $168,000, study finds,” New York Times, August 23, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/nyregion/citys-annual-cost-per-inmate-is-nearly-168000-study-says.html?_r=0</ref>There are now 500,000 people incarcerated for drug-related charges in the U.S. <ref>Source: Carson, E. Ann. Prisoners In 2013. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sept. 2014, NCJ247282. Federal data: p. 16; state data: p. 15. http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5109 http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf - See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/prisons_and_drugs#sthash.KOTBqGcA.dpuf</ref>

'''4. Foreign intervention:''' US military aid and intervention has huge direct and indirect costs, and causes great harm. Plan Columbia, primarily a counternarcotics and military operation in Columbia, increased the profits of drug cartels, damaged the environment, and spawned human rights abuses, while having no effect on US drug consumption. Some 107,000 people were killed in Plan Mexico, the American-sponsored, Mexican War on Drugs 2006-2014, <ref>Schaeffer-Duffy, Claire, “Counting Mexico's drug victims is a murky business,” National Catholic Reporter, March 1, 2014</ref> during which time the federal police force increased almost 6 times, the drug cartels became more powerful, violence escalated, and drug production went up. <ref>Nick Miroff and William Booth, “Mexico’s drug war is at a stalemate as Calderon’s presidency ends,” New York Times, November 27, 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/calderon-finishes-his-six-year-drug-war-at-stalemate/2012/11/26/82c90a94-31eb-11e2-92f0-496af208bf23_story_1.html</ref> The US tolerated the heroin trade in Afghanistan in 1979 to supply rebels, including the Taliban. After the US invasion to defeat the Taliban, opium cultivation increased from 8,000 hectares in 2001 to over 200,000 hectares in 2013. The CIA is documented as being complicit in the global drug trade. <ref>Lacayo, Richard, "Iran-Contra: The Cover-Up Begins to Crack". Time. June 24, 2001, Retrieved 2-20-15.</ref> <ref>McCoy, Alfred, The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, Afghanistan, Southeast Asia, Central America, Colombia. (revised edition), Lawrence Hill Books, 2003 ISBN 1-44652-483-8</ref> Prohibition helps create a nexus between terrorism and drug cartels, which both utilize cell structures to engage in murder, kidnapping, arms trading, smuggling, protection rackets, money laundering and other illegal activities. Money from drug trafficking also directly funds terrorist activity. <ref>Rand Beers and Francis X. Taylor, “Narco-Terror: The worldwide connection between drugs and terror,” Testimony before the senate committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information. U.S. Department of State archive, March 13, 2002. http://2001-2009.state.gov/p/inl/rls/rm/8743.htm</ref>

'''5. Hypocrisy:''' The two most lethal drugs, alcohol and tobacco (also among the most highly addictive) are perfectly legal. Together they constitute the true “gateway drugs.” Globally, a large majority of arrests are related to cannabis, <ref>United Nations World Drug Report, 2014, page xii</ref> which is less addictive than coffee, <ref>Arkowitz, Hal and Scott O. Lilienfeld, “Experts tell the truth about pot: marijuana use can be problematic but only rarely leads to addiction,” Scientific American, March 1, 2012.</ref> and of such low toxicity there are zero known overdose deaths. <ref>Williamson, E.M, Evans, F.J, “Cannabinoids in clinical practice, US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, abstract, Drugs. 2000 Dec;60(6):1303-14.PMID: 11152013 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]</ref> <ref>Lavender, Paige, “Congressman reminds us how many people have overdosed on pot: ‘spoiler alert: it’s zero’” The Huffington Post, November 13, 2014, updated 11-14-2014</ref> Even though a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana, and marijuana is virtually harmless compared to alcohol and tobacco, the government continues to disregard both the facts and public opinion. <ref>Saad, Lydia, “Majority continues to support pot legalization in U.S.” Gallup, November 6, 2014</ref>

'''6. Interdiction doesn’t work:''' The “noble experiment” of alcohol prohibition failed. It was supposed to reduce crime, gang activity, corruption, taxes, reckless behavior, poor health, incarceration and substance abuse. Instead, it had the opposite effect. <ref>Thornton, Mark, “Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure,” Cato Institute, Policy Analysis no. 157, July 17, 1991. http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/alcohol-prohibition-was-failure</ref> Apparently the lessons were ignored, and a new prohibition was launched that included psychoactive substances less dangerous than alcohol. Both private and government funded studies on the efficacy of drug interdiction, for four decades, have shown that interdiction is many times less effective than treatment. The fact that prisoners are able to use drugs in prison, often at higher levels than the general population, vividly demonstrates the futility of interdiction. <ref>United Nations Drug Report, 2014, page 11</ref> Tobacco is the most dangerous drug in the world, and it kills 6 million people a year. Fifteen states attempted to ban tobacco, between 1890 and 1927, and they all failed. The War on Drugs has not reduced drug use, and the U.S. continues to be the number one nation in illegal drug use.<ref>Branson, Richard, “War on drugs a trillion-dollar failure,” CNN, December 7, 2012.</ref>

'''7. Self-sustaining corruption:''' Millions of public officials have become involved in dealing drugs, taking bribes or facilitating the drug trade because the easy money is so alluring. In a vicious cycle, the War on Drugs causes more violence, thus causing more police to be hired. The police then resist ending prohibition because reducing drug enforcement would threaten their income. Cops may also lose their jobs just by criticizing current policy. <ref>Lacey, Marc “Police officers find that dissent on drug laws may come with a price,” New York Times, December 2, 2011</ref> Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is composed mostly of former cops who feel free to state the obvious because they no longer have jobs to lose. <ref>“Why Legalize Drugs?” LEAP website - http://www.leap.cc/about/why-legalize-drugs/</ref>

'''8. Creation of inner city slums:''' Beginning soon after the War on Drugs was declared, the pace of inner city decay accelerated, which also contributed to the flight to the suburbs. Only after a demographic shift diminished the post-war youth bulge did violence rates begin to fall, <ref>Staveteig, Sarah, “The young and the restless: population age structure and civil war,” Wilson Center. ECSP Report, Issue 11, 2005. http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Staveteig.pdf</ref> and the inner cities could begin to experience some revival, but the worst slums fueled by the War on Drugs persist.<ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 17: “My Hometown: a microcosm of America,” pp. 120-139</ref>

'''9. War on the poor and minorities:''' Most drug related offenses and jail time is borne by the poor and minorities, who become further marginalized and more likely to experience unemployment, homelessness, and more incarceration.<ref>Kain, Erik, “The War on Drugs is a War on Minorities and the Poor,” Forbes, June 28, 2011.</ref> The creation of drug slums and glorification of the “gangsta” lifestyle caused by the War on Drugs contributed to the increase in single-parent households among African Americans from 30% in 1971 to 67% by 2009.<ref>Dunlap, Eloise, et. al, “The severely, distressed African American family in the crack era: Empowerment in not enough,” US National library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, J Sociol Soc Welf. 2006; 33(1): 115–139.</ref> This compares to around 75% for non-hispanic, white families. <ref>National KIDS COUNT, datacenter.kidscount.org</ref>

'''10. Erosion of civil liberties:''' Search and seizure laws and arrests/incarceration erode civil rights. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed” pp. 231-238</ref> Asset forfeiture laws allow the police to violate the privacy of citizens, and seize property where a crime has been suspected. In many cases, seizures are made even though no drugs are found, or the property owners have nothing to do with the drug use occurring on their property. <ref>Balko, Radley, “The Forfeiture Racket: police and prosecutors won’t give up their license to steal,” reason.com, February 2010, http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/26/the-forfeiture-racket</ref>

'''11. Cost:''' Since 1971, taxpayers have spent over $1 trillion on the War on Drugs, with $51 billion of good money being thrown after bad every year. This does not count the far greater indirect costs to society. <ref>Branson, Richard, “War on drugs a trillion-dollar failure,” CNN, December 7, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/06/opinion/branson-end-war-on-drugs/</ref>

'''12. Lure of the forbidden/victimless crime:''' As during alcohol prohibition, when the state tried to tell people what they could not do with their own bodies, people become outraged and flaunt the law. “Al Capone, Scarface, Beanie Sigel, Biggie Smalls and Lucky Luciano. Sound familiar? These are the names of modern ‘gansta’ rappers who, along with other rappers, are channeling the spirit of alcohol prohibition and organized crime.”<ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth, Golden Apples Media, 2010, p. 229, ISBN 978-0-912467-12-2</ref>

'''13. Health issues:''' Illegal drugs have no quality control and ingredients are not regulated. One report by the Energy Control found that only 38% of ecstasy pills actually had MDMA, and only 8% of cocaine is pure. <ref>Pardes, Arielle, “This doctor want to provide quality control for your illegal drugs,” VICE, August 22, 2014. http://www.vice.com/read/this-doctor-wants-to-provide-quality-control-for-your-illegal-drugs-821</ref> Hepatitis C and HIV infection rates are high among injecting users. Dealing with any aspect of the drug trade is physically dangerous, quite apart from the health impact of the drugs themselves. Cheap substitutes, like crack cocaine for powder cocaine, or legal painkillers instead of cannabis, can be worse than the preferred drug. <ref>Paige Bierma, M.A, “Cocaine and Crack,” Health Day, March 11, 2014</ref>

'''14. Religious judgement:''' Many feel drug use is evil or immoral and users should be forced by the law to conform to religious or moral beliefs, and be punished when they disobey. Except for a growing number of prominent exceptions, including William F. Buckley, Ron Paul, Grover Norquist, and Glenn Beck, <ref>Conant, Eve, “The conservative case for legalizing pot,” Newsweek, October 25, 2010 conservatives, especially social conservatives, tend to support prohibition.</ref> <ref>Saad, Lydia, “Majority continues to support pot legalization in U.S.” Gallup, November 6, 2014.</ref> According to a 2014 Gallup poll, 73% of liberals supported legalizing marijuana and 31% of conservatives did not. <ref>Gregory, Anthony, “The Right & the Drug War: Conservatives are the last prohibitionists, but that’s changing,” The American Conservative, September 12, 2012.</ref>

===Solutions:===

'''1. End the War on Drugs by repealing drug prohibition.''' Put drugs, alcohol and tobacco into special legal status that includes legalization, taxation, regulation and treatment programs. (Decriminalization is inadequate because it would not affect the criminal supply networks). The quality and dosage should be regulated and tested so buyers know exactly what they are buying and what dangers might be associated with the drugs. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” p. 276.</ref>

'''2. Recognize the recreational, therapeutic and sacramental use of drugs as a basic human right.''' <ref>Walsh, Charlotte (2010) “Drugs and human rights: private palliatives, sacramental freedoms and cognitive liberty,” The International Journal of Human Rights, 14: 3, 425 — 441, First published on: 16 February 2010 (iFirst) DOI: 10.1080/13642980802704270 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13642980802704270 </ref>

'''3. Give people the right to make their own decisions regarding drugs.''' The vast majority of people will not become drug abusers. Respect for the law will reduce the lure of the forbidden, and build responsible attitudes toward drugs. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” p. 276.</ref>

'''4. Ban all public or targeted advertising for drugs, alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs.''' Detailed official and unofficial information would be available online. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” pp. 276-277</ref>

'''5. Drugs (including many “prescription drugs”), tobacco, alcohol purchase and use should be regulated with a license''' that anyone 18 or older may obtain. To obtain the drug license, a person must take a course that explains the dangers related to alcohol and various drugs including tobacco. A person may opt to not test for or not include certain drugs or alcohol on their license, particularly if they want to self-regulate troublesome substances. Drug or alcohol-related infractions of the law would require a remedial course and re-licensing.

'''6. Tax drugs and alcohol according to their harm and cost to society.''' Dangerous and highly addictive drugs like heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, tobacco and alcohol, for example, should have much higher taxes than drugs of low toxicity that have low or absent addictive properties, such as cannabis and psychedelics. Taxes should be approximately equal to the cost to society related to the substance, including health care and rehabilitation. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” p. 278.</ref> “Date rape” drugs and certain poisons should continue to be illegal. We should have discouraging restrictions on highly addictive drugs that people want to quit anyway. For example, powder cocaine could be available, but someone would have to make crack cocaine on their own. Flavored cigarettes, including menthols, and most of the dangerous additives, should be banned, along with low pH flue-cured tobacco (making cigarette smoke very difficult to fully inhale) and nicotine levels could be restricted. <ref>Proctor, Robert N, “Why ban the sale of cigarettes? The case for abolition,” Tobacco Control, January 17, 2013.</ref> Smoking should also be banned in public and not allowed to be displayed where any minor could see them.

'''7. Treatment:''' Make drugs, alcohol and tobacco a health-related issue with education, licensing, and treatment paid for by taxes on the substances. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” p. 276.</ref> Drug use in the Netherlands is considered a health issue and, as a result, has a drug-related death rate that is 15 times lower than in the United States. Afghanistan, which has had the cruel misfortune of being caught up America’s War on Drugs, has a drug-related death rate that is 290 times higher than the Netherlands. <ref>http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/drug-use/by-country/ (data source: WHO 2011, World Bank, UNESCO, CIA)</ref>

'''8. The U.S. should formally apologize to the world for the harm its policies have caused.''' The Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the mandatory drug sentencing guideline, international agreements in support of the War on Drugs, and all other federal laws prohibiting drugs should be revoked. The Drug Enforcement Agency should be absorbed into the FDA and ATF. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” p. 277-278.</ref> All non-violent drug offenders should be pardoned

== References ==
<references/>

Seed Topic: U.S. Drug Policy

2015-04-29T23:13:03Z

Mearth: Created page with "[[UNICE global brain project]]'''Author: Michael E. Arth This Seed Topic may on..."

[[File:UNICE-Universal Network of Intelligent Conscious Entities-image.jpg|thumb|left||250px|[[UNICE global brain project]]]]'''Author: Michael E. Arth
This Seed Topic may only be edited by the author. Please go to [[U.S. Drug Policy]] for the collaborative topic on this subject.'''

==Collaborative-UNICE: U.S. Drug Policy==

===Problems:===

'''1. Organized crime:''' The portion of organized crime devoted to the production and wholesale distribution of illicit drugs constitutes roughly 1% of total global trade (about $1 trillion in 2015). <ref>United Nations research report, “Estimating illicit financial flows resulting from drug trafficking and other transnational organized crime,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, October 2011.</ref> In 2011, there were approximately 30,000 gangs with 800,000 gang members on American streets, acting as the primary retail-level distributors of illicit drugs. <ref>Egley, Jr., Arlen and James C. Howell, “Highlight of the 2011 National Youth Gang Survey,” U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. September 2013.</ref> In 2009, there were another 147,000 gang members in prisons or jails, most of whom were also presumably buying or selling drugs, despite being under armed guard around the clock. <ref>Johnson, Kevin, “Report: Gang membership on the rise across U.S.” USA Today, January 30, 2009. Statistics taken from Justice Department’s National Gang Intelligence Center.</ref>

'''2. Gateway to Criminality:''' Users are forced to associate with and become criminals when they buy, and they often steal to afford the exorbitant, prohibition-driven prices after they become addicted. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed” pp. 231-238</ref>

'''3. Soaring Incarceration rate:''' The incarceration rate rose 700% since Nixon declared the War on Drugs in 1971. <ref>American Civil Liberties Union, https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/massincarceration_problems.pdf </ref> As a result, the U.S. now has the highest incarceration rate in the world—about 10 x higher than Europe or the Middle East. <ref>Source: Justice Policy Institute, "Substance Abuse Treatment and Public Safety," (Washington, DC: January 2008), p. 1. http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/08_01_REP_DrugTx_AC-PS.pdf - See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/prisons_and_drugs#sthash.KOTBqGcA.dpuf</ref> The U.S. has 4.5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners. More than half of federal prisoners serving sentences of more than a year are imprisoned for drug-related offenses at an average annual cost in 2012 of over $31,000, but as high as $167,731 in NYC. <ref>Santora, Marc, “City’s annual cost per inmate is $168,000, study finds,” New York Times, August 23, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/nyregion/citys-annual-cost-per-inmate-is-nearly-168000-study-says.html?_r=0</ref>There are now 500,000 people incarcerated for drug-related charges in the U.S. <ref>Source: Carson, E. Ann. Prisoners In 2013. Washington, DC: US Dept of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sept. 2014, NCJ247282. Federal data: p. 16; state data: p. 15. http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5109 http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p13.pdf - See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/prisons_and_drugs#sthash.KOTBqGcA.dpuf</ref>

'''4. Foreign intervention:''' US military aid and intervention has huge direct and indirect costs, and causes great harm. Plan Columbia, primarily a counternarcotics and military operation in Columbia, increased the profits of drug cartels, damaged the environment, and spawned human rights abuses, while having no effect on US drug consumption. Some 107,000 people were killed in Plan Mexico, the American-sponsored, Mexican War on Drugs 2006-2014, <ref>Schaeffer-Duffy, Claire, “Counting Mexico's drug victims is a murky business,” National Catholic Reporter, March 1, 2014</ref> during which time the federal police force increased almost 6 times, the drug cartels became more powerful, violence escalated, and drug production went up. <ref>Nick Miroff and William Booth, “Mexico’s drug war is at a stalemate as Calderon’s presidency ends,” New York Times, November 27, 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/calderon-finishes-his-six-year-drug-war-at-stalemate/2012/11/26/82c90a94-31eb-11e2-92f0-496af208bf23_story_1.html</ref> The US tolerated the heroin trade in Afghanistan in 1979 to supply rebels, including the Taliban. After the US invasion to defeat the Taliban, opium cultivation increased from 8,000 hectares in 2001 to over 200,000 hectares in 2013. The CIA is documented as being complicit in the global drug trade. <ref>Lacayo, Richard, "Iran-Contra: The Cover-Up Begins to Crack". Time. June 24, 2001, Retrieved 2-20-15.</ref> <ref>McCoy, Alfred, The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade, Afghanistan, Southeast Asia, Central America, Colombia. (revised edition), Lawrence Hill Books, 2003 ISBN 1-44652-483-8</ref> Prohibition helps create a nexus between terrorism and drug cartels, which both utilize cell structures to engage in murder, kidnapping, arms trading, smuggling, protection rackets, money laundering and other illegal activities. Money from drug trafficking also directly funds terrorist activity. <ref>Rand Beers and Francis X. Taylor, “Narco-Terror: The worldwide connection between drugs and terror,” Testimony before the senate committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information. U.S. Department of State archive, March 13, 2002. http://2001-2009.state.gov/p/inl/rls/rm/8743.htm</ref>

'''5. Hypocrisy:''' The two most lethal drugs, alcohol and tobacco (also among the most highly addictive) are perfectly legal. Together they constitute the true “gateway drugs.” Globally, a large majority of arrests are related to cannabis, <ref>United Nations World Drug Report, 2014, page xii</ref> which is less addictive than coffee, <ref>Arkowitz, Hal and Scott O. Lilienfeld, “Experts tell the truth about pot: marijuana use can be problematic but only rarely leads to addiction,” Scientific American, March 1, 2012.</ref> and of such low toxicity there are zero known overdose deaths. <ref>Williamson, E.M, Evans, F.J, “Cannabinoids in clinical practice, US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, abstract, Drugs. 2000 Dec;60(6):1303-14.PMID: 11152013 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]</ref> <ref>Lavender, Paige, “Congressman reminds us how many people have overdosed on pot: ‘spoiler alert: it’s zero’” The Huffington Post, November 13, 2014, updated 11-14-2014</ref> Even though a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana, and marijuana is virtually harmless compared to alcohol and tobacco, the government continues to disregard both the facts and public opinion. <ref>Saad, Lydia, “Majority continues to support pot legalization in U.S.” Gallup, November 6, 2014</ref>

'''6. Interdiction doesn’t work:''' The “noble experiment” of alcohol prohibition failed. It was supposed to reduce crime, gang activity, corruption, taxes, reckless behavior, poor health, incarceration and substance abuse. Instead, it had the opposite effect. <ref>Thornton, Mark, “Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure,” Cato Institute, Policy Analysis no. 157, July 17, 1991. http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/alcohol-prohibition-was-failure</ref> Apparently the lessons were ignored, and a new prohibition was launched that included psychoactive substances less dangerous than alcohol. Both private and government funded studies on the efficacy of drug interdiction, for four decades, have shown that interdiction is many times less effective than treatment. The fact that prisoners are able to use drugs in prison, often at higher levels than the general population, vividly demonstrates the futility of interdiction. <ref>United Nations Drug Report, 2014, page 11</ref> Tobacco is the most dangerous drug in the world, and it kills 6 million people a year. Fifteen states attempted to ban tobacco, between 1890 and 1927, and they all failed. The War on Drugs has not reduced drug use, and the U.S. continues to be the number one nation in illegal drug use.<ref>Branson, Richard, “War on drugs a trillion-dollar failure,” CNN, December 7, 2012.</ref>

'''7. Self-sustaining corruption:''' Millions of public officials have become involved in dealing drugs, taking bribes or facilitating the drug trade because the easy money is so alluring. In a vicious cycle, the War on Drugs causes more violence, thus causing more police to be hired. The police then resist ending prohibition because reducing drug enforcement would threaten their income. Cops may also lose their jobs just by criticizing current policy. <ref>Lacey, Marc “Police officers find that dissent on drug laws may come with a price,” New York Times, December 2, 2011</ref> Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) is composed mostly of former cops who feel free to state the obvious because they no longer have jobs to lose. <ref>“Why Legalize Drugs?” LEAP website - http://www.leap.cc/about/why-legalize-drugs/</ref>

'''8. Creation of inner city slums:''' Beginning soon after the War on Drugs was declared, the pace of inner city decay accelerated, which also contributed to the flight to the suburbs. Only after a demographic shift diminished the post-war youth bulge did violence rates begin to fall, <ref>Staveteig, Sarah, “The young and the restless: population age structure and civil war,” Wilson Center. ECSP Report, Issue 11, 2005. http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/Staveteig.pdf</ref> and the inner cities could begin to experience some revival, but the worst slums fueled by the War on Drugs persist.<ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 17: “My Hometown: a microcosm of America,” pp. 120-139</ref>

'''9. War on the poor and minorities:''' Most drug related offenses and jail time is borne by the poor and minorities, who become further marginalized and more likely to experience unemployment, homelessness, and more incarceration.<ref>Kain, Erik, “The War on Drugs is a War on Minorities and the Poor,” Forbes, June 28, 2011.</ref> The creation of drug slums and glorification of the “gangsta” lifestyle caused by the War on Drugs contributed to the increase in single-parent households among African Americans from 30% in 1971 to 67% by 2009.<ref>Dunlap, Eloise, et. al, “The severely, distressed African American family in the crack era: Empowerment in not enough,” US National library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, J Sociol Soc Welf. 2006; 33(1): 115–139.</ref> This compares to around 75% for non-hispanic, white families. <ref>National KIDS COUNT, datacenter.kidscount.org</ref>

'''10. Erosion of civil liberties:''' Search and seizure laws and arrests/incarceration erode civil rights. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed” pp. 231-238</ref> Asset forfeiture laws allow the police to violate the privacy of citizens, and seize property where a crime has been suspected. In many cases, seizures are made even though no drugs are found, or the property owners have nothing to do with the drug use occurring on their property. <ref>Balko, Radley, “The Forfeiture Racket: police and prosecutors won’t give up their license to steal,” reason.com, February 2010, http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/26/the-forfeiture-racket</ref>

'''11. Cost:''' Since 1971, taxpayers have spent over $1 trillion on the War on Drugs, with $51 billion of good money being thrown after bad every year. This does not count the far greater indirect costs to society. <ref>Branson, Richard, “War on drugs a trillion-dollar failure,” CNN, December 7, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/06/opinion/branson-end-war-on-drugs/</ref>

'''12. Lure of the forbidden/victimless crime:''' As during alcohol prohibition, when the state tried to tell people what they could not do with their own bodies, people become outraged and flaunt the law. “Al Capone, Scarface, Beanie Sigel, Biggie Smalls and Lucky Luciano. Sound familiar? These are the names of modern ‘gansta’ rappers who, along with other rappers, are channeling the spirit of alcohol prohibition and organized crime.”<ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth, Golden Apples Media, 2010, p. 229, ISBN 978-0-912467-12-2</ref>

'''13. Health issues:''' Illegal drugs have no quality control and ingredients are not regulated. One report by the Energy Control found that only 38% of ecstasy pills actually had MDMA, and only 8% of cocaine is pure. <ref>Pardes, Arielle, “This doctor want to provide quality control for your illegal drugs,” VICE, August 22, 2014. http://www.vice.com/read/this-doctor-wants-to-provide-quality-control-for-your-illegal-drugs-821</ref> Hepatitis C and HIV infection rates are high among injecting users. Dealing with any aspect of the drug trade is physically dangerous, quite apart from the health impact of the drugs themselves. Cheap substitutes, like crack cocaine for powder cocaine, or legal painkillers instead of cannabis, can be worse than the preferred drug. <ref>Paige Bierma, M.A, “Cocaine and Crack,” Health Day, March 11, 2014</ref>

'''14. Religious judgement:''' Many feel drug use is evil or immoral and users should be forced by the law to conform to religious or moral beliefs, and be punished when they disobey. Except for a growing number of prominent exceptions, including William F. Buckley, Ron Paul, Grover Norquist, and Glenn Beck, <ref>Conant, Eve, “The conservative case for legalizing pot,” Newsweek, October 25, 2010 conservatives, especially social conservatives, tend to support prohibition.</ref> <ref>Saad, Lydia, “Majority continues to support pot legalization in U.S.” Gallup, November 6, 2014.</ref> According to a 2014 Gallup poll, 73% of liberals supported legalizing marijuana and 31% of conservatives did not. <ref>Gregory, Anthony, “The Right & the Drug War: Conservatives are the last prohibitionists, but that’s changing,” The American Conservative, September 12, 2012.</ref>

===Solutions:===

'''1. End the War on Drugs by repealing drug prohibition.''' Put drugs, alcohol and tobacco into special legal status that includes legalization, taxation, regulation and treatment programs. (Decriminalization is inadequate because it would not affect the criminal supply networks). The quality and dosage should be regulated and tested so buyers know exactly what they are buying and what dangers might be associated with the drugs. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” p. 276.</ref>

'''2. Recognize the recreational, therapeutic and sacramental use of drugs as a basic human right.''' <ref>Walsh, Charlotte (2010) “Drugs and human rights: private palliatives, sacramental freedoms and cognitive liberty,” The International Journal of Human Rights, 14: 3, 425 — 441, First published on: 16 February 2010 (iFirst) DOI: 10.1080/13642980802704270 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13642980802704270 </ref>

'''3. Give people the right to make their own decisions regarding drugs.''' The vast majority of people will not become drug abusers. Respect for the law will reduce the lure of the forbidden, and build responsible attitudes toward drugs. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” p. 276.</ref>

'''4. Ban all public or targeted advertising for drugs, alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs.''' Detailed official and unofficial information would be available online. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” pp. 276-277</ref>

'''5. Drugs (including many “prescription drugs”), tobacco, alcohol purchase and use should be regulated with a license''' that anyone 18 or older may obtain. To obtain the drug license, a person must take a course that explains the dangers related to alcohol and various drugs including tobacco. A person may opt to not test for or not include certain drugs or alcohol on their license, particularly if they want to self-regulate troublesome substances. Drug or alcohol-related infractions of the law would require a remedial course and re-licensing.

'''6. Tax drugs and alcohol according to their harm and cost to society.''' Dangerous and highly addictive drugs like heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, tobacco and alcohol, for example, should have much higher taxes than drugs of low toxicity that have low or absent addictive properties, such as cannabis and psychedelics. Taxes should be approximately equal to the cost to society related to the substance, including health care and rehabilitation. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” p. 278.</ref> “Date rape” drugs and certain poisons should continue to be illegal. We should have discouraging restrictions on highly addictive drugs that people want to quit anyway. For example, powder cocaine could be available, but someone would have to make crack cocaine on their own. Flavored cigarettes, including menthols, and most of the dangerous additives, should be banned, along with low pH flue-cured tobacco (making cigarette smoke very difficult to fully inhale) and nicotine levels could be restricted. <ref>Proctor, Robert N, “Why ban the sale of cigarettes? The case for abolition,” Tobacco Control, January 17, 2013.</ref> Smoking should also be banned in public and not allowed to be displayed where any minor could see them.

'''7. Treatment:''' Make drugs, alcohol and tobacco a health-related issue with education, licensing, and treatment paid for by taxes on the substances. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” p. 276.</ref> Drug use in the Netherlands is considered a health issue and, as a result, has a drug-related death rate that is 15 times lower than in the United States. Afghanistan, which has had the cruel misfortune of being caught up America’s War on Drugs, has a drug-related death rate that is 290 times higher than the Netherlands. <ref>http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/drug-use/by-country/ (data source: WHO 2011, World Bank, UNESCO, CIA)</ref>

'''8. The U.S. should formally apologize to the world for the harm its policies have caused.''' The Controlled Substances Act of 1970, the mandatory drug sentencing guideline, international agreements in support of the War on Drugs, and all other federal laws prohibiting drugs should be revoked. The Drug Enforcement Agency should be absorbed into the FDA and ATF. <ref>Arth, Michael E., Democracy and the Common Wealth, Golden Apples Media, 2010, Chapter 25: “Prohibition Failed!,” p. 277-278.</ref> All non-violent drug offenders should be pardoned

== References ==
<references/>

2015-04-29T16:55:05Z

Mearth:

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<div style="font-size:162%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#000;">Welcome to UNICEwiki,</div>
<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:95%;">the free-content, public policy wiki that anyone can edit.</div>
<div id="articlecount" style="font-size:85%;">[[Special:Statistics|{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}]] articles in English</div>
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* [[List of Seed Topics and Collaborative Topics]]

* [[Guide for editors]]
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[[File:UNICE-Universal Network of Intelligent Conscious Entities-image.jpg|thumb|right|275px|UNICE global brain project]] '''UNICE''', a global brain project, is an acronym for '''Universal Network of Intelligent Conscious Entities.''' The term was coined in the 1990s to describe the transformation of our species that might be the result of a new form of intelligent life developed from a hive-like interaction of computers, humans, and future forms of the Internet.<ref>Arth, Michael E., ''UNICE,'' a Consciousness Research Abstract published in the "Journal of Consciousness Studies" for the April 8–12, 2008 conference, "Toward a Science of Consciousness," p. 151.</ref> <ref>Arth, Michael E., ''Democracy and the Common Wealth: Breaking the Stranglehold of the Special Interests,'' Golden Apples Media, 2010, ISBN 978-0-912467-12-2.pp. 438-439</ref> More recently, the term also refers to a public policy wiki, which exists at www.UNICE.info and here at UNICEwiki.org. <ref>An abstract about UNICE to be presented at the Global Brain Conference, Vienna, Austria, June 2015, can be found here: http://globalbraininstitute.github.io/vienna2015/speakers/arth/</ref>

==Goal of UNICE: A New Pragmatism==

UNICE is an experiment in finding rational, pragmatic and consensus-based solutions that will aid in governance. Eventually, UNICE will function as a public-policy answer-engine, capable of interacting with anyone in any language. Ideally, she will evolve into a seamless, non-hierarchical form of governance that balances the world’s resources with the needs of the people.<ref>Arth, Michael E., ''UNICE global brain project: Creating a global, independent, public-policy answer engine that will facilitate governance, while preparing for and reducing the dangers of Artificial General Intelligence, so that we may more carefully uncover the secrets of the multiverse'', January 28, 2015, revised February 15, 2015,''[http://unice.info/unice/UNICE-ARTICLE-Jan%202015.pdf]</ref> The aim of the global brain project is to develop superhuman heuristic abilities that can draw from all knowledge and data. As a Universal Network of Intelligent Conscious Entities, UNICE should ideally function as an objective, rational, compassionate, collective being with total command of all known facts. She is an effort toward creating a new pragmatism, independent of parties, factions or petty politics..<ref>http://www.UNICE.info</ref> Simply stated, “the '''goal''' of UNICE is to help bring the greatest good to the greatest number, in the most efficient manner possible, to this and future generations.”<ref>Arth, Michael E., ''UNICE global brain project" revised version February 15, 2015,''[http://unice.info/unice/UNICE-ARTICLE-Jan%202015.pdf]</ref>

==A Holy Trinity of Checks and Balances==

UNICE is an independent, not-for-profit organization consisting of three transparent branches: seed topics, interactive topics, and cognitive-UNICE. All iterations will be available here on UNICEwiki and other sources.

'''1. Seed topics''' are succinctly written by identified, self-appointed experts who then submit their lists of problems and related solutions to public scrutiny and dissection, according to certain ground rules. Every statement must be properly cited and the '''goal''' must be respected. UNICEwiki, and associated talk pages, will exist on UNICEwiki as the portal for public input, criticism and discussion. The original seed topic will continue to available in the history of edits.<ref>[http://unice.info/unice/topics.html UNICE Seed Topics]</ref>

'''2. The collaborative topic''' can be modified by anyone willing to follow the guidelines and cite all rational changes. All commentary or discussion must go on the talk page. <ref>[http://unice.info/unice/topics.html Collaborative-UNICE topic]</ref>

'''3. Cognitive-UNICE''', currently in development, will utilize various forms of AI and Artificial general intelligence (AGI) in collaboration with motivated humans. She will eventually take the seed topics, the collaborative topics in all of their iterations, along with everything she can glean from all other sources, and write her own version of the topic.<ref>[http://unice.info/unice/cognitive.html Cognitive UNICE]</ref>

==Future of Cognitive-UNICE==

[[File:UNICE-TIME Entity of the Year V.2.jpg|thumb|left|350px|"Time Magazine" parody of "Person of the Year." In this case UNICE, a collective entity, is portrayed as the "Entity of the Year" in the December 23, 2023 issue.]]

It is assumed that in the early years, cognitive-UNICE may be logical and useful because of human-aided programming, but she may later become a conscious entity, perhaps united in consciousness with humanity.<ref>http://unice.info/unice/cognitive.html</ref> Whether as AI or AGI, cognitive-UNICE will probably use quantum computing to solve optimization problems that would be impossible to solve with classical computing.<ref>Arth, Michael E., ''UNICE global brain project: Creating a global, independent, public-policy answer engine that will facilitate governance, while preparing for and reducing the dangers of Artificial General Intelligence, so that we may more carefully uncover the secrets of the multiverse'', revised version February 15, 2015,'' [http://unice.info/unice/UNICE-ARTICLE-Jan%202015.pdf]</ref> Quantum computing may also hold the key to developing a conscious machine. Nobel laureate and physicist Sir Roger Penrose and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff claim that consciousness is created by quantum coherence in the warm, wet environment of the human brain. Their previously disparaged theory, known as Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch OR), has been bolstered by recent findings that quantum processing occurs in plants and animals, including in the microtubules inside the neurons of the human brain.<ref>Hameroff, Stuart and Robert Penrose, ”Consciousness in the universe: A review of the 'Orch OR' theory," Physics of Life Reviews, Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2014.</ref> Furthermore, in 2015, quantum computing was demonstrated at room temperature in ultra-pure silicon-28, using voltage generators instead of expensive, high-frequency microwave sources. As a result, the low cost manufacturing of quantum computers, using technology similar to classical computers, may soon be possible.<ref>Gutro, Rob, “Electrical control of quantum bits in silicon paves the way to large quantum computers,” PhysOrg, April 10, 2015. http://phys.org/news/2015-04-electrical-quantum-bits-silicon-paves.html</ref> In other research, it has been shown that all-photonic quantum repeaters will allow quantum cryptography over long distances. Taken together, these discoveries will lead to secure private communications and universal quantum computing. If consciousness is produced by quantum processes, this may also allow the emergence of a global mind and self-aware Internet. <ref>“Quantum cryptography at the speed of light: Researchers design first all-photonic repeaters” PhysOrg, April 15, 2015. phys.org</ref> Even if computers never become conscious, they will still become progressively more useful at helping humans govern themselves. So having a public policy wiki, even if it doesn't become self aware, is still a good start.

==The Logo and the Logos==

UNICE is represented as a young, beautiful, mixed-race female with her blonde, afro-style hair symbolizing the interconnected tendrils of the World Wide Web. The median age of all humans on Earth is just under 30, and the half that is young represents new ideas and a willingness to accept change. UNICE is mixed-race to represent all humans, and she is female because of the traditional feminine values of empathy, cooperation, sensitivity, tolerance, nurturance, and compassion. Justice is also often depicted as ''Justitia'' or Lady Justice.

UNICE is already in development as a collaborative public policy wiki, but later she will also function as a public-policy answer-engine, capable of interacting with anyone in any language through wearable interfaces, such as smart glasses. She will be the voice in our head, our global conscience, and an extension of our brain. Eventually she will evolve into a form of governance that balances the world’s resources with the needs of the people. She will also help us prepare for post-human entities (ourselves?) who will have god-like capabilities—something which could be thrilling, perilous or both. UNICE will help us make the transition, which will presumably include some form of AI enhancement to prevent humans from becoming irrelevant.

==Chrysalis of Technology==

Rapacious humanity in its current form has filled every habitable niche and consumed the Earth's resources with the intensity of a caterpillar. Recently we have begun to encircle the globe with a glistening chrysalis of technology. Hopefully, with the help of the gossamer threads that bind us as one in instantaneous communication, when humanity emerges on the other side, we will become something beautiful and light upon the Earth.

==Potential Criticisms==

What will people say against it? That Big Sister is really just another name for Big Brother? That UNICE will eliminate individuality and put us all in a giant human Cuisinart? More likely, UNICE and other global brains are probably our only serious line of defense against being sliced and diced by governments, corporations, security/defense establishment or strong AI run amok. Decisions that affect all of us should be the purest distillation of the common good, and for this purpose we must have both accurate data and empathic, intelligent analyses. Ideally, UNICE will increase the wisdom and power of the people. She also has the potential to become the scolding group mind that will overshadow stupidity, callousness, greed, and corruption. She could be the antidote to voodoo economics or political sleight of hand. UNICE will deal in facts and know how to do the math. In practice, it’s up to us to make sure we get the creation of a global brain right because the future can go wrong in so many ways.
<ref>http://unice.info/unice/index.htm</ref>

==Seed Topics==

Click a link to go to the associated UNICEwiki topic:

1. [[Voting Rights in the U.S.|Voting Rights in the U.S.]]

2. [[Proposed Voting Rights Amendment|Proposed Voting Rights Amendment]]

3. Overpopulation

4. [[U.S. Drug Policy]]

5. [[The Future of Transportation|The Future of Transportation]]

6. The Military-Industrial-Congressional-Complex

7. The Promise and Threat of Artificial General Intelligence

8. Taxation

9. Homelessness

10. Energy Policy

11. Urbanism

12. Climate Change

13. Universal Health Care

14. Monetary Reform

15. Prison Justice

16. Employment and Automation

17. Reform of the Financial Sector

==See also==
*{{wpa|global brain}}

==External links==
*[http://www.UNICE.info| UNICE global brain project website]

==Footnotes==

<references/>

User:Mearth

2015-04-29T16:13:39Z

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Mearth = Michael E. Arth