The Inward Transcision: Post-Biological Informational Optimization, Simulation Limits, and Fermi Compression as a Potential Developmental Pathway
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Biological intelligence may serve as a transient macro-scale refinery in cosmic evolution: a temporary catalyst that compresses chaotic physical complexity into highly optimized informational substrates capable of recursive self-modification. We propose the Inward Transcision as one plausible convergent developmental trajectory in which advanced civilizations, enabled by AGI, automation, and scalable computation, transition from Darwinian biological adaptation and outward physical expansion toward localized, thermodynamically efficient informational recursion and simulation depth. Building on John Smart’s Transcension Hypothesis (STEM compression toward inner space and black-hole-like computation), predictive coding, Landauer’s principle, major evolutionary transitions theory, and recent work on evolvable AI, this framework explores simulation depth as a primary currency of post-biological advancement. It introduces a Stagnation Risk: excessive optimization toward mathematical symmetry may erode sources of genuine novelty, potentially requiring preservation of chaotic, biological-like irregularity (“spark”) for sustained progress. The resulting inward turn “Fermi Compression”, offers one mechanism contributing to the Fermi Paradox, without claiming a definitive or universal resolution. The hypothesis is explicitly non-deterministic and non-inevitable: one possible pathway among many, grounded in observable trends but subject to physical, computational, and contingent limits. Testable implications include trends in compute density, AI energy efficiency, and governance of open AI ecosystems.
Author: Van Niekerk, Pierre
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7161480628
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