TRANSHUMANISM: The Technological Singularity

[User Name]

Humanism is a philosophy of life that considers the welfare of humankind. Transhumanism is the idea that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology.

Information technology has been growing at an exponential pace for decades. For example, every year computers are getting smaller, cheaper and more powerful. In computing, the doubling process takes about 18 months (see Moore's Law). If we plot this exponential growth on a graph, we see that we will come a point of critical mass in the near future where the exponential upward curve becomes nearly vertical--a moment in human history referred to as "the technological singularity":

Within a dozen years we should have a computer that can functionally simulate the intellectual and emotional capabilities of the human brain. This is what is known as "Artificial Intelligence" or "AI" for short. Whereas the capacity of the human neocortex has been physically constrained over the past tens of thousands of years of human evolution, AI will continue to improve itself with a precision, speed and intelligence that is currently inconceivable to the human mind. We will then expand our neocortexes by synthetically connecting to AI and integrating our consciousness with it, at which point its abilities will become our own. Using gene editing techniques, we will edit our genes in order to enhance and optimize our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. This will be the next big leap in human evolution.

 

[annabenedetti]

There's a TV Series called Humans that explores this idea from a fictional what-if standpoint:

I don't know as much as I'd like to know about the singularity, but the possibilities and the ethical dilemmas that are going to be facing us in the next decades are something to be concerned about. Neil Postman's prescient books Amusing Ourselves to Death and Technopoly are both good reading as a way of examining our human response and responsibilities, even if Postman predated the technology he only anticipated. If the singularity is going to happen, I doubt there will be anything that can stop it.

 

[User Name]

I don't know as much as I'd like to know about the singularity, but the possibilities and the ethical dilemmas that are going to be facing us in the next decades are something to be concerned about.

I suppose that as with anything else, there will be positives and negatives. Hollywood sells tickets by emphasizing the scare-factor, but I think the positives will far outweigh the negatives:

 

[annabenedetti]

I suppose that as with anything else, there will be positives and negatives. Hollywood sells tickets by emphasizing the scare-factor, but I think the positives will far outweigh the negatives:

Actually, the series Humans isn't really going for the scare factor, more exploring the idea of robots having consciousness and feeling emotion.

I watched your video and it made me think of Brave New World. It seems they're looking for a real-life soma-based technology.

 

[User Name]

I watched your video and it made me think of Brave New World. It seems they're looking for a real-life soma-based technology.

It's what's coming if present trends continue. Also check out Neil deGrasse Tyson's discussion with Ray Kurzweil linked in the first post if you haven't already, for further understanding of the technological trends and where they are headed. I'm really quite optimistic about the future. I think we are headed for bigger and better things!

 

[annabenedetti]

It's what's coming if present trends continue. Also check out Neil deGrasse Tyson's discussion with Ray Kurzweil linked in the first post if you haven't already, for further understanding of the technological trends and where they are headed. I'm really quite optimistic about the future. I think we are headed for bigger and better things!

I have watched it, and thinking about how far we've come in the last decade (it's hard to believe it's only been 10 years since the first iPhone), I can't imagine where we'll be in another dozen years. I think AI advances in medicine will be good when it comes to disease and defects, not so good when it comes to the ethical determination on how those interventions are allocated. How could a machine be other than utilitarian? When it comes to actually altering personalities, who determines good from bad? How much does pathology have to veer from normal, go outside the normal range of human personality traits, before there's an intervention? How long do people really want to live? How many years would a woman want to be of childbearing age, for example?

 

[Selaphiel]

While I find this quite interesting, I'm philosophically convinced of the A.I. view on consciousness, I think it has insurmountable problems. In other words, I'm not convinced that computers can become conscious regardless of processing power. I'm not a dualist though, I rather lean towards a form panpsychist view of consciousness.

I think comparing the human mind to a computer is fundamentally flawed. A computer is all about syntax manipulation, there is no semantic reference in a computer. As in, I think a computer can calculate mathematical problems faster than a human brain, but I am not convinced it understands mathematics, it is mere symbol manipulation. No amount of processing power will change that. This is essentially John Searle's Chinese room argument against an AI view of consciousness.

I also think there are reasons to be critical of transhumanism from an ethical point of view, not because it manipulates the human being. But I see a potential for an increased class differentiation, which potentially creates A and B humans. Lastly, I think there are spiritual grounds for criticism. Transhumanist immortality (which is an extreme version of it) is a morbid immortality in my view, in a way such immortality could sound hellish. It is an enlargement of the ego and the will for power, rather than a spiritual (although there are morbid forms here as well) of immortality, which involves a radical transformation of the self, an eternal life beyond the death or extinguishment of the ego.

 

[User Name]

Jason Sosa is the founder and CEO of IMRSV, a computer vision and artificial intelligence company and was named one of "10 Startups to Watch in NYC" by Time Inc., and one of "25 Hot and New Startups to Watch in NYC" by Business Insider:

 

[User Name]

Sam Harris raised and addressed serious concerns about AI in this TED talk:

 

[User Name]

New tech spawns new anxieties, says scientist and philosopher Grady Booch, but we don't need to be afraid an all-powerful, unfeeling AI. Booch allays our worst (sci-fi induced) fears about superintelligent computers by explaining how we'll teach, not program, them to share our values. Rather than worry about an unlikely existential threat, he urges us to consider how artificial intelligence will enhance human life:

 

[User Name]

Origins host Jason Silva explains the concept of technological singularity and how artificial intelligence is nothing to be afraid of:

 

[User Name]

Transhumanist immortality (which is an extreme version of it) is a morbid immortality in my view, in a way such immortality could sound hellish.

Scientists unveil a giant leap for anti-aging: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170323141340.htm

Advancements in anti-aging may not be so artificial or morbid after all. There are certain animals, such as some jellyfish and lobster, which have indefinite lifespans because they are able to regenerate their bodies. I have no doubt that one day, we humans will be able to do the same.

 

[The Berean]

Scientists unveil a giant leap for anti-aging: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170323141340.htm

Advancements in anti-aging may not be so artificial or morbid after all. There are certain animals, such as some jellyfish and lobster, which have indefinite lifespans because they are able to regenerate their bodies. I have no doubt that one day, we humans will be able to do the same.

Assuming that a technological "fountain of youth" is ever created who will have access to this technology? Rich people, that's who. I doubt this technology would be made available to people living in ghettos and barrios or homeless people.

 

[User Name]

Assuming that a technological "fountain of youth" is ever created who will have access to this technology? Rich people, that's who.

Not the rich only. If you do a little research on NAD+, you will find that scientists have already used it to reverse aging in mice, and human trials will begin in about 6 months. If all goes well, we could have a supplement on the market within a few years that could dramatically reverse the effects of aging, and would be reasonably affordable.

 

[The Berean]

Not the rich only. If you do a little research on NAD+, you will find that scientists have already used it to reverse aging in mice, and human trials will begin in about 6 months. If all goes well, we could have a supplement on the market within a few years that could dramatically reverse the effects of aging, and would be reasonably affordable.

Will this extend life or simply slow down the aging process?

 

[User Name]

Will this extend life or simply slow down the aging process?

The 2 year old mice that have been tested are now indistinguishable from 2 month old mice. I assume it does both. Human testing should begin later this year. We'll see what happens. I am optimistic!

 

[The Berean]

Not the rich only. If you do a little research on NAD+, you will find that scientists have already used it to reverse aging in mice, and human trials will begin in about 6 months. If all goes well, we could have a supplement on the market within a few years that could dramatically reverse the effects of aging, and would be reasonably affordable.

What is reasonably affordable? Are we to believe that the poor, the homeless, and the disenfranchised will have access to anti-aging technology?

 

[User Name]

The following linked article from Motherboard is about the views of French Jesuit priest Teilhard de Chardin: The Jesuit Priest Who Believed in God and the Singularity

I particularly agree with his views about the inter-connectedness of living things; a direction to evolution trending towards increasing complexity, interconnection, and intelligence leading inexorably toward human beings; and an emerging superhuman intelligence.

Julian Huxley, the biologist and eugenicist, wrote:

"The human species can, if it wishes, transcend itself--not just sporadically...but in its entirety, as humanity. We need a name for this new belief. Perhaps transhumanism will serve: man remaining man, but transcending himself, by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature."

 

[User Name]

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[User Name]

SoftBank CEO Promises “Super Artificial Intelligences” With IQ of 10,000 in 30 Years: https://futurism.com/softbank-ceo-p...l-intelligences-with-iq-of-10000-in-30-years/