10 Reasons I Am A Transhumanist

Yes, apparently the icy fingers of Digg reach far and wide; even to the face of this blog. It's like they always say; stare into the void long enough, and the void stares into you. That being said, let's begin; and please try to keep in mind that this list is of ten semi-random reasons, and isn't in any particular order.

10. Who wants to live forever? Me -- and I'll take it with or without the scottish accent.

Researchers such as Aubrey deGrey are working on human longevity increase. Now, this could be 'radical life extension' -- i.e., living for 10,000 years -- or it could just be an extra 20 years of good health. But either way, if we don't do something to increase human lifespans, our falling reproductive rates (much of the first world is now in negative population replacement rates), will result in a major economic collapse. The added benefit of avoiding arthritis and Alzheimers' are just plain bonuses where I'm concerned. This is especially true considering that many studies indicate that today's seniors do not wish to retire like they did in the past. If medical science can make that feasible, then why not? Besides; if life is the greatest game of all, why not give in to the impulse to play "just one more turn"?

9. Because I'm enough of an anime fan that the idea of living 'catgirls' makes me giggle inside.

Body modification is a very real, and thriving, activity today. As the technology develops for somatic genetic engineering (that is, genetic engineering that only affects the person it's used on, and isn't inheritable), advanced surgical modification, and yes -- even biomechanical devices, this range is likely to increase. And while most of this will be applied to standard modification of the self; remember -- plastic surgery is meant to make us more attractive -- that is in no way an argument against achieving it. There are naysayers whom would have us believe that if everyone was beautiful, nobody would care. Most of these people aren't aware of evolutionary psychology's implications for the "baby's beauty-response studies" which did just that -- judged what newborn babies found more attractive (by studying eye-motion with comparative faces). Since there is a well-known link between satisfaction in life and physical attractiveness, it seems patently unfair to prevent people from choosing to take the chance on a new look.

8. I, for one, welcome our new robotic overlords. Especially the servile ones that will likely eradicate human toil and sweat.

Everyone today is familiar with the old story of the worker whose job was replaced by a machine. The associated economic displacement has in many ways given the 'robot' a dirty name. But the simple fact of the matter is that as these machines do their 'dirty work', the products they make become more affordable -- and thus more easily used by the poor, directly enhancing the lower-income range's quality-of-life and standards of living -- as well as expanding the economy, which historically speaking has always created more jobs than it has destroyed. Now, at some point in the future that might very well change; when our robots can start doing all of the thinking we are capable of, they might 'automate' the services industry completely, for example. There have been estimates that by the year 2030 or so, fully 50% of the economy will be completely automated -- that is, 0% human input. What such studies ignore is that the economy will also expand by more than 2x what it is today. And who knows what effect that kind of wealth will have on society-at-large, eh? Perhaps we might even reach a point where simple charitable giving will be sufficient to make a perfectly comfortable life for the permenantly unemployed. Failing that, there's always the socialized answer -- one this libertarian despises -- but with a "robotic" twist; establish laws that require portions of profits derived from automation to be 'redistributed' to those whom are left on their backs. But hopefully society can work those kinks out on its own.

7. We've come too far technologically to turn our backs on it and have anything other than the catastrophic failure of human civilization as a result.

When was the last time you, my reader, hunted and killed an animal for you and your family's consumption over a fire that you yourself had lit without the benefit of any kind of non-hand-manufactured devices? Either for the hunting or for the fire? There's an adage that 'the progress of technology is inevitable' or something like that. Some people -- the neo-Luddites -- see this as the most horrific possible scenario; an answer I've always found quite odd considering the impact of technological progress on the human condition. It's been my experience that most people who talk about "the simple life" have never seen an animal skinned; nor have they seen someone's arm mangled in a loom (many wouldn't even know what a loom is). While that's no excuse to run full-throttle into the future, all bright-eyes and bushy tails, it's also no excuse to turn our backs on something that could radically and fundamentally improve our existence.

6. The average person today is stupid, damnit!

All impact of the Flynn Effect aside, we live in a condition today where nearly one in three people will say that the sun goes 'round the earth. One area of progress that we have seemingly specifically avoided is the improvement of our own minds; however, if we don't do something to change this, it is very likely that the impact of Rational Ignorance will continue to degrade our democratic society as it continues to feel the heavy burden of the inefficiencies derived from the governance of an ever-expanding number of people.
In other words; if we don't do something with science/technology to make people smarter, we can look forward to entire generations of Presidents whom are worse and worse than George Bush. Consider; the "term-average" approval rating for each Congress and President has been on a continual downward spiral for decades. Over 50% of the American population doesn't bother to vote -- ever. Democracies (and republics) can only retain their freedom if the public is well-informed and active in politics. As it stands right now, that burden is simply beyond the capacity of the average person. Does anyone else smell that "Failure of the Nation" pie cooking in the oven?

5. I want to know Kung-Fu.

Currently, one of the funded goals of DARPA is to acheive what is referred to as an "in-out brain-computer interface". (In 'popular culture' this has also been referred to as a "Data-Jack".) The potential benefits to such devices are enormous. Think; you'd never forget the phone-number of the girl/guy you met in the bar last night, or where your keys were, ever again. But that's only the vulgar. Imagine the cost-reduction to education if multi-variable calculus was something that you could learn by paying $100.00 USD and installing a software patch? They also say that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. So much for that little problem, eh? Now, there are some significant hurdles to achieving such technology -- but they are well worth overcoming, and effort is being made specifically to do so.

4. It would be nice to have a backup of myself in case of accident.

One of the many topics being discussed within transhumanism is the idea of "mind uploading". We discuss the idea of mapping the brain and storing that in digital format. Now, there is still, apparently, some debate as to whether such a 'stored format' could operate; that is, could a human mind exist as pure data? But regardless of this, if we can map the mind, we can also rebuild that mind. While this wouldn't actually be the same person as you -- the laws of quantum mechanics and physics in general demand otherwise -- it would be who you were up until that point. And it's a pretty comforting thought to think that you could, technically speaking, 'live forever.' Even if you couldn't remember your own death.

3. I want some say in who will inherit the earth.

Think about it. As they say, "Nothing lasts forever". Some day, the 'reign' of humankind will come to an end.. Now, we could just idly evolve into the next species, or we could just wipe ourselves out through some variant of the game called "Global Thermonuclear Warfare" (Remember, kids; if the computer asks if you'd rather play chess, Say YES). But it simply makes more sense to do what we can to ensure that what inherits the planet (or cosmos, if you like), will be Friendly.

2. I believe it's part of every person's duty as a human being to improve themselves.

Let's face it, we indulge those funny-looking guys in white coats and thick glasses with so damned much money because they improve life for everybody else. So in a real way, science is about improving ourselves. Why not cut out the middleman, as it were, of improving our environment so our lives are better and simply improve ourselves with science? Now, don't get me wrong; this is not an implication that humans are somehow 'intrinsically flawed' or 'inferior'. Compared to the species that preceeded us, homo sapiens is practically god-like. But why stop there? Are we to be so incredibly arrogant as to believe that the human being is the perfected pinnacle of creation, never to change and with no room for improvement? Nature used only four of the twelve known viable base-pairs for DNA. An estimated 5-10% of our DNA is directly from bacteria. Nobody know what effect introns have on the genetic code. But as some in transhumanist society love to point out, the silicon transister's baud rate (speed by which it transfers information) is some several orders of magnitude greater than the neuron's.

1. Since everything in life is connected, if you improve one thing you improve the rest.

Will transhuman alterations improve society for the greater? Who knows. Certainly it will improve life for those whom are so modified, Francis Fukuyama be damned. But, hell -- if it's good enough for the Mormons, then it's good enough for everybody. Moving aside from the infernal/religious imagery, at the end of the day, whenever you ask any explorer why he did what he did, the answer is generally one of two:

• Because I could.
• To see what was there.

For transhumanism, it's good to add just one more:

• I want to be better.