Settling the Seas for Freedom

I've been contemplating the future potential for colonising the oceans; possible (high-tech) uses for abandoned oil rigs and massive cargo ships/bulk carriers. Some of the prospects they could offer have excited me for years: an transhuman level AI taking over a container ship and turning it into an advanced manufactury, or self contained, floating AI nation-state. Throw a few pampered humans on board too and you would have Banks' Culture on our high seas. As a main context for a sci-fi novel, it might make a great prequel to the Culture novels, much more interesting than a concluding story, as discussed in my previous blog post.

Having contemplated technical solutions for autonomous living at sea as an purely hypothetical exercise (renewable power generation, pumping heat from the sea, growing plants and meat hydroponically, etc) I recently discovered the term "Seasteading", which represents a growing movement (and a revealing history).

One of the most famous Seasteads is "The Principality of Sealand", a former World War II 'Maunsell' Sea Fort in the North Sea, 6 miles off the coast of Suffolk (England). Despite consisting merely of two corroded pillars sticking out of the sea with a shack on top, it has currency, coins, stamps, national anthem and athletes, a constitutional monarchy that has issued tens of thousands of passports (now mostly revoked after fakes linked to high-profile crimes), broadcast pirate radio in the late 60s, 'defended' its territorial waters against the royal navy, witnessed a forcible takeover by a German and a Dutch citizen, who were later deposed and held as prisoners of war after a helicopter assault by the original owner (Bates), then freed after a diplomatic visit and now self declared "government in exile". Some of the highlights of a truly hilarious Wikipedia article.

The point is having one's own 'land', free of big government, is exceedingly rare and desirable indeed! Dodging legalities for instance: The Pirate Bay attempted to

Re: "A plea to Iain M Banks" (Guardian)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/feb/19/iain-m-banks-culture

While I totally empathise with Damien's enthusiasm for the Culture novels, I think his call for a conclusion is as naïve as my expectation that the “Matrix Revolutions” would bring revelation. Of course, it brought only disappointment and an appallingly ridiculous gun toting mechasuits vs “squidies” battle.

The point is that I should never have expected some kind of ultimate enlightenment; a view into or beyond the reality of an computationally superhuman society: post Singularity is by definition unpredictable/unimaginable.

It was, to my mind, made very clear that the Culture (more specifically the Godlike ship/hub minds) deliberately limited themselves from transcending. Any societies that had done so effectively disappeared from the universe. By anthropic principle, the Culture must then be composed entirely of those intelligences who have foregone the next step (perhaps the ultimate change). Many stuck around because they consider it irresponsible to just 'sublime' and leave developing (planetary) societies to fend for themselves. Hence the repeated theme of 'Special Circumstances' policy/practice of interference (in global wars/politics of lesser sentient societies).

For this fundamental reason, there could be no