Amid the surge of the digital economy, machines—represented by blockchain—are profoundly reshaping the relationship between humans and nature. However, just as an overreliance on a single formal system (i.e., blockchain) limits the architecture of cryptocurrency technology, our understanding of the triad “humans, machines, and nature” often falls into isolated perspectives. Drawing inspiration from Bitcoin’s integration of multiple formal systems, this paper explores the complex interactions among humans, machines, and nature from the perspective of scientific logic, and proposes a framework based on the integration of multidimensional formal systems.

I. The Limitations of a Single Perspective: Viewing Humans, Machines, and Nature as Isolated Systems

Traditionally, we tend to study humans, machines, and nature as relatively independent entities. Human society has its own unique social structures, cultural norms, and economic activities; machines, as man-made tools, operate according to predefined programs and physical laws; and the natural world possesses its own ecosystems, physical principles, and evolutionary processes. While this isolated view simplifies complexity to some extent, it fails to capture the deep interdependencies and dynamic interactions among them.

For example, regarding machines merely as tools to serve humans while ignoring their impact on the natural environment (e.g., energy consumption, resource extraction) and vice versa (e.g., extreme weather affecting infrastructure) leads to an incomplete understanding of machines’ role in the system. Likewise, separating human activity from the natural environment makes it difficult to explain the far-reaching effects of human behavior on ecological balance.

II. The Necessity of Multidimensional Integration: Constructing a Unified Framework

Just as building a robust distributed system requires integrating multiple formal systems, understanding the relationships among humans, machines, and nature demands moving beyond a single dimension of thinking to construct a unified, multidimensional framework. We can view humans, machines, and nature each as formal systems with unique attributes and operational rules, and by analyzing their interaction interfaces and information flows, reveal the scientific logic behind complex phenomena.

• Nature as an Information Source and Constraint: Nature can be regarded as a vast information system rich in physical, chemical, and biological data. Both humans and machines rely on perceiving and utilizing this information. At the same time, the physical laws and resource limitations of nature form the fundamental constraints for human and machine activity. As referenced in the image—“miners can perceive the energy input of the real world”—machines acquire information from nature through technologies like sensors, while “P/NP verification” can be seen as an analogy for understanding the complexity and verifiability of natural laws.

• Machines as Intermediaries and Tools: Machines, especially distributed networks like blockchain, can be seen as intermediaries in the interaction between humans and nature. Blockchain records and verifies transactions (“TX to verify ownership in human-machine interactions”), digitizing and establishing trust in human social activities. Meanwhile, machines serve as tools that extend human perception and transformation of nature. For instance, the image refers to blockchain as “a system linking humans and nature,” and “through machines, enabling better coordination between humans and nature.”

• Humans as Decision-Makers and Value Assigners: Humans play the role of decision-makers and value assigners in the system. Human needs and intentions drive the design and use of machines and influence the utilization and protection of natural resources. The image references “human-machine interaction (you touch it with your mouse)” and “the sum of all account balances at the UTXO addresses mapped by your wallet/your private key,” illustrating how humans interact with machines through specific interfaces and protocols, assigning value in the process.

III. The Inspiration of Bitcoin: Endogenous Perception and Ownership Mapping

Bitcoin’s innovation lies not only in being a decentralized ledger, but also in its clever integration of blockchain technology, the UTXO model (mapping individual human-machine interactions), and connection to the physical world through proof-of-work (PoW) and energy input (P/NP model for perceiving real-world systems). This fusion provides key insights for understanding the relationship among humans, machines, and nature:

• Direct Ownership Mapping: The UTXO model maps users’ “ownership” directly to specific transaction outputs on-chain, similar to humans’ direct ownership and usage rights over natural resources. Future machine systems can draw from this concept to build more direct and transparent asset and rights management mechanisms.

• Endogenous Real-World Perception: The PoW mechanism, by tying itself to energy consumption in the physical world, introduces an intrinsic value basis and time synchronization mechanism to the Bitcoin system. This suggests that constructing machine systems interacting with the natural environment requires mechanisms that internally perceive and respond to the real state and resource input of nature, rather than merely relying on external data inputs.

IV. Beyond a Single Blockchain: Building More Adaptive Systems

Just as overreliance on a single blockchain technology constrains the development of cryptocurrencies, viewing machines solely as tools disconnected from nature and humanity hampers the creation of more adaptive and sustainable systems. The future should move beyond single-technology perspectives, borrowing from Bitcoin’s model of integrating multiple formal systems to build intelligent infrastructures that better connect humans, machines, and nature.

Conclusion:

Understanding the relationship among humans, machines, and nature requires us to transcend singular perspectives and embrace the integration of multidimensional formal systems. Bitcoin’s success lies not only in its blockchain technology but also in its ingenious combination of ownership mapping and endogenous real-world perception mechanisms. Inspired by this fusion, future technological development should aim to build intelligent systems that connect humans and nature more directly and can perceive and respond to real-world changes through internal mechanisms—ultimately achieving sustainable human development and harmonious coexistence with nature. The image’s reference that “what is ultimately transformed is the relationship between humans, and the convenience brought by transforming nature through machines” also confirms this view—that the ultimate goal of machines is to serve human society and utilize natural resources in a more sustainable manner.