Spy agency predicts megahumans by 2030

Source

In the year 2030, Asia will surpass North America and Europe and become the global economic powerhouse it once was during the Middle Ages. Deaths from communicable disease will drop by 40 percent. The majority of the world's population won't be poor and among them will walk bionic superhumans with neuro-pharmaceuticals coursing through their veins.

These are just a very small fraction of the predictions made by the soothsayers over at the National Intelligence Council (NIC), a US coalition of 17 government intelligence agencies. The NIC's prophecies were recently detailed in Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds, a 140-page report that identifies "megatrends" expected to emerge over the next 18 years and radically alter the world as we know it today. The report is the fifth installment of NIC's Global Trends series, which seeks to provide a proactive framework for thinking about the future.

"We are at a critical juncture in human history, which could lead to widely contrasting futures," writes Christopher Kojm, NIC chairman, in the report's introduction. "It is our contention that the future is not set in stone, but is malleable, the result of an interplay among megatrends, game-changers and, above all, human agency."

Chief among the megatrends is the diffusion of power and individual empowerment. The West is set to take a back seat to Asia's economy as technology levels the playing field and other "non-Western or middle-tier states" begin to rise. The middle class is expected to expand in most countries, but won't feel secure due to the one billion workers from developing countries expected to flood the labor pool.

I, personally can't wait for these kind of things to come to fruition.

I think our future is to merge with our technology controlling our own evolution.

There is so much potential as to what we can do and become, as long as we do not let greed get the best of us. If we can somehow manage to get over this hump that we have created ourselves and realize that we are all working for the common good here, we would be golden.

Anyway just thought I would bring this here to see what others opinions are on the subject.

Any thoughts?

Pred..

2030? Maybe these "Intelligence Agencies" aren't as intelligent as they think.

Asia has already surpassed US as top global trader and experts think more scepticism and caution needed in regard to the enhancement use of neuropharmaceuticals.

I'm all for transhumanism.
I plan to be the first kid on my block with a completely synthetic mind/body.

It'll certainly be rather interesting if technological singularity ever occurs where our machines are as smart as or smarter than ourselves. To keep up with them, we'd need have means to augment ourselves; to develop cognitive prostheses, and even whole machine bodies we could swap into.

An interesting aspect to the idea of being able to download into a machine body would be the aspect where the same could potentially be done in reverse, where we could have purely artificial intelligences download into biological bodies.

If such becomes a reality where human body blanks could be purpose grown, people could design their own perfect match in a mate from software personality and loyalty parameters, to the perfect 10 in personally pleasing body type in a mate.

It's an interesting and fun idea to speculate on.

If biology can download into a synthetic machine body/mind, and AI can download into a biological body, how soon will our AIs be suing for independence and equal rights in the courts?

I forgot to S+F the first time around, but, amended that this time.

Another aspect I've just thought of in regard to swapping from biological to machine, and machine to biological is the aspect of 'software' programming.

If we could custom develop AIs that can swap back and forth, where we could also swap back and forth, we should also be able to program ourselves.
We could delete memories, install new ones, give ourselves entire ranges of skill sets, lose bad habits, and customize ourselves not only from a physical aspect, but mentally as well.

The tinfoil hat aspect of such would involve reprogramming people against their wills by criminal elements, Alphabet agencies, or as an economical solution to dealing with criminal elements by law enforcement.
Criminals could be reprogrammed into model citizens with extra built in reinforcement that selects for an aversion to anything of any sort of intrigue.

Dictatorial governments with such technology could ensure a model Stepford Citizenship to automatically instill loyalty, patriotism, obedience, submission, and any or every quality such an entity might desire.
The same could be said for corporations.
The same could also be said for religions.
Any and every gang, club, affiliation, clique, government, job, could require loyalty or fealty programming as a condition of membership/employment/citizenship.

As many interesting and cool super power aspects to such technologies where someone might plug in proficiency for every language on the planet with a disk or a chip, boosting memory and intelligence as well as expanded electronic interface abilities as there might be, there's also the darker side.

I can't help but think of the Ghost In the Shell anime where brain hacks are a concern.

Still, I want to be the first kid on my block with a synthetic body/mind.

The most critical thing I took away from this report is this:

WTF Why does the US need 17 Intel Agencies. I know they have a lot more but just why?

There have been many movies, TV series and books on this subject. At one end of the spectrum we have 'The Borg' and on the other end 'The Ship Who Sang'.

The problem is two fold. If we never die of old age the worlds population will explode to unbelievable levels. The other of course is the misuse of such technologies. While your sleeping, someone borrows your body, murders someone and you get the blame.

All of these scenarios have been covered well. Star Trek NG covered a great many quite well as did SG1..

P

reply to post by Druscilla

I plan to be the first kid on my block with a completely synthetic mind/body.

See, I'd rather be a modded meatsack than completely artificial. Not that it's a binary state of being... more of a spectrum. I mean, after all, I had my wisdom teeth removed, so it's not like I'm a stock model to begin with.

I plan on being augmented with nanobots at first, don't care too much for the artificial limbs, just happy with nanobots keeping me in check.

reply to post by pheonix358


I wouldn't be too worried about the population exploding cause if we are that advanced to have superhuman capabilities, I think our race would start spreading out into the galaxy earth would be a home base but alot of us would go exploring I think. I know I would if I could

This post is on the cutting edge of existential philosophy. We are now talking about redesigning matter on the atomic and biological levels, to suit our desires, not just bending nature to adapt to a naturally changing environment. We were already the best species at that.

This evolution is the evolution of our species' collective culture and interconnected global society. It is now an independent conciousness. As Machiavelli observes, If humans can think it, we will do it, whether deemed good or bad, depending on your understanding of those very contextual morals.

Pandoras box was opened and we are now taking up God's mantle. We are going to play with the universal toolbox, its what god wants. Like father showing his son how to hold the tools. Well now he is showing us CAD software,

As Sagan said "Human Evolution is just the universe contemplating itself.

Ergo - ANYTHING GOES. And if anything goes, there is truly no such thing as right or wrong, good or bad. In light of the 'ascendence of man' that many of the more aware members of humanity are realising, we are in the process of seeing a whole new bigger picture.

As with anything, like the flatness of the earth, some humans awake sooner than others. The fight is always against those who cannot zoom out a little and see the bigger picture.We need to teach a new collective skill in our species = the ability to remove defunct cultural memes, while we layer on the new ones.

Then the old biblical books can be smiled at fondly, like a trip through old school journals, as we turn the page and start writing ourselves...........

QUESTION EVERY LITTLE BEHAVIOUR YOU DO and ask why you do it! I did, and now I am the single most open-minded person I can be.

Culture is just a record of your history, if you understand this truly, you can see ANYTHING. The only moral God really teaches is love, which ultimately is the universes base equation - every unit should work with other units to make new units. So come on adventurnauts, ingore the Luddites, they are holding us back.

Anyway, where's my bacon sandwich...............