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A Transhuman Future Has Been Humanity's Goal Since Discovering Fire
You might think that Humans are a noun, but in reality we’re actually a verb – we’re an action; an occurrence; a state of motion! As a noun, Humans would have to be redefined constantly throughout history. The question you should ask yourself is: Are we as we once were?
Are we still those hairless apes, who stood upright, wandering the African plains during sunlight? No. Once we discovered fire, how we defined our own species changed forever – we then became a species that could wander at both night and day, extending our reach during shorter periods of time.
“I live on Earth at present, and I don’t know what I am. I know that I am not a category. I am not a thing — a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process — an integral function of the universe.”
– R. Buckminster Fuller
Which then raises the question: When did our species start taking control of our own evolution? Plenty of people today would say that we likely began taking control of our evolutionary development at the start of the 21st century, which included the successful mapping of the entire human genome. Though I would argue that our species began taking control of our own evolutionary development when we first discovered fire.
“Exploration is in our nature. We began as wanderers, and we are wanderers still.” – Carl Sagan
Our species were quite limited from a biological standpoint. Natural selection didn’t grant us the ability to see at night like other species throughout the animal kingdom. This not only limited our ability to see, but equally limited our ability to wander. But then something changed: we made a scientific discovery – fire! And not just the existence of fire, but subsequently how to create fire and use it for our own benefit. As I said before, we then were no longer limited to merely wander at sunlight, but equally at night, extending our footprint across the African plains.
Had we not discovered fire, what would become of our species? Either we’d somehow survive and acquire the biological sense of sight at night after a very long period of time waiting (centuries, if not longer!) or we would have died and gone extinct by those predators who could see in the dark. And so, when we discovered fire, we told ourselves that we’re not going to wait for either evolution or death to find us. Instead, we’re going to harness this scientific discovery and take control of our lives!
That was when we started taking control of our own evolutionary development. From there, we never stopped. With the invention of the wheel, we extended our means of travel once more. With the invention of telecommunication, we extended our means of communicating with the rest of the world. And now, in the 21st century, we’ve set our sights on transcending every other biological limitation we have left. We are constantly in motion – that is how we define Humanity.
So whenever someone tells you that the goals of the Transhumanist movement are really nothing more than a war against nature and our natural selves, you tell them this story. Human nature was never some static entity that allowed itself to be dictated by natural selection. Our nature consists of the innate drive to wander and transcend! The Transhumanist Age is merely our next journey.
Photo Credit: Global Change Awareness
Source: http://www.seriouswonder.com/transhuman-future-has-been-human-goal-since-discovering-fire/
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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”.
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