Views of space travel have grown increasingly pessimistic in the
last decade. This is not surprising: SETI still has
received no unambiguous requests for more Chuck Berry from its
listening posts, NASA is busy
re-inventing flywheels and citizens even of first-world countries
feel beleaguered in a world that seems increasingly hostile to any
but the extraordinarily privileged. Always a weathervane of the
present, speculative fiction has been gazing more and more inwardly
– either to a hazy gold-tinted past (fantasy, both literally and
metaphorically) or to a smoggy rust-colored earthbound future
(cyberpunk).
The philosophically inclined are slightly more optimistic.
Transhumanists,
the new utopians, extol the pleasures of a future when our bodies,
particularly our brains/minds, will be optimized (or at least not
mind that they’re not optimized) by a combination of
bioengineering, neurocognitive manipulation, nanotech and AI. Most
transhumanists, especially those with a socially progressive
agenda, are as decisively earthbound as cyberpunk authors. They
consider space exploration a misguided waste of resources, a
potentially dangerous distraction from here-and-now problems –
ecological collapse, inequality and poverty, incurable diseases
among which transhumanists routinely count aging, not to mention
variants of gray goo.
And yet, despite the uncoolness of space exploration, despite
NASA’s disastrous holding pattern, there
are those of us who still stubbornly dream of going to the
stars.
Artificial intelligence, super-extended lifespans, colonies in
outer space – the future seems like a weird (and sometimes, scary)
place. Then again, it’s all about perspective. From a transhumanist
point of view, the advances in technology and intelligence will
give us the opportunity to be more fully human than ever before in
history. To explore these views, we tracked down the authority:
Natasha Vita-More, the “first female philosopher of transhumanism”,
according to the New York Times.
A media artist and normative futurist, Natasha splits her time
between lecturing internationally, heading up Transhumanist Arts &
Culture, and serving as an advisor for several future-focused
non-profit organizations. Her current research interest
investigates the multiple interpretations and values concerning the
human 2.0 as regenerative existence, and human 3.0 as an emerging
connective intelligence. She took the time to participate in an
interview with me, and explained what transhumanism is all about
and why we should seek to improve the human condition.
NVM: “Transhumanism is a set of ideas
which represents a worldview to improve the current situation that
we as humanity are facing, which includes short lifespan, limited
cognitive abilities, limited sensoral abilities, erratic
emotions…starvation, lack of housing, or lack of, basically,
getting any of the necessary fundamental needs met. We look
ardently at how technologies, including the NBIC technologies – nanoscience, bioscience,
information science, and cognitive science – can possibly be used
to help solve some of the problems in the world that address humans
being stuck in a state of stasis.”
Ever wonder what transhumanism is really about? The video below,
produced by the German
Transhumanist Association, serves as a pretty good primer on
the basic tenets of this increasingly popular philosophy.
The video asserts that transhumanists ponders the question “what
does it mean to be human?” and believe that “scientific and
technological process may give humans the unique possiblility to
overcome their own natural physical, cognitive, and psychological
limitations.” The piece also touches on the potential dangers of
advanced technology, such as increased inequality and worldwide
destruction, as well as the positives, such as enhanced quality of
life.
Plus, the music takes it to a whole new level. ;)
Any die-hard transhumanists reading this post? Please add any
basic principles you think this video failed to mention in the
comment thread below.
Yesterday, the journal Nature reported researchers at the
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine had successfully tested
a robotic arm which was controlled using only the signals from a
monkey’s arm. (A good overview of the technology can be read in
this article: “Mind
over Matter: Monkey Feeds tself using its Brain”.)
The test was not the first such test but it does suggest that
the technology is getting better and will likely someday soon be
used to aide people with spinal cord injuries or other debilitating
diseases such as Lou Gehrig’s disease or MS.
I would, however, encourage people to think beyond these
immediate applcations. Michael Berger of Nanowerk recently had a
very thoughtful – and thought-provoking – piece entitled
Nanotechnology, transhumanism and the bionic man, in which he
discusses how technologies which were initially created for the
disabled could become a platform for “the acceptance of
transhumanist ideas and products.”
He is right and the aforementioned brain-neural technology is a
perfect case in point. In the beginning, it will be sold as a tool
for the disabled but as the technology continues to improve it will
eventually be viewed by some people (but not all) as a way to
perform at a higher level—both mentally and physically. I discussed
this idea briefly in this piece entitled “Pong and the President’s
Brain” a few months ago, but the issue is worth thinking about
in greater detail. (cont.)
“A futurist is someone who can take a look at a strip-mall and
experience instinctual fear.”
Exemplifying that role is Mac Tonnies, a futurist
and sci-fi author who enjoys exploring everything from
post-humanity to the paranormal. Armed with zingers like the quote
at top and a keen sense of wit, Mac enjoys walking the line between reality and science
fiction, much like contemporary Vernor Vinge (who
also happens to be featured on the site
today).
“A futurist’s job is to live in the future, to experience it,”
points out Mac, “That can sometimes make the present a lonely
place, but it can also make it exhilarating.”
Tonnies’ imagination stretches far indeed, frequently frolicking
into the realm of outer space:
“We’re already seeing some exciting new thinking about
democratized space travel,” say Tonnies, “for example: this could
lead to a large-scale colonization of space and, ultimately, the
effective end of the nation-state. As William Burroughs said,
‘we’re here to go.’ I’d personally like to see humanity become a
space-faring species.”
Tonnies’ most recent book,
After the Martian Apocalypse , focuses on intelligence on Mars.
So, I asked him, “Where are all the extra terrestrials?”
We are entering the first stages of a robotic society that
futurists believe will not end until man and machine join forces.
Today, artificial pets act as companions to children and seniors,
and self-operating machines clean homes and mow lawns.
By 2015, robots will perform a variety of household chores; by
2020, many human jobs will be filled by robots; and by 2030, robots
will be competent in most human activities.
This trend will peak in the mid-2030s when machines laden with
strong AI surpass human intelligence and begin making copies of
themselves, with each generation smarter than the last. This will
cause an information explosion unlike anything the world has ever
experienced and will result in the development of machine-to-human
brain interface systems.
Some people will scan their minds capturing all of the memories,
emotions, and thought processes that describe them as a human being
– and upload that data into a robot and become the machine. Others
will download the vast stream of machine intelligence directly into
their brains and become an intelligence-enhanced human.
Over the next few years, molecular nanotechnology and the
number-crunching abilities of quantum computing will enable humans
and human/machines to redesign their bodies and brains to increase
efficiency until they both morph into a replica of each other. At
that time, society may consider both machines and humans as
“transhumans.”
With nano-neuron upgrades, future human minds will run at speeds
up to 1 billion times faster than today’s slow mushy biological
brains. We will possess unimaginable abilities in vision, hearing,
smell, taste, and touch; and sport new capabilities like the
magnetic sense that birds possess, and pre-cognition – the ability
to see immediate future events before they happen. (cont.)
Fueled by accelerating change, transhumanism
(H+), the belief that humans can and should consciously evolve past
our current limitations, is on the rise. It’s a safe bet that over
the coming years this budding philosophy, or memeplex, will make
its way into the minds of millions of humans, maybe more. However
it lines up with reality, transhumanism will exert a big impact on
our future (barring a near-term cataclysmic event, of course).
Certain aspects of transhumanism appeal to my logical and
emotional parts. Logically, I can see that accelerating change will
transform the human body and the human brain, perhaps enabling
immortality, telekinesis, teleportation, possibly even
“transcendence.” Emotionally, I like the idea of establishing
greater control over my environment in order to best externalize my
imagination (fostering peace, health, happiness), transform my
existence and, essentially, play in the universe however I damn
well choose.
However, when attempting to simulate the future, particularly a
hyper-fastKurzweilian future
or Ted Modis’
moderately
slower future , I’ve found that I cannot embrace a wholly
transhumanist-compatible view of the years to come because
transhumanism, unsurprisingly, fails to provide an adequate
definition of the term “human”. (cont.)
To explore these views, we tracked down the authority:
Natasha Vita-More, the “first female philosopher of transhumanism”,
according to the New York Times.
wit, Mac enjoys walking the line between reality and science
fiction, much like contemporary 
