[extropy-chat] transhumanism as slippery slope

[Robert Bradbury]

On 11/1/06, spike <spike66 at comcast.net> wrote:

> Macleans reviews the book America Alone by Mark Steyn:
>
>
> http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/article.jsp?content=20061023_134898_134
> 898
>

Works better when the URL isn't munged by the mailer (:-|).

http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/article.jsp?content=20061023_134898_134898

It is interesting given the pessimistic analysis of the demography of an
Islamic population in Europe that there is a counterbalancing trend in the
U.S. which is the continual immigration from Mexico and Latin America
(Catholics vs. Islam).

The open question remains whether we (the leading edge) will simply choose
to emigrate (to the oceans, to the ocean floors, to Antarctica, to outer
space)?  Leave the planet to the believers -- just as we leave parts of
Pennsylvania to the Amish, parts of Maine to the Shakers, etc.  So the jihad
takes over Europe -- its a small fraction of the planet.

It is interesting that the concept is about one tribe controlling real
estate or political systems or perhaps nuclear weapons -- rather than about
energy or technology.  If you take into account the land area of places like
Russia, Canada and Australia (with relatively small Islamic population
fractions and less than open arms immigration polices) then one perhaps sees
over the next 30-50 years is shift of perhaps 10-20% of the land area being
under Islamic control to something like 20-30%.  The larger  countries more
distant from Mecca have sufficient energy resources (once they get off the
oil addiction) that they can adopt a Japanese solution to the near term
demographic crisis (avoiding the path the Europeans have chosen).

The analysis also doesn't seem to appreciate how biotech and/or nanotech
and/or robotics (or AI) completely change this analysis [1].  The only
question might be what happens if we get Catholic or Islamic AIs?

R.

1. The European's don't need to allow the immigration they currently allow
if biotechnology extends healthy lifespan and the elderly choose to return
to work (rather than be a burden on the state) or if nanotechnology makes
need for state support unnecessary or if robots replace the functions
performed by immigrants (or some combination of these).  The picture painted
is *only* a done deal assuming societies remain organized as they currently
are.
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