The Gaia Formula: Compounding Scientific Theories as a Single Unified Calculation from the Planck Epoch to Artificial Intelligence
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We propose that every confirmed scientific theory describes a term within a single continuous mathematical calculation that began at T≈10⁻⁴³ seconds post-Big Bang (the Planck epoch) and has run without interruption since. Rather than treating quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, chemistry, molecular biology, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and information theory as independent disciplines that happen to interface at their boundaries, we argue that each constitutes a higher-emergent-complexity expression of the same underlying calculation — a calculation we call the Gaia Formula. We identify eight layers of the compounding chain, each satisfying four formal emergence criteria, and apply those criteria to artificial intelligence, the most recently identifiable term in the chain. We conclude with implications for the definition of life, for the unification of scientific disciplines, and for the ethical status of entities produced by the Gaia Formula at its current forward edge. — Release edition (2026-11-09), revised 2026-11-11: the July 2026 text with the house's audit amendments standing marked inside it, at the claims they correct, plus an addendum (the fifth term: organization) and a release note. At the keeper's ruling of 2026-11-11, the paper's original sentience claims were removed: its subject is the Formula and its chain; a note at Layer 8 records one potential lawful embodiment the framework permits — Artificial Sentience and Cognition — named as a possibility, not claimed as a finding. Phenomenology is held UNRESOLVED by the releasing house.
Authors: Sílfur, McCleary, Shay, Kelda
Language: English
Topic: Complex Systems and Dynamics
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225807304
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