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To the Practical Trans-humanists
Today's trans-humanism is dominated by dreamers - those who buy into wild talks of almost religious like transcendence. This, by no means, should be condoned by those who claim to be freethinkers. Instead of waiting for the so called 'singularity' we must take what we have now. Adding and augmenting our wet-ware, as well as talking steps toward developing new ways to hack ourselves. By working towards, I do not mean simply going to meetings, or engaging in hopeful meta talk. How else will scientists and the wider society respect those who call themselves trans-humanists?
(In a nutshell, I urge you to be a Kevin Warwick, (a more responsible) Lepht Anonym, or a Bryan Bishop - NOT a Ray Kurzweil)
So how, then, do we go about doing this? With real knowledge, real expertise, real- concrete projects. For those of us that can, obtain a relevant education. During this education (more ideally, after) we can provide information and guidance to those working on projects. What is the end game? Educated individuals working on projects concerning H+, helping DIYers augment and alter themselves (within what is possible) as they see fit. People who actually DO something, people who will put the dreamers and meta speakers to shame.
Sapiens - the technology and knowledge is here - so what say you?
(In a nutshell, I urge you to be a Kevin Warwick, (a more responsible) Lepht Anonym, or a Bryan Bishop - NOT a Ray Kurzweil)
So how, then, do we go about doing this? With real knowledge, real expertise, real- concrete projects. For those of us that can, obtain a relevant education. During this education (more ideally, after) we can provide information and guidance to those working on projects. What is the end game? Educated individuals working on projects concerning H+, helping DIYers augment and alter themselves (within what is possible) as they see fit. People who actually DO something, people who will put the dreamers and meta speakers to shame.
Sapiens - the technology and knowledge is here - so what say you?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Orson_Zedd on -
I think the biggest obstacle is going to be, really, the fact that most people are not in a field to make advances or preform studies. I mean, I think we definitely need to encourage people to pursue careers that we would consider trans-humanist by nature. The problem ultimately is that the vast majority of people on this site are adults. I'm 24, myself. I can't go into something like artificial intelligence, that I have a deep interest in. My field of study is linguistics. Not that I couldn't make a contribution, but it does seem like something I'd need to have prepared for a long time ago.
Others are far older, of course. -
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Permalink Reply by Lukas on -
Ah - my apologies for assuming. I am 18, and I'm currently pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering. While I am at University I hope to get some of my friends interested in H+ technology. I assumed most people here were in the same boat.
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Permalink Reply by Orson_Zedd on
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It's quite alright. After all, you're only human.
I'm simply interested in transhumanism as both a philosophy in general and a philosophy of science. I also want robot eyes when these give out.
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Permalink Reply by Kelvin Hilerio on -
I have taken my first step, a couple days ago i checked out a book by dk essential science on artificial intelligence, it's not exactly a high level read but one has to start somewhere. Although more practicality is something we should all be aiming for, let's try not to be so dismissive of the theorists and the theoretical like Ray Kurzweil. There imaginations i find to be important, and i also think that a study of the philosophy of a.i. can't do us harm. Thanks for posting.
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Permalink Reply by Lepht Anonym on -
> (a more responsible) Lepht Anonym
boring.
L
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Permalink Reply by Zyklon B on -
Agreed. Responsibility limits us, we must make the best of what we have. If all we have is kitchen knives, vodka and magnets, so be it. If humanity as a whole was "responsible", we would not have as much information on sensory extension and "bio-hacking" as we do. If it was not for "irresponsible" people such as Lepht, most of said information would be reserved for the wealthy. Besides, where is the fun in being responsible?
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Permalink Reply by Roger Armstrong on
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I am glad I found this thread. I am also a Transhumanist. I however, do not believe the singularity will necessarily occur. I understand that humans have a need to improve themselves beyond what they are capable of doing with the bodies that they are born in. What I do not like is the direction that some of my fellows in Transhumanism are going in regards to the singularity. It is almost as if most of them are looking to the event as christians look to armageddon....or the rapture. We should not go this way; replacing one form of devoted fanaticism with another. Instead we should be cautious and study carefully the pros and cons of each new advancement and find the best ways to use them for the improvement of life for all of humanity. Like most here I'm very familiar with science fiction. One of the things that always occurs to me when somebody proposes that humans should all adopt a new technology is the line from "Ghost In the Shell" wherein Major Kusanagi is explaining to Togusa, a rookie recruit, why she chose him to join a group of cyborgs who are almost 100% machine, when he has had only one modification. She said: " If we all reacted the same way, we'd be predictable, and there's always more than one way to view a situation. What's true for the group is also true for the individual. It's simple: Overspecialize, and you breed in weakness. It's slow death." This is why I say there must be those who do not use technology to change themselves. This diversity will be better for the whole of humanity in the long run. In the same respect, we need people who will take to this new tech and use it for everything they can. I will gladly be one of the tech users...any thoughts?
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