Sculpting Cyber Utopia

The World Is Not Flat

It is my privilege to write the Foreword for Sculpting Cyber Utopia: Carving Order Out of Chaos by Dr. Joshua Sipper. I had the pleasure of reviewing Dr. Sipper’s previous book, Cyber Meta-Reality: Beyond the Metaverse, back in 2022. When Dr. Sipper shared news of his latest work, I was eager to dive in and explore the thought-provoking ideas he would present next.

Reflecting on both books, I’ve noticed a compelling thread that ties them together: Dr. Sipper’s ability to navigate complex, intangible concepts and connect them to the tangible aspects of our reality. This intellectual journey is both fascinating and necessary in today’s chaotic world.

In late 2024, during congressional hearings on the phenomenon of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs)—formerly referred to as UFOs—it was both surprising and refreshing to hear a government official state candidly: “We are not alone in the universe.” This declaration echoes questions that have intrigued humanity for centuries, including those posed by Aristotle, the great philosopher who lived from 384 to 322 B.C.

In his seminal work, The Metaphysics, Aristotle explored the nature of perception, reality, and how we distinguish one from the other. The distinction between appearance and reality, as first questioned by the pre-Socratic philosophers, remains one of humanity’s most enduring inquiries. How do we know if what we observe is an accurate reflection of reality—or merely a distorted interpretation?

This question becomes even more profound when considering modern discoveries about the universe. For instance, the law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. Yet, I’ve often wondered whether this law is as absolute as we assume. My personal experiences have shown me that human beings possess a remarkable capacity to create energy, raising the question of whether this creation is merely an appearance—or a deeper reality.

The mystery deepens with phenomena like black holes, which seem to defy the law of conservation of energy. Once matter enters a black hole, its energy appears to vanish—a phenomenon that science now accepts but struggles to fully explain. These anomalies force us to question our understanding of the universe and the very nature of existence- if energy can vanish, can we also create it? This book challenges long-standing theories and assumptions.

This is where Dr. Sipper’s writing truly shines. He challenges us to think critically about questions that stretch across dimensions: Why are we here? Who or what shares this universe with us? How are the elements of the universe interconnected? How many universes—or realities—exist? And most importantly, how do human beings fit within both the universe and the emerging metaverse?

I firmly believe that this century will bring discoveries as transformative as the realization that the Earth is not flat. Dr. Sipper’s work reminds us that we must approach these revelations with curiosity, critical thought, and an openness to challenge our perceptions of reality.

To offer more specifics, let me share a preview of some concepts raised by Dr. Sipper. In Sculpting Cyber Utopia: Carving Order Out of Chaos, Dr. Sipper begins by exploring the fundamental question of creation in Chapter 1. He examines how the origins of the universe parallel the development of the internet, the digital universe, and the metaverse as we know them today. Dr. Sipper posits that humans inherently reject chaos and seek to impose structure and order as a way to understand and navigate their environment. Applying this concept to the cyber world, he argues that humans will inevitably strive to bring order to cyberspace.

However, the digital realm, created entirely by humans without a clear vision of its ultimate trajectory, remains inherently chaotic. Dr. Sipper asks: How can humanity move forward in both the virtual and digital worlds? He suggests that people and the information they generate lie at the root of this chaos. As such, we must ensure that the cyber realm does not dehumanize us. As humans and machines become increasingly intertwined, the desire for order will intensify. But how can such order be imposed on a metaverse that has already been created without it?

This is the conundrum Dr. Sipper explores throughout the book. In Chapter 3, he delves into the idea of the “Cyber Wild West” and raises critical questions about humanity’s path forward. How do we bring meaning and structure to a digital reality? Why would anyone choose to live in the metaverse?

In Chapter 9, Dr. Sipper introduces the idea that “rules are the currency humans and machines use to understand and navigate data in complex structures.” If humans inherently seek rules and order, what does this mean for the evolving cyber reality?

Towards the end of the book, particularly in Chapter 16, Dr. Sipper examines the distinction between reality and perception. He contends that chaos often accompanies creation—both before and after it occurs. Yet, he remains optimistic. Dr. Sipper concludes that in a cyber utopia, order can and will prevail. Humans, driven by their innate need for understanding, can thrive in the metaverse if we learn to manage and control the chaos it generates.

By reading Sculpting Cyber Utopia: Carving Order Out of Chaos, we embark on a journey that inspires us to embrace the potential of the unknown and to actively participate in shaping our understanding of the cosmos and beyond.

—Diane M. Janosek, Ph.D., Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

As I sit at my desk watching the snow in January in south Alabama, I find myself taken with how precious each person and each moment in life truly are. It is with this affection that I thank all who have been a part of this publishing endeavor.

To the editorial staff at Peter Lang, especially Phil Dunshea, I submit my humble appreciation for your acceptance and assistance.

My colleagues and leadership at the United States Air Force, Air University, Air Command and Staff College have been there throughout the writing and publication journey as well. Special thanks go to Dr. Edwin Redman. You’re the best, Sped!

My students who are also my heroes are overly worthy of thanks. You have taken oaths and pledges to protect and defend us as service members, and I cannot thank you enough.

Finally, to my family. Charles and Olivia Sipper have always supported me and loved me. Kevin and Vickie Ellis are beloved to me. And to my wife, Rachel and our sons, Luke and Noah, you are gifts and why I live.

Human beings are now living in a new world: the Cyber Meta-reality.1 Many of us don’t even realize the shift we have made as a species. As with most large paradigm shifts, human beings seem to perceive great leaps into new realities as merely the “next thing” we’ve wandered into. But it’s different this time. While previous evolutions of society like agrarian cultures and the industrial revolution took centuries or decades to arrive, the information age and the arrival of the cyber meta-reality and its pocket universe, the metaverse, has happened extremely rapidly and is still growing exponentially into every facet of human existence. Now with the explosion of natural language processing and large language models that power artificial intelligence tools and programs like ChatGPT and Bard, humanity is careening at ludicrous speed toward a seemingly boundless information event horizon.

Other technologies like quantum computing, nanotechnology, and fusion-based power generation are adding to the mountain of potential for reaching new heights as a global technological society. While many have taken these advances and postulated a future of war, machine domination of humanity, and massive dystopian diminuendo, there are some who see the potential for technology to salve the world’s wounds. Of course, if history is any indicator, neither of these disparate realities is viable. Humanity will simply continue to find ways to do great good or great harm, and the struggle will continue. However, peering deeply into the abyss of technological evolution may help us as a species to understand and appreciate who we are and how we might again advance as a world community through ever-growing communications connections, strong artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, and the opportunity to ease pain, suffering, hunger, and other endemic evils. We must, however, heed the warning of Friedrich Nietzsche: “Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”2

So, how do we displace cyber chaos; impending doom? One would be remiss in disregarding the current efforts to mitigate potential anarchy in cyberspace on a global, national, and local level. Myriad cybersecurity, network topology, and cryptographical strategies have been employed for decades now and are continuing to grow in their efficacy. However, we need to ask whether these efforts are merely systems focused on treating symptoms or if they are getting at the root of the deeper problem? Do we as humans have a solid grasp on the endemic and epidemic issues that lead to chaos in cyberspace and the cyber meta-reality or are we trying to move mountains with a spoon? Here, these problems will be analyzed and hopefully some clarity about how we can overcome these obstacles will be revealed.

The first area to explore in any world where there is design and order is the beginning. How did this world come to be and what existed prior to this meta-reality? As in so many creation myths, the function of creation is to bring order out of chaos. The great thing about the cyber meta-reality is we humans have actual, observable history recorded regarding the acts of creation and the ordering of it! This is a fundamental point in any scientific endeavor; understanding the world or environment you wish to study based on empirical observable data. Thus, one would surmise that we could learn from these fundamental principles as we seek to carve order out of chaos. Since this is a meta-reality dependent on digital frameworks, it is critical we understand it in that context.

Chaos or possibilistic computing is one facet that permeates how information is constructed and processed currently and will likely be even more foundational in the future as we move from deterministic to probabilistic to possibilistic computing. However, these massive quantum leaps carry numerous complexities with them making the problem sets and data oceans deeper and wider. This complexity, if not understood early in its growth and development, inevitably leads to greater propensity for chaos later on and must be studied and dealt with now if we ever hope to govern it.

An even deeper issue concerning chaos and creation is the fact that human beings have created this new meta-reality. In most creation stories, human beings are created within the context of the world being created around them and are ultimately the cause of its descent and perversion. However, within the cyber meta-reality, human beings create the world and are thus extra-contextual beings responsible for its creation and potential corruption. Working from the base concept of human chaos, you can perhaps see the issue with attempting to elevate a system created out of an imperfect congregation of minds using other components created out of an incomplete set of material attributes.

The physical world we inhabit is known for chaos. From the destructive weather we experience to the wars we generate ourselves, chaos is a reality for billions across the globe. And yet, we seem bent on modeling the cyber meta-reality and its subcomponent metaverse in the image of the physical world around us. Is this a mistake or simply us as humans trying to remake reality in a more perfect image? Either way, the starting point for this undertaking might be doomed from the start simply because it is based on the foundations of an already crumbling reality infrastructure.

The next area of exploration in any newly created order is how it is constructed. In the case of all created constructs we have observed to date, reality is based on information. From our own deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to the quantum matrices that make up reality itself, information abounds! The cyber meta-reality is no different. Every component of this human-fashioned world is based on the composition of reality from the most basic construct imaginable: 1 and 0. This deterministic methodology was constructed by Claude Shannon,3 the father of information theory and has flourished throughout the decades since, producing environments where humans can extend their intellects and realities in ways unimaginable before its advent. The discovery of the presence of information in everything around us has further deepened our understanding of how we as humans are built and how we fit in the overall information scheme of the universe and cyber meta-reality.