Multiscale Free Energy Analysis of Human Ecosystem Engineering

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Environmental Science
• Human Behavior

Background:

• Ecosystem engineering by non-human species typically involves limited, survival-linked sensations.
• Human activities, however, introduce a wide array of novel sensations through ecosystem engineering.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the implications of human ecosystem engineering on survival and preferences.
• To evaluate the applicability of active inference modeling to human-driven environmental changes.

Main Methods:

• The study frames human ecosystem engineering using multiscale free energy principles.
• It analyzes the disconnects between human preferences and survival outcomes.

Main Results:

• Novel sensations from human engineering can rapidly become addictive preferences.
• Unforeseen negative consequences on human and species survival may emerge decades later.
• Current active inference models face limitations due to these preference-survival disconnects.

Conclusions:

• Human ecosystem engineering presents unique challenges due to its capacity to generate novel, addictive sensations.
• Disconnects between emergent preferences and long-term survival hinder the direct application of standard active inference modeling approaches.