1471: A Future Fate of Mankind: Discover How AI, Space, and Human Potential Shape Our Tomorrow with Veterinarian, Scientist, and Novelist Dr. Howard A. Covant

Robert Plank 0:01 Dr Howard a covant has lived a life steeped in medicine and science. He's a veterinarian, he's a scholar, and now he is a novelist. And his very amazing book that you should run to Amazon and check out right now is called destiny, a future fate of mankind, and it dares to ask what might happen when our creations surpass our conscience. So Dr Howard, glad to meet you, glad to be speaking with you about your amazing book we should all read. Thank you very much. You're very welcome. So what's this all about? What did you write and who's it for?

Howard Covant 0:39 Actually, the book is for me, that's a really good question. I am not a novelist. I have spent my life in science, understanding how everything developed, why the world is here.

Howard Covant 0:53 And I just had an idea and a story. I was science fiction addict, and so I just thought, you know what? I think I can write a story.

Robert Plank 1:03 Yeah. And the process took a long time, but it wasn't written for everybody. It was written for myself, until other people started reading it and saying, You know what, this is really good. So from there, it just flowed down the river. Super cool. It took on a life of its own, and it's always fun, right? To say, Well, I've done all this work, I've done all this research, learned stuff, got the facts and figures, but what would happen if the AI went nuts and started building on its own? Or what would happen if this other future scenario occurred? And it's just, it's interesting, right? So a thought experiment expands the mind, and then it kind of like it's, it's more entertaining. Education is great. But sometimes we say, you know, I just want to have fun, right? I just want to be picked up on this river that you mentioned and be taken away on the story. And so, what is the story? What's the plot to Destiny, a future fate of mankind? So it's

Howard Covant 2:01 actually a philosophical evaluation of mankind and what we are, who we are, what we're destined to do, and what we can do with our great imagination and abilities. It's a very positive book about the future.

Howard Covant 2:18 It has all your typical sci fi adventure and excitement and newfound discoveries, but it's really a concept about how man grows and sometimes falters, and if AI did take over, maybe it would result in the destruction of humankind.

Howard Covant 2:38 And it's kind of illustrated through the story

Howard Covant 2:42 from the perspective of a reluctant hero who gets kind of captured in this flow of conspiracies and technology and his voyage through life.

Robert Plank 2:55 Well, very nice. Well, it sounds like an amazing read, and this is a timely subject, isn't it, these last few years, AI has really become a thing and, and it's like, it's kind of always been here, but man, now it's gotten mainstream. And like, you think about the future, right? You think, Well, you know, dinosaurs lived all these millions of years, but they didn't have intelligence, they didn't really build things, they couldn't go up to other they couldn't go to space. So they just kind of stayed stagnant. And with humans, it's like, Well, are we too unstable, right? Will we destroy ourselves? And even to go to that nearest habitable planet, will take 1000s of years. So isn't it better to just send the machines there and then? What's the point of humanity and What? What? And with the transhumanism, what would humanity even be in like, 5000 years? We sure as heck, won't even probably look like this, right? So it's like, well, are the machines the future, and do we lose ourselves and so? But I'm curious about like, your take, like, what do you think, as far as what you've expressed in this book? Like, what will these future centuries, millennia look like?

Howard Covant 3:58 You know what? Everything you just said can be capsuleed in the book. It is I can't give too much away, because that's going to take away a lot of the excitement. So what I will say is it

Robert Plank 4:13 follows the track of man over 1000s and 1000s of years and postulates about why we're here? Is there God? Are we destined to fall? Are we destined to rise? Where is man going? Ooh, except so the big questions. And I'm curious, without giving away too much with the book, but like, what are your thoughts on this? Because, like with the, you know, some people are, like, really religious, or they're they're stuck to like these old rules, and there's been, you know, 1000s of religions throughout humanity, but then you look at all these like universal constants, right? You look at pi and E and I, and you're just like, it's weird how there are these like parameters in place, as if we're maybe like a computer simulation, or did something create us? But.

Robert Plank 5:00 But then I think, well, aren't we like, fleas on the dog's back, right? How could we even say, like, oh, well, we know what created us. It's this thing. So, but what are your thoughts on that? Because my mind just gets blown and hurt just even thinking about these big questions. So I'm curious about your take. So from my perspective as a scientist, I have two doctorates, one in veterinary medicine and another one in biomedical sciences. I've lectured at universities. I've done a very wide range of practice. I'm going to say

Howard Covant 5:34 I'm a very optimistic person. For man,

Howard Covant 5:37 it is something that I think we will get through our traumas. Yes, we will fall and we will pick ourselves up. I think we have great spirit and determination. I have no doubt we will go beyond the planet Earth in the solar system and eventually colonize the solar system. The question of going to other solar systems or meeting alien species. I think that one is right now,

Howard Covant 6:04 certainly not within the physical realms of our understanding. And I think it's a potential, and it's a great thought that we could, can we do a Star Trek type thing, where we can go to different places in our own time and visit new planets? That's great.

Howard Covant 6:21 So that is part of the book. I have used AI very specifically in my book to actually be a friend and a helper.

Howard Covant 6:30 It has its own character in the book, which I get a lot of positive feedback through readers about how they just love the character that was the AI that I put in there.

Robert Plank 6:42 It's a very optimistic book about where man is going, but the fact that we have to direct ourselves we're it's going to be work. It's not going to be an easy thing. Yeah, and I like that whenever there's these depictions of AI, like, when it's like the Hollywood and wants to kill us all, when it's like Skynet, I'm like, That's so lazy, isn't it? That makes for great action. But what does that even like lead to? And then you think, from that religious point of view, you think, well, like, you know, say there was a creator that created humanity. Then what does humanity then create? You would hope that it would be something maybe better than us, right? Like the three laws of robotics. It's like, well, the these machines have, like, built in morals, right? They're for the betterment, that's all, yeah. So,

Speaker 1 7:30 so as far as, as far as, like that, that sort of aspect, like, the the AI, like, I mean, like, what kind of feedback have you gotten about the book? You said that people like that there's like the positive depiction, like, what are the reviews like? Or what are people said about this book just today, the number one response that I have from most of the people that have read it is that I owe them a night of sleep, because at some point during their read, they just could not put it down. So for me, that was an absolutely great thing for them to say. The other one is

Howard Covant 8:05 they could really visualize this book as a movie that the way things are described, and they can visualize it in their head, and they can just see how this would actually work out to be a very visual movie as well. Oh, and is that a possibility? Is that something that you've looked into or might happen, I

Robert Plank 8:23 haven't really looked into it right now. I just like people to read the book and tell you what everything you've just said, my book discusses in depth. Oh, nice. So, so if you're already listening this, you've gotten this far, and you're like, hey, this is speaking my language. Then we need to check out this book we've been speaking about, which is called destiny, a future fate of mankind by Howard a Covent. And you said a little bit ago that you wrote this book for yourself, and then you put it out there, and there's been like this kind of feedback that's energized you and helped you along. And so what was that writing process like? Because I imagine that you said, you have all this knowledge that you have, you've done your speeches, your lectures, you have all this research. But to take this huge, just mass and to turn it into something that's a story and a plot, like, what was that process like? And how did you get to the finish line? Because I'm sure many people, they want to have a book or they have a half finished book, but, man, finishing that's a whole nother story. So how did you do it?

Howard Covant 9:24 Well, first of all, is the book ever truly finished? I could have probably sat and tinkered with it and changed the story lines here and added other little scenarios there, and probably played with it for another decade without any difficulty. But at some point, I think I reached the point where, you know, I think it can stand. I think this book will, you know, I think I got as far as I'm going to go. Right now, it's time to release and see what other people think

Robert Plank 9:50 wonderful. You cook the meal and you say, Oh, I could add a little spices, but at some point, like, hey, let's just put it on the plate. Let's eat the meal. But there always is more to say.

Robert Plank 10:00 That's always fun, right? You think about sequels or spin offs, or this other character goes on other adventures, or you say, Well, I've got idea one, maybe there's something on idea two, have you thought of or are there plans for other books from you?

Robert Plank 10:16 I hadn't thought of it. I was just thinking of writing the storyline for me, but at the same time, I've the book develops a very tightly knit group of, we'll say, Marines, including alien species, that could easily be put into future books or future ideas. I think it's a really strong team. They developed great friendships and positive ideals through it. Ooh, nice. So maybe that's in the works. And you know, you mentioned aliens a couple of times, and you know, when you do the research, you deep dive on the YouTube the Fermi Paradox always comes up, right? Like, Wait, well, maybe the aliens will hear our radio signals or we'll understand theirs. But then you're like, Well, why haven't aliens? If there's, like, one alien species in the galaxy, why aren't they, haven't they colonized the whole thing, right? Shouldn't they be everywhere? Are we in the dark forest or something like that? But like, what's your take? Why haven't we heard from aliens yet? Well, I think distance is obviously a great impediment to what's going on.

Howard Covant 11:25 How we survey our sky through our machines also limits us, because we're only looking at a tiny fraction of the space that's out there.

Howard Covant 11:35 But I'll say time is also another factor. We have to take into consideration that civilization that you're talking about could have lived a million years ago for us, that's an eternity, and therefore their signals are long gone, their ability to come to us, because maybe they're no longer around. Maybe there is a bigger species, and there's

Howard Covant 11:58 they already do know that we're here, but have elected that at our current state of development, we're far too primitive. You know, the way mankind is, if an alien came down here, the military would be all over it in two seconds. Everybody would would, you know, freak out and and would then people start to try and take advantage of these aliens, just like every settler has ever done on this planet earth or man's history, so maybe they're waiting for a

Howard Covant 12:27 more mature human being to develop before they will allow contact, and unfortunately, that could be 1000s of years away.

Robert Plank 12:36 My book talks about that, and that's a fascinating idea, isn't it? That it's like, well, we need to become better, like, more morally and culturally. And I read something the other day that said, like, if aliens really wanted to mess with us, right? There's sometimes there's like, the umula, mula, or the Atlas, three eye going through. And like, well, is that just debris? But someone said, Well, if aliens wanted to mess with us, go and go to Mars and then fly really close to Earth at such and such speed, where it's like, slow enough where we can see it, but too fast for us to catch it, and just for like six months, go from Mars to Earth and fly by and do nothing else, and then leave and make no contact, nothing. And I'm thinking, if aliens did that, we'd destroy ourselves, right? We'd fight over stuff, and it would mess with us. I get closer and closer, and even it just came and went, and just that was it. So it and so you think, well, we're not really there yet as a we're not really prepared to make this outside contact. But how do we get there? Like you say, well, we need to, maybe, number one, not destroy ourselves, and then number two, set a really good example. So like, what do you think is is missing in the current day and age? As far as us just making humanity better?

Howard Covant 13:56 I think that man is on a journey, and we do need to mature. We are not the same type of society, because society is also part of man. We are not the same society that existed 1000 years ago or 2000 years ago. Where we're going depends on who our future leaders are, what ideas men come up with to to allow us to proceed forward.

Howard Covant 14:19 But when we come to aliens, I'm going to say really, it depends on the way aliens approach us. So if they approach us in a peaceful manner, everything that you said probably applies. What happens if they attack

Howard Covant 14:32 God forbid that. I think would unify men. I think we would become one and very strong. That's where human potential shines.

Unknown Speaker 14:41 Threat.

Robert Plank 14:43 We'd love it to be peaceful, but then we know how people are going to react. That's probably we're not mature enough yet, huh? So you have to want and that opens up about all kinds of fun ideas, right? You have to wonder, like, let's say aliens, like pretend to do it.

Robert Plank 15:00 Attack us, or, like, sort of attacked us just for the purposes of getting us unified. That's a funny thing to think about, right? Let's say they, they don't really want anything from us. They don't want to attack us, but they're like, Hey, let's nudge them along a little bit and see if they can shape up

Robert Plank 15:15 anything's possible. Because they're aliens, and they were able to get here. They're so far ahead of us, who knows what they're thinking or why? Yes, it's beyond our comprehension. And so instead of saying, well, I'll I don't have any answers, it's fun to play with the what ifs, and that's a great reason to dive into the science fiction and explore these ideas in an entertaining way. And you know, we've talked and danced around and talked about all these different subjects, like AI and aliens in the future and leadership, but you're the expert, right? You're the BSC, DVM, PhD, you're the author, speaker. And so you tell me, in this conversation we're having here, Dr Howard, what's the missing question? What should I be asking you? I just don't know what to ask you.

Howard Covant 16:06 So my profession allows me to access what I'll call the nuclear family.

Howard Covant 16:12 In my profession, as a veterinarian, I see people's emotions and their care for their animals, and I see how the family works between the kids, the parents, the grandparents. And I really do see the human potential, the compassion, the love that is certainly unbridled, that they have with their pets. I see that as a very positive feature of humankind. And I think those types of things are benevolence or compassion, our ability to understand the concerns of others is a really positive motivating force for humankind. And yes, there will be evil. It's going to happen. There are people now that are going to take advantage, and maybe they'll take over the world for a century or two. But is that only going to forge man into a better thing as he moves through that and becomes what we think we want, freedom,

Unknown Speaker 17:04 safety,

Unknown Speaker 17:06 opportunity.

Robert Plank 17:09 Will man get to other planets if we survive long enough? In 1000 years? I'm certain the physics are going to eventually be worked out. Something's going to happen whether we're going to be able to get to in our lifetime, maybe not. Maybe it'll have to be electronics, and we can holographically visit these places, but we can't live there, because we can't get there. Who knows, give us enough time, I'm sure man can do anything. Yes, I believe it, and it's it's always fun to explore the ideas, right? You hope that we can send the machines to some planet, and in 10,000 years, it gets there and maybe builds the houses and prints new DNA and grows new humans. And we say, see, you didn't actually have a human go from point A to point B, but we grew new humans once we got there, and we kind of got it done anyway. And so there's so many possibilities. And so if someone says, Okay, this guy, Howard kovat, he's got his book, Destiny, a future fate of mankind, there's this adventure. There's these team of people. They go and they go explore, and there is the AI, and there's the future, and there's the space travel. Where should someone go to claim the book? Are you someone that says, Go to my website, go to Amazon. What's the next step here? It's available online, or your favorite book retail, very nice. And are you plan on doing any kind of like going to bookstores or book tour, book signing, or is it just online promotion?

Robert Plank 18:39 I'm in Canada, so in Canada, I will start with some probably book signings. Right now I'm getting some people to read it, like yourself. Okay, so one step at a time, first read it, and then as far as US following you, if there's someone in Canada who says, Hey, maybe he's close by me, do you have like, a website, mailing list, social media? Is there a way someone can subscribe to you and keep updated? Absolutely. Author.ha,

Howard Covant 19:08 covant@gmail.com

Howard Covant 19:10 is my website and my web email address and I also have the same website as well. Okay, so how to get to that website is author

Howard Covant 19:25 H A covet.com

Robert Plank 19:27 h a covant.com

Robert Plank 19:29 All right, awesome. So that's the website of Howard a covat, and he has these hard science fiction books. As we said, he's a veteran scientist now a visionary storyteller, and we've been discussing this gripping novel destiny, a future fate of mankind, which shows and talks about how humanity has conquered disease and expanded across the solar system, yet remains trapped under the rule of a tyrannical empire.

Robert Plank 20:00 There, and it's up to Dr Martin tavir, who's freed from its control and to embark on this perilous mission to uncover Deep Space secrets that could alter humanity's fate forever. It sounds exciting. We can find out more about it by going to author H, a covant.com,

Robert Plank 20:20 that's C, O, V, A, N, t.com,

Robert Plank 20:22 and that book, you can see the link that takes us right to Amazon, which is called destiny, a future fate of mankind, intergalactic travel, long life, instantaneous communication, near perfect health through implanted microchips exist, but there's this harsh reality the Orthodox Republican empire, 1000 year regime, enforces strict religious obedience and crushes any dissent with an iron grip. So you want to jump into this book and check out the breathtaking alien world, stunning discoveries and unimaginable dangers. And before I let you go. Dr Howard, it's time for the scary part of the podcast where I try to stump you. I try to put you on the spot by asking about a fun or interesting quote or lesson that has served you that you can pass on to us. So what comes to mind as far as a fun or interesting quote or lesson,

Howard Covant 21:20 everything is impossible until it is done.

Robert Plank 21:25 Very nice, very motivating. And has there been a time in your life when you've experienced that, when you were like, I can't do this. It's impossible. It might as well be FTL travel. But then you figured it out. Anything come to mind?

Robert Plank 21:40 You just discuss life's journey for everybody. Everybody has to fight to where they are today for you to be where you are. How many times did you almost say, Why am I doing this? Is it even worth my while? But look, it's positive. You've got to keep fighting if that's what you want, that's what you've got to go for. That's why the destiny is in your hands, yes, and that's on brand, right? Because the book is called destiny, and I think about all the time, right? There's you have to kind of make the decision over and over again. You might consider it a test to see if you really want it, and whether that's publishing a book, or jumping off on some career or starting a new adventure in some other location. It's like, well, how badly do you want it? Can you be persistent? Can you set a goal, stick to it, overcome all the negativity, and hey, if you are looking for a book to entertain, motivate, inspire you, and just maybe help you relax from all the stress that is just all around with this uncertainty about the future, then check out this very amazing hard science fiction book by Dr Howard a covant. It's called destiny, a future fate of mankind. You'll love it. You can find it on Amazon, wherever books are sold, as the kids say, or even better, author H A covant.com So, Dr Howard covan, it's been such a blast, such a thrill ride, speaking with you. Thanks for being here and discussing your amazing book. Thank you very much. I've enjoyed the interview very much as well. You.