/ News
The Biggest Worry About Transhumanism
The transhumanism movement is rapidly catching on around the world. Everywhere I look -- whether it's in university laboratories, major news websites, or the boardrooms of tech companies -- the concept is being excitedly discussed and explored. The word "transhuman" literally means beyond human. Advocates want to use science and technology to radically improve our species, even if it means significantly altering the human being and how people experience the world. Only a decade ago, many laypersons found the concept of using transhumanist science to upgrade the human body and conquer death unbelievable and creepy. Now, many are wondering what the movement can do for them, and if it's the natural destiny of our species.
Despite the growing global acceptance of transhumanism, one major concern is repeatedly voiced by many people everywhere. The leading transhumanist science and technology is likely to come from large companies and elite universities, many of which are mostly controlled and administered by the uber-rich. It's therefore natural to ask: Will the uber-rich -- the wealthiest 1 percent of people on the planet -- freely share with the rest of the world the transhumanist technology they develop? Or will they take it for their own and attempt to create an Aldous Huxley Brave New World scenario, where they become the bonafide rulers through radical technological advancements that others can't access.
Frankly, since I don't belong to that 1 percent, I worry about this exact thing myself. The concern is no longer just a classic science fiction movie plot or a fringe conspiracy theory. Luckily, history does provide us with clues about our future when civilization makes massive leaps forward. Just consider the effects of society harnessing electricity, embracing jet air travel, or the ubiquitous use of the Internet. Those leaps have proven highly favorable for the species as a whole.
According to a 2013 World Bank report:
The number of people living on less than than $1.25 a day has decreased dramatically in the past three decades, from half the citizens in the developing world in 1981 to 21 percent in 2010, despite a 59 percent increase in the developing world population.
Mortality rates have dropped dramatically too -- about 1 percent a year for the last 40 years -- according to a detailed 2010 study in journal The Lancet.
Many of these living standard improvements for the world's population can be attributed to increased economic growth, which has been largely driven by technological innovation.
Consider some of the most pervasive technologies and medicines we have: cell phones, automobiles, vaccines and antibiotics. Most people on the planet, no matter how poor, have access to much of this technology, all which can be considered transhumanist-themed. Cell phones, for example, can be found being used by nomads living in African deserts. Another example is the many NGO and government-sponsored groups in Asia and Latin America vaccinating millions of street children for diseases such as Polio and Measles.
"Measles remains a major cause of death in children age five years and younger," says Dr. Scott J. Cohen, M.D., Founder and Medical Director of Global Pediatric Alliance.
Prior to 2000, there was more than 1500 child deaths everyday due to measles in under developed countries. Since 2000, more than 1 billion children in developing countries have been vaccinated against measles through mass vaccination campaigns. The measles death rate in developing countries has now dropped to about 330 per day, according to the World Health Organization.
Clearly, such broadly shared modern advancements are improving the world and helping the poorest. Another fact that encourages me about the future of science and technology are the personalities creating it. Mostly gone are the days of brazen, monopolistic tycoons such as John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, or Andrew Carnegie, who often operated on a "survival of the fittest" business model, sometimes at disregard to their employees and the public. Entrepreneurs today, like Larry Page of Google, Mark Zukerberg of Facebook, and Elon Musk of Tesla, are more sensitive to the public, to a civil business environment, and to democratic ideals. These are people whose top priorities include supporting the use of technology and innovation to open the world and to improve lives.
Despite this, people continue to worry that technology and science that make our species more transhuman will be used to create a deeper divide in society for the haves and have-nots. Those worries are unfounded. A close examination of the issues show that transhumanist technology and science liberates us, brings us better health, and has improved the living standards of all people around the world. If you value liberty, equality and progress, it makes sense to embrace the coming age of transhumanism.
Follow Zoltan Istvan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/zoltan_istvan
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zoltan-istvan/the-biggest-worry-about-t_b_5362161.html
/ About us
Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
/ Follow us at:
/ Contact:
For additional information, partnerships and sponsorship, contact:
info@2045.com
Media requesting information and interviews, contact PR@2045.com
LinkedIn
LiveJournal
Google
Twitter
Facebook
Я.ру
ВКонтакте
Mail.ru