I think that people who use the word "transhumanism" can say a lot of silly things, but I do not think that the idea is fundamentally silly. On the contrary, it is what makes the most sense to me.
Firstly, I would claim that technology already hijacked evolution. Biological evolution works at scales of time that are orders of magnitude larger than current human progress, and technology is reshaping our collective genome very fast and in several ways. I just read a piece of news the other day talking about how parents are starting to be able to choose the most healthy fetus in assisted reproduction(!) scenarios. A wealthy 80-year old can be kept in relatively good health by modern medicine and have children. C-Sections. Gene editing. Etc. Culture is already totally enmeshed with machines. Recommendation algorithms learn our collective preferences (and addiction vulnerabilities) to optimize "user engagement", content creators attempt to please the algorithm and are guided by it, and there is an ongoing feedback loop between culture and algorithms that will end who knows where. The other day I was being lazy lying in bed, and I contemplated the amount of devices and cables surrounding me, devices that have an increasing awareness of me and that connect me to a collective system. If you allow me to be a bit whimsical: the various cables almost felt like and external cardiovascular or nervous system, and every few years a new gadget occupies another one of my orifices or attaches to yet another one of my limbs. Sometimes the attachment doesn't take the first time (Google Glass), sometimes it quickly becomes quasi-permanent (Apple AirPods). AI is now progressing fast, and it is increasingly obvious that it will eventually surpass us along all cognitive dimensions. Our only chance of survival is merging with our own creation, and transhumanism is already happening, from what I can observe. Telmo Am So, 10. Jul 2022, um 19:16, schrieb Lawrence Crowell: > This amounts to a refutation of silliness by what is preposterous. > > LC > On Saturday, July 9, 2022 at 10:19:30 PM UTC-5 Samiya wrote: >> Transhumanism >> >> >> : aiming to create the god-self? >> >> https://signsandscience.blogspot.com/2022/06/transhumanism.html >> >> Transhumanism - II >> >> >> : Natural vs Artificial >> >> https://signsandscience.blogspot.com/2022/07/transhumanism-ii.html >> >> Transhumanism - III >> >> >> : bypassing the womb? >> >> https://signsandscience.blogspot.com/2022/07/transhumanism-iii.html >> >> Transhumanism - IV >> >> >> : escaping death for a thousand years? >> >> https://signsandscience.blogspot.com/2022/07/transhumanism-iv.html >> >> Transhumanism - V >> >> >> : purposefully imperfect >> >> https://signsandscience.blogspot.com/2022/07/transhumanism-v.html >> >> >> >> >> >> > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Everything List" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/fa93d42a-2e98-4cb4-b1ee-7552c0ded406n%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/fa93d42a-2e98-4cb4-b1ee-7552c0ded406n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/0412e264-114b-460d-a553-b6fd4f206ea9%40www.fastmail.com.
