How will technology shape our future?

by **schizotypal** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 7:09 am

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>(Atlanta) -- Humanity is the verge of an incredible future. Technologies that seem like science fiction are already becoming science fact as researchers develop innovations that will transform the very essence of what it is to be human. "The pace of change is exponential, not linear," says inventor, entrepreneur, author, and futurist Ray Kurzveil. "So things fifty years from now will be very different. That's pretty phenomenal. It took us fifteen years to sequence HIV, we sequenced SARS in 31 days." Nanotechnology, genetics and cybernetics will mean that we will become faster, stronger and more beautiful; we will live longer and banish disease; we will be more intelligent and quicker-witted with photographic memories and the ability to go days without sleep. "We're doubling the power of computers every year for the same cost," says Kurzveil. "In 25 years, they'll be a billion times more powerful than they are today. At the same time we're shrinking the size of all technology, electronic and mechanical, by a factor of a hundred per decade, that's a hundred thousand in 25 years." Kurzveil argues that the growth of computing power, miniaturization and increased technical prowess will turn the world into an incredible place -- free from the conflicts over resources and wealth that have plagued it and in the last century and almost led to our obliteration in the fires of global thermonuclear war. That is, if you believe one particular school of thought. Other, equally eminent, minds believe we are on the cusp of an incredible disaster -- possibly even our own extinction -- as the technology we are so rapidly giving birth to moves beyond us, and self-replicates, casting us aside or even exterminating us. In a 24-page article published in Wired magazine in March 2000, Bill Joy, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, laid out his grave fears for the future of humanity. In doing so he began a debate about whether we were really in control of the technology we were producing and such rapid speeds. Kurzveil's vision fills him with horror: "I can date the onset of my unease to the day I met Ray Kurzweil." "Enhancement and transhumanism opens up a real debate," says baroness Greenfield, Professor of Pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford University. "Biotech, nanotech and cognitive enhancement will lead to a blurring of the boundaries of what it is to be human and a collapse of the traditional boundaries that define us. There's a very real risk of creating a world of have and have-nots led by an arms race of ideas, and for what?" A new, wealthy elite of superhumans with access to self-enhancing technologies could create a social divide that would make the eugenics and racial superiority myths of the Nazis look like high school politics -- and exact their own terrible Final Solution on the 'obsolete' poor. Or rogue nanotech could endlessly self-replicate and smother the globe in 'grey goo'. Terrorists or careless scientists could release genetically engineered plagues that could annihilate the population of Earth. "Increasingly science is nudging into the realm of ethics," says Greenfield. "Soon we will see the rise of bio-ethics as a serious discipline. But it should be given the status of politics." Perhaps we will hand over so much control of our lives to self-reproducing robots, simply because they will do things better than us, that one day they will decide they don't need us anymore. Game over. Or perhaps the future is more complex -- and more nuanced. Human beings have a knack for survival and muddling through. We have survived ice ages and industrial revolutions, and lived through the high wire tension of the Cold War without turning our civilization into ash as so many predicted. Perhaps technology influences society but doesn't always determine its direction. Culture, religion, trends and political movements all affect the way humanity interacts with science. Perhaps as a species we will sometimes take the knocks, and sometimes ride the waves of what the future has in store for us; suffering and benefiting in something approaching equal measure. But overall we will survive. These three scenarios - which author Joel Garreau named Heaven, Hell and Prevail in his book, Radical Evolution - dominate debate about our future. Over the next three weeks CNN Future Summit will hear the arguments from all sides, speak to the key thinkers involved, and ultimately invite you to draw your own conclusions about what lies ahead for us all. <a href="http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/lead-story476.htm">www.raidersnewsupdate.com...ory476.htm</a><hr></blockquote> What are your thoughts on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism">Transhumanism</a>?

by **NewKid** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 7:42 am

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>Terrorists or careless scientists could release genetically engineered plagues that could annihilate the population of Earth.<hr></blockquote> Yes, but only terrorists and careless scientists can do this.

by **Joe Hillshoist** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 11:22 am

My thoughts on transhumanism fall between Well its probably a good thing cos we sure made a mess of being human. Well it would probably be a good idea to understand what it means to be human before you try and transcend it. And like many cyberpunk conceits, I think it stems from childhood discomfort about your body. Specially shame about it being "not good enough".

by **schizotypal** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 11:32 am

From: <a href="http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/Commentary/Luciferianism.htm">www.conspiracyarchive.com...ianism.htm</a> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>(...)Transhumanism offers an updated, hi-tech variety of Luciferianism. The appellation "Transhumanism" was coined by evolutionary biologist Julian Huxley ("Transhumanism," Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, no pagination). Huxley defined the transhuman condition as "man remaining man, but transcending himself, by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature" (no pagination). However, by 1990, Dr. Max More would radically redefine Transhumanism as follows: <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Transhumanism is a class of philosophies that seek to guide us towards a posthuman condition. Transhumanism shares many elements of humanism, including a respect for reason and science, a commitment to progress, and a valuing of human (or transhuman) existence in this life… Transhumanism differs from humanism in recognizing and anticipating the radical alterations in the nature and possibilities of our lives resulting from various sciences and technologies… (No pag<hr></blockquote><hr></blockquote>[/quote] <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Transhumanism advocates the use of nanotechnology, biotechnology, cognitive science, and information technology to propel humanity into a "posthuman" condition. Once he has arrived at this condition, man will cease to be man. He will become a machine, immune to death and all the other "weaknesses" intrinsic to his former human condition. The ultimate objective is to become a god. Transhumanism is closely aligned with the cult of artificial intelligence. In the very influential book The Age of Spiritual Machines, AI high priest Ray Kurzweil asserts that technological immortality could be achieved through magnetic resonance imaging or some technique of reading and replicating the human brain's neural structure within a computer ("Technological Immortality," no pagination). Through the merger of computers and humans, Kurzweil believes that man will "become god-like spirits inhabiting cyberspace as well as the material universe" (no pagination). Following the Biblical revisionist tradition of the Gnostic Hypostasis myth, Transhumanists invert the roles of God and Satan. In an essay entitled "In Praise of the Devil," Transhumanist ideologue Max More depicts Lucifer as a heroic rebel against a tyrannical God: <blockquote>Quote:<hr>The Devil—Lucifer—is a force for good (where I define 'good' simply as that which I value, not wanting to imply any universal validity or necessity to the orientation). 'Lucifer' means 'light-bringer' and this should begin to clue us in to his symbolic importance. The story is that God threw Lucifer out of Heaven because Lucifer had started to question God and was spreading dissension among the angels. We must remember that this story is told from the point of view of the Godists (if I may coin a term) and not from that of the Luciferians (I will use this term to distinguish us from the official Satanists with whom I have fundamental differences). The truth may just as easily be that Lucifer resigned from heaven. (No pag<hr></blockquote><hr></blockquote> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>According to More, Lucifer probably exiled himself out of moral outrage towards the oppressive Jehovah: <blockquote>Quote:<hr>God, being the well-documented sadist that he is, no doubt wanted to keep Lucifer around so that he could punish him and try to get him back under his (God's) power. Probably what really happened was that Lucifer came to hate God's kingdom, his sadism, his demand for slavish conformity and obedience, his psychotic rage at any display of independent thinking and behavior. Lucifer realized that he could never fully think for himself and could certainly not act on his independent thinking so long as he was under God's control. Therefore he left Heaven, that terrible spiritual-State ruled by the cosmic sadist Jehovah, and was accompanied by some of the angels who had had enough courage to question God's authority and his value-perspective. (No pag<hr></blockquote><hr></blockquote> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>More proceeds to reiterate 33rd Degree Mason Albert Pike's depiction of Lucifer: <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Lucifer is the embodiment of reason, of intelligence, of critical thought. He stands against the dogma of God and all other dogmas. He stands for the exploration of new ideas and new perspectives in the pursuit of truth. (No pag<hr></blockquote><hr></blockquote> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Lucifer is even considered a patron saint by some Transhumanists ("Transtopian Symbolism," no pagination). Transhumanism retains the paradigmatic character of Luciferianism, albeit in a futurist context. Worse still, Transhumanism is hardly some marginalized cult. Richard Hayes, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society, elaborates: <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Last June at Yale University, the World Transhumanist Association held its first national conference. The Transhumanists have chapters in more than 20 countries and advocate the breeding of "genetically enriched" forms of "post-human" beings. Other advocates of the new techno-eugenics, such as Princeton University professor Lee Silver, predict that by the end of this century, "All aspects of the economy, the media, the entertainment industry, and the knowledge industry [will be] controlled by members of the GenRich class. . .Naturals [will] work as low-paid service providers or as laborers. . ." (No pag<hr></blockquote><hr></blockquote> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>With a growing body of academic luminaries and a techno-eugenical vision for the future, Transhumanism is carrying the banner of Luciferianism into the 21st century. Through genetic engineering and biotechnological augmentation of the physical body, Transhumanists are attempting to achieve the very same objective of their patron saint. <blockquote>Quote:<hr>I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah 1<hr></blockquote><hr></blockquote> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>This declaration reflects the aspirations of the power elite as well. Whatever form the Luciferian religion assumes throughout the years, its goal remains the same: Apotheosis.<hr></blockquote> Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=schizotypal@rigorousintuition>schizotypal</A> at: 6/16/06 9:48 am

by **Joe Hillshoist** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 11:54 am

Isn't the post human condition death?

by **schizotypal** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:32 pm

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>US report foretells of brave new world By Nathan Cochrane July 23 2002 Next A draft government report says we will alter human evolution within 20 years by combining what we know of nanotechnology, biotechnology, IT and cognitive sciences. The 405-page report sponsored by the US National Science Foundation and Commerce Department, Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance, calls for a broad-based research program to improve human performance leading to telepathy, machine-to-human communication, amplified personal sensory devices and enhanced intellectual capacity. People may download their consciousnesses into computers or other bodies even on the other side of the solar system, or participate in a giant "hive mind", a network of intelligences connected through ultra-fast communications networks. "With knowledge no longer encapsulated in individuals, the distinction between individuals and the entirety of humanity would blur," the report says. "Think Vulcan mind-meld. We would perhaps become more of a hive mind - an enormous, single, intelligent entity." Armies may one day be fielded by machines that think for themselves while devices will respond to soldiers' commands before their thoughts are fully formed, it says. The report says the abilities are within our grasp but will require an intense public-relations effort to "prepare key organisations and societal activities for the changes made possible by converging technologies", and to counter concern over "ethical, legal and moral" issues. Education should be overhauled down to the primary-school level to bridge curriculum gaps between disparate subject areas. Professional societies should be open to practitioners from other fields, it says. "The success of this convergent-technologies priority area is crucial to the future of humanity," the report says. wtec.org/ConvergingTechnologies/Report/NBIC-pre-publication.pdf <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/20/1026898931815.html">source</a><hr></blockquote>

by **schizotypal** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:33 pm

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>US report foretells of brave new world By Nathan Cochrane July 23 2002 Next A draft government report says we will alter human evolution within 20 years by combining what we know of nanotechnology, biotechnology, IT and cognitive sciences. The 405-page report sponsored by the US National Science Foundation and Commerce Department, Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance, calls for a broad-based research program to improve human performance leading to telepathy, machine-to-human communication, amplified personal sensory devices and enhanced intellectual capacity. People may download their consciousnesses into computers or other bodies even on the other side of the solar system, or participate in a giant "hive mind", a network of intelligences connected through ultra-fast communications networks. "With knowledge no longer encapsulated in individuals, the distinction between individuals and the entirety of humanity would blur," the report says. "Think Vulcan mind-meld. We would perhaps become more of a hive mind - an enormous, single, intelligent entity." Armies may one day be fielded by machines that think for themselves while devices will respond to soldiers' commands before their thoughts are fully formed, it says. The report says the abilities are within our grasp but will require an intense public-relations effort to "prepare key organisations and societal activities for the changes made possible by converging technologies", and to counter concern over "ethical, legal and moral" issues. Education should be overhauled down to the primary-school level to bridge curriculum gaps between disparate subject areas. Professional societies should be open to practitioners from other fields, it says. "The success of this convergent-technologies priority area is crucial to the future of humanity," the report says. wtec.org/ConvergingTechnologies/Report/NBIC-pre-publication.pdf<hr></blockquote> source: <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/20/1026898931815.html">www.smh.com.au/articles/2...31815.html</a>

by **schizotypal** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:35 pm

Looks like transhumanists want to escape death, become imortal etc.

by **blanc** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:42 pm

we are all one consciousness yet we still have armies???

by **Joe Hillshoist** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 10:30 pm

My wife mentioned something she heard the other night, there is a huge percentage of u 20s whose hearing has adapted to hear ringtomes from mobile phones, the freqencies that they are capable of hearing are higher than those in the over 20s age bracket... Don't have a source, Ang probably heard it on Australian ABC bews at some point in the last few days. Ever think that transhumanism is an attempt to build devices to capture human souls? There is a bit of lore in the mad conspiracy world that somewhere somehow a machine was built to trap souls and thats what life on earth is. The matrix series of films approaches this concept. Perhaps that is one those precognitive moments, like dreams of an apocalypse. Something that the collective hyperconscious had invoked into memetic form to warn us... Perhaps cities are prototypes...

How will technology shape our future?

How will technology shape our future?

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internal contradictions

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