[ExI] Blackford and Egan on >H

[aiguy at comcast.net]

2008/4/27 MB <mbb386 at main.nc.us>:

>  For me the sad part is the lack of evolutionary pressure here. 
> Becoming a cyborg  isn't heritable. :( So it's a dead end. It's just 
> us with new fancy tools. :(

If cyber enhancements such as direct man/computer interfaces drives up the
IQ and mental productivity levels of mankind.

Then the evolutionary pressure will be to have the best cyber enhancements.


Nations will compete to develop the best enhancements for they will equate
to a intellectual and economic advantage.

So even if the biological portion of our organism ceases to evolve the cyber
enhancements will evolve quickly.

Subcultures that reject cyber enhancements will be at an increasing
intellectual and economic disadvantage.

And may have to resort to niche cottage industries as the Amish do today.
(Farming and Furniture Making)

As the enhancements shrink in size some utilizing nanotechnology and other
biological mods self directed evolution will become the norm.  

And the biological mods may very well become heritable as we learn to
rewrite genetic code as we are now learning to read it.

And while this scenario will sound frightening and repugnant to many people
now.  The changes will happen gradually and be accepted gradually in the
same way that tattoos and and piercing have become commonplace and almost
mainstream today.

And although we will then be truly transhuman we must fight at every step of
the journey to maintain the best of our humanity.