Transhumanist explains the future of mankind.

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The interview above can either be seen as one describing a fantastic future of health and longevity or one of total state control. What are people's opinions on nano-technology, synthetic body replacements and brain-computer interfacing?

Originally posted by edward777

www.youtube.com...

The interview above can either be seen as one describing a fantastic future of health and longevity or one of total state control. What are people's opinions on nano-technology, synthetic body replacements and brain-computer interfacing?

D-d-d-dangerous!

There's a phenomenon I saw in college I call "the groomed scientist". Its these kids, who didn't go out much, not super socialized, but worked and worked on science and math, and got really skilled, empowered to accomplish amazing things. But they were never out on the streets, they never got wise to the wickedness of the world, so they were always fundamentally motivated by raising their hand and having the answer to the problem, with this faith that the person calling on them was good, and would love and reward them for their answer, and use the knowledge wisely.

So with their immature social awareness, you have the people who are INCREDIBLY powerful through their work, but they're groomed to be tools, subservient to forces that may be totally amoral. Of course scientists get wise as the years go on, when they try to raise an alarm on something and get knocked to the pavement by political forces. But by then, much of their work is already behind them, having empowered those same forces which now tell them to shut up.

So that's the deal with most of the trans-humanist stuff, its naive as hell. Its yet another kid raising his/her hand with an answer, while the big bad wolf in a teachers outfit calls on them. Of course the excitement about it isn't misplaced - we could build an AMAZING world for all with coming technology. But looking at history and present, will we?

Personally, I'm all for Transhumanity or Post Human options.

1. Effective Immortality could very well be achieved through body replacement; either artificial synthetic bodies, or even full biological 3D printed bodies using your own DNA (similar to 5th Element).
Anyone could essentially be any race, body type, or sex, or apparent age they wanted.
Anyone could look however they wanted and never be stuck with what their born with ever again.

2. Enhancement and Self-guided evolution: We'd no longer be slaves to Darwin. We could potentially adapt at will for any situation depending on available technology possibly in an instant, or with just a little preparation.
We can be smarter, stronger, faster, etc.
We can finally get off this rock and begin building on the Moon, Mars, and any other rock we can put our feet on, as well as beginning our first interstellar journeys that could last hundreds, if not thousands of years in our effectively immortal bodies, so that we could actually start and finish journeys out to the stars.

3. More real estate; with more adaptable/programmable bodies, we could effectively live quite comfortably with little to no discomfort in regions all over the planet considered inhospitable. More water efficient body adaptations could live in desert environments potentially even getting nutritional value from sunlight through photosynthesis adaptations. People could become real actual mermaids living and even breathing underwater. Any currently desolate or uninhabitable climate or area could be adapted to, and with projected interconnectivity and data linking, distance and location would likely not have any negative effect on anyone.

There's much more, but, for many, it's not their cup of tea.

Me; bring it.