Cooperation

Microbial systems illustrate specialization and cooperation through networks of bacteria performing different roles. The article applies microbial cooperation as an analogy for human cooperation and mutual protection. Achieving coordination at ecosystem scale is described as beyond current human comprehension and management. The article presents humans as cooperative systems at a deep biological level. Microbes in cooperative systems specialize, align, and may protect one another rather than all doing the same task. Cooperation is treated as a central requirement for solving goal alignment.