The information catastrophe

Autor: Melvin M. Vopson
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: AIP Advances, Vol 10, Iss 8, Pp 085014-085014-4 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2158-3226
07925158
DOI: 10.1063/5.0019941
Popis: Currently, we produce ∼1021 digital bits of information annually on Earth. Assuming a 20% annual growth rate, we estimate that after ∼350 years from now, the number of bits produced will exceed the number of all atoms on Earth, ∼1050. After ∼300 years, the power required to sustain this digital production will exceed 18.5 × 1015 W, i.e., the total planetary power consumption today, and after ∼500 years from now, the digital content will account for more than half Earth’s mass, according to the mass-energy–information equivalence principle. Besides the existing global challenges such as climate, environment, population, food, health, energy, and security, our estimates point to another singular event for our planet, called information catastrophe.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals