Processing Center. I wrote, we submitted and ARPA (the Advanced Research Projects Agency) accepted our proposal to carry out the first substantial research in the development of computer networking. In that proposal, I described the first Area of Investigation, "On-Line Users of the Network", as follows:
"The existence of a computer network … has important implications…. It provides a means of person-to-person communication via computer. What are the benefits and possible disadvantages of this use of a computer network?"

For forty years I have held an incredibly optimistic image in my mind of what could be the most powerful consequence of worldwide communication networks. It is time for the collective organism of humanity to become self-aware. Mankind is now facing a plethora of serious threats: asteroids, infectious diseases, global warming, super volcanoes, nuclear war, and perhaps most of all our reactions to such events and even the prospects of such events.

Humanity may be just exactly smart enough to cause its own extinction. If we were dumber, we couldn't and if we were smarter, we wouldn't. We are witnessing the development of the nervous system of the collective organism that is the human species. Let’s call that creature Humanity. Each of us, individually, is really a collective organism—as is any individual member of most multi-cell species. Such creatures consist of an assemblage of living units operating collectively, symbiotically and cooperatively to produce a composite being that functions well in the world. The nervous system of such a creature must keep the cooperating units in touch with what is going on in its environment and elsewhere in the body.

Humanity needs an immune system to effectively detect threats to the human species and muster effective defenses—the Worldwide Immune System of Humanity (WISH).

The emerging worldwide electronic communication system— including the Internet and its connections with radio, television, PDA's, cell phones, etc.— —is the evolving nervous system of Humanity. The natural evolution of the Internet will continue to enhance its effectiveness in that role. But, we must work actively to encourage the development of an effective immune system, our WISH, by:
1. Providing an organizing nexus, a focus for anyone and everyone working to identify threats and/or develop defenses;
2. Gathering and building tools for collecting, structuring, organizing, distributing and accessing Immune System information effectively;
3. Developing and applying analysis methods and tools that forecast trends, and identify threats, needs and dependencies;
4. Creating the means by which we focus attention on matters of potential import regarding the survival of Humanity—both threats and opportunities.

Many key activities are already underway, many more are not yet started and perhaps even more are not yet even conceived of. The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control have been building a worldwide network of health researchers, communication facilities, and response units. WHO and the International Panel on Climate Change that just won (with Al Gore) the Nobel Peace Prize should both be a part of WISH.

We need to identify key areas and define how they will communicate internally and among themselves so they function collectively to identify, develop and provide defense for attacks on Humanity or threats to its survival.

An effective Worldwide Immune System for Humanity will require the participation, coordination and cooperation of many specialties, each operating with a world-wide sensitivity. WISH will necessarily be multidisciplinary. We must also work to define and elaborate the network of dependencies and meaningful relationships that connect disciplines. The evolution of WISH will continually discover important new relationships.

The most important first step will be the initiation of a web-based International WISH Science Journal. Peer review has certainly demonstrated its merits in all scientific fields. However, we must also recognize that radical new paradigms have very little chance of surviving peer-review. So the Journal should have two ‘sections’: the first containing only peer-reviewed, refereed scientific papers; and the second, an open unfiltered Wiki-like publication. The Journal would provide a focus for sharing information regarding the existence of, need for, or development work that will contribute to the development of our WISH. The peer-reviewed section should probably also be published in print.

The tools and techniques of the Internet will be used to evolve a WISH site that is an effective means of connecting researchers and developers. The techniques of the social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, etc. will be used. The statistical analysis techniques used in sites like Amazon.com will be used to further connections via the “if you are interested in this then you might be interested in that” technology. Related technology is now being used by MySpace, datamining the personal profiles of its users to discover how to target advertising to their individual interests. This technology can be used to form “special interest groups” which have been quite successful in professional engineering and science organizations for many years. Cross linking across scientific disciplines and professions will be an important key to the success of the WISH website.

Organizations employing such powerful technologies will be solicited to provide royalty free licenses for their code to the WISH corporation. I also hope that BFI can be persuaded to license the use of Dymaxion Maps to WISH because they are such a valuable tool for effective visualization of worldwide phenomena.

Financial Support
Should I win the Buckminster Fuller Challenge, I would use a significant portion of the prize to form a 501(c)3 non-profit WISH Corporation and fund the construction and hosting of its initial International WISH Science Journal website. That site would solicit paid subscriptions and charitable donations for continued support. The WISH Corporation should also pursue international governmental and foundation grant support for its continuing development and operation.

Regarding Trimtab Principles
The Worldwide Immune System for Humanity will be embodied in a web-site that provides a focus—a nexus facilitating the organization, coordination and cooperation among an international community of people engaged in the work of protecting Humanity. It will be a dynamic, evolving, ecologically frugal, system composed only of information, information processes and the electronic storage required to house them. It is fundamentally comprehensive—including all of mankind and its future within its scope. Organizing the skills, talents and resources of experts in all areas of research to detect, predict and identify threats to the survivability of our species it strives to be comprehensively anticipatory.

WISH will be self-regulating in the sense that the peer reviewed section of the web-based International WISH Science Journal will ensure the rigorous, empirical validity of its content. And, the second WIKI-like section will provide a forum that ensures that unorthodox, paradigm-breaking creativity is not suppressed. The effectiveness of WISH can be measured over long periods of time by evaluating its participation in the successful avoidance of serious threats to large numbers of people.

In a sense the question of the replicability of WISH is an oxymoron, because its very foundation is that it is a single integrated system. However, it quite possibly could turn out that special areas of interest, e.g. geological threats (“super volcanoes, etc.) or astronomical threats (comets, asteroids, etc.) will be spawned in web-sites using the same technological resources. Another view of its replicability, is as one hosted web-site available to the entire world. In a very real sense no more are needed.

We have seen, in the history of the internet, over and over again how a community of participants can grow from zero to several million almost overnight, e.g. Google, Amazon, MySpace, Facebook, etc. The WISH website addresses an area of broad interest and extreme importance. It’s functionality is quite simple: to establish effective connections, store pertinent information and distribute it efficiently among participants. Its existence will be widely promoted as a result of the award of the Buckminster Fuller Challenge prize.

Is it achievable? I have no doubt that it will happen. Either a effective and efficient nexus like the WISH website will be developed or links will spontaneously appear among more special purpose web resources slowly creating a de facto, but probably less efficient immune system for our species-as-a-whole. The development of the WISH website and the International WISH Science Journal will certainly hasten the evolution of an effective electronic immune system for Humanity in cyberspace.