[extropy-chat] Always On - The Techno Sapiens Are Coming

[Giu1i0 Pri5c0]

Always On - The Techno Sapiens Are Coming - The promise and peril of
nanotechnology invite a closer look at its ethical
implications<http://www.alwayson-network.com/comments.php?id=12607_0_32_0_C>.
The author Dr. C. Christopher Hook, MD, quotes the conference proceedings on
"Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance" as seminal
documents for government sponsorship of nanotechnology, biotechnology,
information technology, and cognitive science/cybernetics to enhance human
beings. Though Dr. Hook demonstrates a good understanding of the horizons
opened by recent advances in NBIC: " *Many scholars are anticipating cyborg
and nanotech enhancements as means of forestalling aging or even pursuing
immortality. The possibilities belong mostly in the realm of science fiction
right now, but they seem less and less improbable as the years go by *", he
has a quite negative attitude.
Referring to the debate on using technology "beyond therapy" for human
enhancement, Dr. Hook writes: "*My hope is that those involved in this
research will heed the wisdom of the report of the president's Council on
Bioethics released last October, which examines the ethical and social
meanings of using biotechnologies for purposes "beyond therapy." It is a
statement appropriately skeptical of transhumanist and scientific utopianism
*".
My comment: I do not heed the wisdom of this report, which seems to me more
like a statement inappropriately skeptical of progress, science and human
values.
We have been using technology to enhance our bodies for centuries. Reading
glasses were one of the first examples, followed by dental implants,
orthopedic prostheses, and countless other aids that have improved the
quality of life of billions. Direct neural interfacing with computer
systems, the ultimate step toward "seamless" interfacing by direct brain
implants to which Dr. Hook refers, will be just one more step on the same
road leading to better bodies, better minds, and a better life . As Dr. Hook
says, such tools will move beyond therapy into augmentation, or enhancement,
of "normal" individuals.
As a humanist I affirm human values and think that whatever can improve the
quality of life of people, without decreasing the quality of life of other
people, is good and worth pursuing. As a transhumanist, I am in favor of
using technology to improve our lives by overcoming the limitations of our
bodies and minds.
We do not wish humans to "*go gently into that good night*", and we do not
think this will happen. On the contrary, we see technology enabled human
enhancement as one more evolutionary step for our species. Humans will
remain humans, but with vastly improved capabilities.
I do not consider my frail body, short-lived and vulnerable to horrible
diseases, as a defining feature of my human identity. What I do consider as
defining features of my human identity are reason, curiosity, understanding,
and love. So even when technology will permit " *tapping the contents of my
mind and transfering them into the metallic lattices of a computer*", I will
retain the really important aspects of my human nature.
We want everyone to enjoy a better life: how can anyone be against? We find
the answer in " *Embodiment is fundamental to our identity, designed by God,
and sanctified by the Incarnation and bodily resurrection of our Lord*". So,
this is just the old war of religious fundamentalists on reason, progress
and humanist values.
Sorry Dr. Hook, but I don't think embodiment is fundamental to my identity,
and I am not sure if I believe in any God. If I did, mine would be a God of
Love and not a God of Fear: a God who has given us a mind capable of
understanding the universe, and using such understanding to improve our
lives.
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