What If Humanity Was a Level Z Civilization?

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00:00Since our species' beginning, humanity has wondered how we fit into the cosmos.

00:04We've always questioned where the future will take us, what technology and wisdom we

00:09will obtain, and at what point will these advances reach their peak.

00:13One method of measuring technological prowess comes from Carl Sagan, who called the highest

00:18possible state of civilization Level Z.

00:21So just how different would Earth be if we managed to achieve Z-living?

00:26This is Unveiled, and today we're answering the extraordinary question, what if humanity

00:30was a Level Z civilization?

00:33Do you need the big questions answered?

00:35Are you constantly curious?

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00:39And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content!

00:43To understand what any prediction for the future means, we should first look at where

00:47we stand today.

00:48The general concept of a civilization level largely comes from the Kardashev Scale, originally

00:53designed by Nikolai Kardashev, a Soviet astronomer, in 1964.

00:58It divides civilizations specifically based on their ability to harness and use energy.

01:03There are three primary categories they can be sorted into.

01:06First, a Type I civilization, the lowest on the chain, can control the energy of its entire

01:12planet.

01:13On Earth, it requires complete access to all of the energy that reaches us from the sun.

01:18Once humanity can access 100% of this, we'll be considered a Type I civilization.

01:23In theory, one of the more dramatic applications at this stage is that we should be able to

01:27manipulate natural events as well, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

01:32We're not quite there yet, but experts, most notably the futurist Michio Kaku, predict

01:37it could take about another 200 years for this to be a reality.

01:41And actually, Carl Sagan made a telling contribution to the Kardashev Model, too.

01:46It was he who proposed intermediate values for the Kardashev System, and he calculated

01:50that humanity right now is around a Type 0.7 civilization.

01:54So, after almost 10,000 years of modern human civilization, that's where we've gotten

01:59to.

02:00Next up on Kardashev's ladder is Type II.

02:03Type II groups are capable of commanding the energy of their entire home star.

02:07That is, not just the fraction that makes it to their planet, but the total energy of

02:11the entire star itself.

02:13From our perspective, this would require technology centuries more advanced than what we currently

02:18possess, with the Dyson Sphere being something of a poster child for Type II greatness.

02:23It's a hypothetical megastructure that completely surrounds a star, capturing all the energy

02:28it produces.

02:29Nothing is lost, everything is caught, and everything is efficiently redirected and used.

02:35Clearly, humankind is a long, long way away from being able to produce such a contraption.

02:40To us, they're craftable in theory, but are completely impossible for human engineering

02:45to actually build.

02:47Fascinatingly, though, we're in the business of trying to find Dyson Spheres in the modern

02:51day.

02:52Astronomers believe that if any Type II civilizations do exist, then we should be able to observe

02:57their spheres with advanced enough telescopes.

02:59And excitingly, at the time of writing, the search for megastructures has found a handful

03:04of candidates.

03:05Further analysis is required to confirm precisely what these somethings are, and many believe

03:10that any anomalies we may have spotted will ultimately be explained away as perfectly

03:14natural, non-artificial phenomena.

03:17But certainly, watch this space.

03:19Finally, a Kardashev Type III civilization can harness an entire galaxy's worth of

03:24energy.

03:25It's a major step up from a Type II, and an inconceivably huge upgrade on Type I.

03:30There are thought to be roughly 100 million stars in a galaxy on average, and a Type III

03:35controls them all.

03:36If one were present in the Milky Way, then we'd surely know all about them.

03:39They'd effectively govern and permeate everything about us, our world, and all of our cosmic

03:45landscapes.

03:46To human minds, a Type II would be akin to a god.

03:49Beyond this lies speculation, Type IV, Type V, and beyond.

03:53The parameters get increasingly epic and invariably muddled, but as you travel higher and higher

03:58up the Kardashev scale, you're imagining universe-level civilizations, and then multiverse-level,

04:04and then higher dimensions, and then even higher dimensions, and so on.

04:08To them, the entire cosmos, no matter how huge you dream it, is but a field to harvest.

04:13So, how does Carl Sagan come into it?

04:15And what is Type Z all about?

04:17Well, although the Kardashev Scale is undoubtedly the most popular way to measure technological

04:22advancement, it's far from the only way.

04:25And another, arguably more fascinating and dynamic theory, was proposed by Sagan during

04:29his career.

04:30It's named the Information Mastery Scale, and instead of measuring advancement via energy

04:36harness, as per Kardashev, it focuses on how much information the species, or civilization,

04:41possesses.

04:42Instead of numbers, it uses the Latin alphabet as markers, where A is the bottom of the chain

04:47and Z is the top.

04:49Sagan defined the letter A as representing one million unique bits of information, or

04:54approximately one megabyte of data.

04:57Each letter represents an extra ten times the quantity of information, so B would be

05:0210 million bits, Z would be 100 million bits, and so on.

05:06Eventually, level Z possesses 10 to the power of 31 bits.

05:10That's a number with 31 zeros in it before the decimal place.

05:14We might think of Sagan's system as being an extension of the Kardashev Scale, but where

05:18it most differs is that it introduces a much more nuanced journey through the different

05:22civilization types, including a high number of intermediate levels.

05:26Sagan had reportedly been left dissatisfied with how large the gaps were in Kardashev's

05:31proposal, so he developed a more gradual model to smooth out the issues.

05:35And in many ways, it does better reflect how, in reality, a civilization will never

05:39jump straight from Type I to Type II.

05:43There are countless developments, and vast stretches of time, between them.

05:47Sagan published a paper explaining the mathematics of his logarithmic scale, going up in powers

05:52of ten in 1973.

05:54The A-to-Z styling actually wasn't proposed, or wasn't only proposed by him, but it made

05:59sense and was easily better suited to the much more granular approach.

06:03The scale considers far more than just energy, as well.

06:07It's flexible enough to take into account other additional, crucial elements of civilization

06:11growth, such as intelligence, mastery over dimensions, and existential purpose.

06:16At some point, pretty much all of everything can be reduced down into plain bits of information.

06:22So, what do Sagan's levels actually look like?

06:25The lowest, Type A, would simply be basic biological organisms, without any developed

06:30technology.

06:31The lowest, pre-humanoid species would be Type B, complete with simple tools, basic

06:35writing, and the ability to harness fire.

06:38Type C are early urban societies, such as the first Mesopotamians in ancient Sumeria.

06:43Early Greek civilizations fit into Type D, then later more advanced ones into Type E,

06:48determined by the philosophical ideals of their society at that time.

06:52Type F involves worldwide agricultural mastery, and Type G is an industrial society, able

06:58to build steam trains, steamboats, etc.

07:01Type H is where humanity currently lies, being able to fly through the skies and travel

07:05to our planet's natural satellites.

07:08After this, they become incrementally more advanced in a similar fashion, until eventually

07:12reaching Type Z.

07:14At around Type S, our modern human minds begin to tap out.

07:18S through to Z civilizations are also extremely advanced, and increasingly so, that much of

07:23what they should be able to do is beyond human comprehension.

07:27For example, at Type X, a civilization would theoretically have conquered about 50 billion

07:32light-years of the universe, which is roughly half of the entire known cosmos.

07:37Type Y uses laws of physics which we don't understand at all right now, having access

07:41to the fastest computers imaginable.

07:44But Type Z?

07:45Nothing beats it.

07:46Type Z would have absolute control over the entire universe.

07:50It would be far, far superior to even the Xs and the Ys that came before them.

07:54To little old us still dwindling down here at Type H, a Type Z would probably dwarf even

07:59what we imagine our mightiest gods would be capable of.

08:03They could freely manipulate reality as they choose, and nothing would be unknown to them.

08:08They could create and destroy, travel anywhere, see anything, feel everything… the total

08:13universe is a playground in the palm of their hand.

08:17As such, if humanity were a Type Z entity, then we wouldn't be recognisably human anymore.

08:22We'll have transcended beyond our biological, physical forms completely.

08:26We'll have moved through the ages of cybernetics, bio-enhancements, and artificial intelligence,

08:31and we'll likely have far surpassed them all.

08:34Our consciousness could have an all-new shape.

08:36The quantum world would be just as known to us.

08:39Not even the insides of black holes would hold secrets.

08:42Perhaps, at this stage, we'd be pure energy.

08:45Maybe we'd possess a hive mind.

08:47But whatever it is that we're doing, there would be nothing more for us to do afterwards.

08:51Unless, that is, Sagan's scale could also be more speculatively extended, much as the

08:56Kardashev scale has been in recent years.

08:59With the multiverse to contend with in the cosmological background, it's always a possibility.

09:04Nevertheless, what would being at such an advanced stage mean for morality, ethics,

09:09and responsibility?

09:10Would a Type Z be benevolent, malevolent, or indifferent?

09:13Would it seek to guide lesser civilizations, ruin them?

09:16Or would it just not notice them at all?

09:19What goals would such a species have?

09:21With the complete mastery of reality, the pursuit of knowledge would be at an end.

09:26So, what next?

09:27What could drive such a civilization?

09:29For now, it's a future that's wholly beyond our reach.

09:32If a Type Z ever did emerge, then we, and Earth, will be a distant, infinitesimally

09:38insignificant memory to it.

09:40And yet, there is cause to wonder… because that unparalleled ability to create could

09:45well be the most profound aspect of all, on this highest of levels.

09:50If humanity were a Z, then we might well become the ultimate creators of new life, and that

09:55life would then inescapably live in a reality of our own making.

09:59Which is a bit of a mind-bender, because who's to say that's not already happening?

10:03It's just that, right now, we're the created, rather than the creator.

10:08What do you think?

10:09Is there anything we missed?

10:11Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you

10:15subscribe and ring the bell for our latest content.

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