Category Archives: Transhumanism

As fewer and fewer people actually read, infographics are taking over.

Now there's one for transhumanism. In all likelihood there's probably been one or more than a few, even, knocking around the Interwebs for a while, but this is a recent one I've come across from Futurism.com. I must admit, it's handy. I know that's coming on the heels of an opening sentence that bemoans infographics as yet another nail in literacy's coffin, but in a way, it works.

I often find myself having to convince others of the massive leaps transhuman technology is taking and how close we are to utterly transformative developments. I'm talking about innovations that will completely change our lives for the better. The predictions on the inforgraphic are all taken from Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near, the same text I use for my class on transhumanism. As Kurzweil points out in that book, exponential growth can be a deceptive thing. When you stand at the base of a cliff, you can't always see just how high the top is from you. So it is with revolutionary technologies. This infographic allows me to present someone with a trajectory for the future in an at-a-glance format.

Here are few predictions for the years ahead:

2019 -The digital world makes paper books and documents almost entirely obsolete. -Computers are embedded in just about every piece of our environment (walls, furniture, etc.) -Manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation are almost entirely automated/run by robots.

2029 -VR eyeglasses and headphones are replaced with brain implants. -Artificial intelligence claims to be conscious, self-aware. -Cybernetic replacements are available for most every part of the human body.

2030s -Nanotech is inserted directly into the brain, allowing for the control of incoming and outgoing signals. -Similarly, nanobots in the brain can elicit emotional responses.

2045 -The Singularity occurs.

2049 -Artificial food is assembled by nanomachines. -The line between reality and virtual reality is blurred due to the innovation of "foglets," tiny, self-assembled robots.

2099 -There are humans around at the time of this writing who are still alive and well in 2099. -Artificial intelligence creates supercomputers the size of planets. -Organic human beings are a very small minority of the intelligent life on Earth.

As to that latter point, my snarky self might say that's how things already are, but I'll refrain from being a curmudgeon.

While I'm still not crazy about the use of the term "Singularity" and I would like to see more of Kurweil's predictions for genetic engineering, that does not negate the other useful information present in the graphic. After all, the meat of it comes from Kurzweil...and he's chief engineer at Google! Before anyone accuses me of Appeal to Authority, that was tongue in cheek. Still, it is unlikely that Kurzweil would have been given such a position at such a powerful outfit if at least a few smart people didn't think he was on to something. The years ahead may not develop exactly as he predicts, but then what does? If transhumanism develops even halfway as Kurzweil describes, we are in for very interesting times.

This is happening, people. Get used to it.

Like ESE on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter: @Jntweets

More:
Esoteric Synaptic Events: Transhumanism and the Dawn of ...

Over the past few years, a new paradigm for thinking about humankind's future has begun to take shape among some leading computer scientists, neuroscientists, nanotechnologists and researchers at the forefront of technological development. The new paradigm rejects a crucial assumption that is implicit in both traditional futurology and practically all of today's political thinking. This is the assumption that the "human condition" is at root a constant. Present-day processes can be fine-tuned; wealth can be increased and redistributed; tools can be developed and refined; culture can change, sometimes drastically; but human nature itself is not up for grabs.

This assumption no longer holds true. Arguably it has never been true. Such innovations as speech, written language, printing, engines, modern medicine and computers have had a profound impact not just on how people live their lives, but on who and what they are. Compared to what might happen in the next few decades, these changes may have been slow and even relatively tame. But note that even a single additional innovation as important as any of the above would be enough to invalidate orthodox projections of the future of our world.

"Transhumanism" has gained currency as the name for a new way of thinking that challenges the premise that the human condition is and will remain essentially unalterable. Clearing away that mental block allows one to see a dazzling landscape of radical possibilities, ranging from unlimited bliss to the extinction of intelligent life. In general, the future by present lights looks very weird - but perhaps very wonderful - indeed.

Some of the possibilities that you will no doubt hear discussed in the coming years are quite extreme and sound like science-fiction. Consider the following:

These prospects might seem remote. Yet transhumanists think there is reason to believe that they might not be so far off as is commonly supposed. The Technology Postulate denotes the hypothesis that several of the items listed, or other changes that are equally profound, will become feasible within, say, seventy years (possibly much sooner). This is the antithesis of the assumption that the human condition is a constant. The Technology Postulate is often presupposed in transhumanist discussion. But it is not an article of blind faith; it's a falsifiable hypothesis that is argued for on specific scientific and technological grounds.

If we come to believe that there are good grounds for believing that the Technology Postulate is true, what consequences does that have for how we perceive the world and for how we spend our time? Once we start reflecting on the matter and become aware of its ramifications, the implications are profound.

From this awareness springs the transhumanist philosophy -- and "movement". For transhumanism is more than just an abstract belief that we are about to transcend our biological limitations by means of technology; it is also an attempt to re-evaluate the entire human predicament as traditionally conceived. And it is a bid to take a far-sighted and constructive approach to our new situation. A primary task is to provoke the widest possible discussion of these topics and to promote a better public understanding. The set of skills and competencies that are needed to drive the transhumanist agenda extend far beyond those of computer scientists, neuroscientists, software-designers and other high-tech gurus. Transhumanism is not just for brains accustomed to hard-core futurism. It should be a concern for our whole society.

It is extremely hard to anticipate the long-term consequences of our present actions. But rather than sticking our heads in the sand, transhumanists reckon we should at least try to plan for them as best we can. In doing so, it becomes necessary to confront some of the notorious "big questions" about the structure of the world and the role and prospects of sentience within it. Doing so requires delving into a number of different scientific disciplines as well as tackling hard philosophical problems.

While the wider perspective and the bigger questions are essential to transhumanism, that does not mean that transhumanists do not take an intense interest in what goes in our world today. On the contrary! Recent topical themes that have been the subject of wide and lively debate in transhumanist forums include such diverse issues as cloning; proliferation of weapons of mass-destruction; neuro/chip interfaces; psychological tools such as critical thinking skills, NLP, and memetics; processor technology and Moore's law; gender roles and sexuality; neural networks and neuromorphic engineering; life-extension techniques such as caloric restriction; PET, MRI and other brain-scanning methods; evidence (?) for life on Mars; transhumanist fiction and films; quantum cryptography and "teleportation"; the Digital Citizen; atomic force microscopy as a possible enabling technology for nanotechnology; electronic commerce.... Not all participants are equally at home in all of these fields, of course, but many like the experience of taking part in a joint exploration of unfamiliar ideas, facts and standpoints.

An important transhumanist goal is to improve the functioning of human society as an epistemic community. In addition to trying to figure out what is happening, we can try to figure out ways of making ourselves better at figuring out what is happening. We can create institutions that increase the efficiency of the academic- and other knowledge-communities. More and more people are gaining access to the Internet. Programmers, software designers, IT consultants and others are involved in projects that are constantly increasing the quality and quantity of advantages of being connected. Hypertext publishing and the collaborative information filtering paradigm have the potential to accelerate the propagation of valuable information and aid the demolition of what transpire to be misconceptions and crackpot claims. The people working in information technology are only the latest reinforcement to the body of educators, scientists, humanists, teachers and responsible journalists who have been striving throughout the ages to decrease ignorance and make humankind as a whole more rational.

One simple but brilliant idea, developed by Robin Hanson, is that we create a market of "idea futures". Basically, this means that it would be possible to place bets on all sorts of claims about controversial scientific and technological issues. One of the many benefits of such an institution is that it would provide policy-makers and others with consensus estimates of the probabilities of uncertain hypotheses about projected future events, such as when a certain technological breakthrough will occur. It would also offer a decentralized way of providing financial incentives for people to make an effort to be right in what they think. And it could promote intellectual sincerity in that persons making strong claims would be encouraged to put their money where their mouth is. At present, the idea is embodied in an experimental set-up, the Foresight Exchange, where people can stake "credibility points" on a variety of claims. But for its potential advantages to materialize, a market has to be created that deals in real money and is as integrated in the established economic structure as are current stock exchanges. (Present anti-gambling regulations are one impediment to this; in many countries betting on anything other than sport and horses is prohibited.)

The transhumanist outlook can appear cold and alien at first. Many people are frightened by the rapid changes they are witnessing and respond with denial or by calling for bans on new technologies. It's worth recalling how pain relief at childbirth through the use of anesthetics was once deplored as unnatural. More recently, the idea of "test-tube babies" has been viewed with abhorrence. Genetic engineering is widely seen as interfering with God's designs. Right now, the biggest moral panic is cloning. We have today a whole breed of well-meaning biofundamentalists, religious leaders and so-called ethical experts who see it as their duty to protect us from whatever "unnatural" possibilities that don't fit into their preconceived world-view. The transhumanist philosophy is a positive alternative to this ban-the-new approach to coping with a changing world. Instead of rejecting the unprecedented opportunities on offer, it invites us to embrace them as vigorously as we can. Transhumanists view technological progress as a joint human effort to invent new tools that we can use to reshape the human condition and overcome our biological limitations, making it possible for those who so want to become "post-humans". Whether the tools are "natural" or "unnatural" is entirely irrelevant.

Transhumanism is not a philosophy with a fixed set of dogmas. What distinguishes transhumanists, in addition to their broadly technophiliac values, is the sort of problems they explore. These include subject matter as far-reaching as the future of intelligent life, as well as much more narrow questions about present-day scientific, technological or social developments. In addressing these problems, transhumanists aim to take a fact-driven, scientific, problem-solving approach. They also make a point of challenging holy cows and questioning purported impossibilities. No principle is beyond doubt, not the necessity of death, not our confinement to the finite resources of planet Earth, not even transhumanism itself is held to be too good for constant critical reassessment. The ideology is meant to evolve and be reshaped as we move along, in response to new experiences and new challenges. Transhumanists are prepared to be shown wrong and to learn from their mistakes.

Transhumanism can also be very practical and down-to-earth. Many transhumanists find ways of applying their philosophy to their own lives, ranging from the use of diet and exercise to improve health and life-expectancy; to signing up for cryonic suspension; creating transhumanist art; using clinical drugs to adjust parameters of mood and personality; applying various psychological self-improvement techniques; and in general taking steps to live richer and more responsible lives. An empowering mind-set that is common among transhumanists is dynamic optimism: the attitude that desirable results can in general be accomplished, but only through hard effort and smart choices.

Are you a transhumanist? If so, then you can look forward to increasingly seeing your own views reflected in the media and in society. For it is clear that transhumanism is an idea whose time has come.

_______________

Postscript

(September, 2001)

This article was first published in 1998. Since then things have developed, both technologically (of course) but also philosophically. I want to say just a few words about the main changes in my own thinking that have occurred over the past years.

1. When the first version was written, the main challenge was to make people aware of potential developments that the article discusses. That has been happening increasingly. Although there is still a long way to go, the focus for me has shifted to getting into the details, taking more account of the obstacles and downsides, and trying to develop a more sensitive treatment of the complex issues involved.

2. Many people are scared by transhumanism. While some of the fear is based on misconceptions, a significant part of it reflects a legitimate concern that in the process of pursuing technological improvements, we could risk losing some of the things that we regard as most valuable. The challenge, therefore, is to be sensitive to our fundamental values and to find a vision and a roadmap that will not lead to their disappearance but rather their enhancement (albeit, perhaps, in a transposed form). We must emphasize that what we should strive for is not technology instead of humanity, but technology for humanity.

3. In addition to the somewhat intangible risk that we create a utopia where we have forgotten to include the things we care about most, there are various concrete risks of technology being used destructively, either by accident or malicious intent (consider e.g. the risks from nanotechnology referred to above). Planning to minimize these risks is a central concern.

4. A fundamental fact about us humans is that we care about how we relate to each other. Love, affection, envy, and friendships are such important parts of who and what we are that they cannot be left out of the equation. And there are no easy technological fixes to these issues. For example, maybe future technology could give you the illusion and the feeling of being loved. But maybe what you really want is to actually be loved and not just by some custom-made lovebot, but by this currently existing human being that you have given your heart to. The best technology could do is to help you create the conditions under which your love could flourish and grow indefinitely, unencumbered by the erosive forces of current material and psychological conditions.

_______________

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Im grateful to Anders Sandberg and David Pearce for comments on an earlier draft.

About Nick Bostrom

Dr. Nick Bostrom received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the London School of Economics in the year 2000. He is currently a Lecturer at the Department of Philosophy at Yale University. A founder of the World Transhumanist Association, he is the author of numerous publications in the foundations of probability theory, ethics, transhumanism, and philosophy of science, including the book Anthropic Bias: Observation Selection Effects in Science and Philosophy (Routledge, New York), which is due out in April 2002. For more information, see: http://www.nickbostrom.com

Go here to read the rest:
WHAT IS TRANSHUMANISM? - Nick Bostrom

Will mankind evolve into a perfect being?

by Calvin Smith

Illustration by Caleb Salisbury

Transhumanists believe that humans can use technology to guide their own evolution to become post humans, with fantastic new abilities and the possibility of eternal life.

Resistance is futile! Fans of the Star Trek science fiction franchise will recognize the classic phrase as a chilling warning delivered by humanitys arch nemesis; the Borg.

The Borg were a group of beings that had been integrated together via technological implants that over-rode individuals consciousness to form one massive hivelike existence for its members. They despised individualism above all and prized technology as a tool to further their cause, conquering entire races by absorbing them into their collective by force (or destroying those that resisted) hence the threatening phrase above. Their cybernetic implants were their most sinister and recognizable hallmark. By taking the best of every race they subjugated, they were formidably powerful beings. But was this just science fiction?

Those that relegate such ideas to fantasy or fiction might be jarred by modern headlines like the following; Professor to Surgically Implant Camera in His Head1. Many might consider such an act as bizarre, but the New York University photography professor is apparently attempting this as part of an art exhibit. The concept of surgical implants is becoming exceedingly more common in all levels of society.

Whether for safety reasons (tracking devices/chips), medical reasons (neural/dental implants) or purely cosmetic reasons (breast, extraocular implants) many people seem more comfortable with a blending of technology and their bodies.

The idea of using science to enhance our standard of living is of course a practical and biblical concept, as we now live in a sincursed world and so need to use whatever means we can to help us overcome threats such as crime, disease and disasters. But some have thought to use science for quite some time now in a more sinister and far reaching manner.

During the Great Depression (early 1930s) a social movement called Technocracy became highly popular in the USA for a brief period. The Technocrats proposed dealing with the crisis of the Great Depression by replacing politicians with scientists and engineers who supposedly had the technical expertise to manage the economy.

The Technocracy movement may be traced to the progressive engineers of the early twentieth century such as the writings of Frederick W. Taylor (who introduced the concept of scientific management). Although there were a variety of Technocratic groups and organisations in a number of countries, its most visible figurehead in the US was Howard Scott, who popularised the writings of Technocrats like Thorstein Veblen, a professor and published economist.

And what was at the root of the concepts championed by Veblen? As Geoffrey M. Hodgson (Research Professor in Business Studies at the University of Hertfordshire) made clear in his article Thorstein Veblen and Darwinism:

Using Darwinian principles to improve mankind is founded on the understanding that man has evolved over millions of years and that therefore we were less or sub human in the past. Then, logically we will evolve into something more/better or post human in the future. The concept that we can assist our evolution through scientific means isnt new and is gaining widespread popularity. (For a pictorial depiction of this visit the Before & After Humans website on MSNBC released in 2005.3)

Its an entirely logical premise if one thinks that man is the ultimate authority. After all, why not give evolution a hand if its headed onwards and upwards anyway. Such help could even be regarded as part of the evolutionary process itself. That is, until one realizes that this concept being applied to enhance societies has been tried before.

The horrific consequences of social Darwinism has been thoroughly documented, Nazi Germany being the prime example of survival of the fittest ideas being applied to a society and the eugenics movement (the science developed by Darwins cousin, Francis Galton) frequently touted as the obvious result of the concept that some of us are more fit (evolved) and some less fit to survive/procreate etc. The Nazi death camps were the final solution birthed by eugenic concepts like racial hygiene.

Modern atheists like Richard Dawkins try to downplay the connection between Darwinism as science, and social Darwinism as a moral concept. Dawkins stated on The Science Show (ABC Radio, 22 January 2000);

Dubbed Transhumanism it attempts to be all inclusive, embracing Darwinism, Intelligent Design, spirituality, science, belief in ET etc wrapped up in a self guided salvation message.

But he has also said that although he doesnt agree with Hitler, certain ideas of eugenics may not be that bad after all. In a letter to the editor of the Sunday Herald (Scotland) he said if you can breed cattle for milk yield, horses for running speed, and dogs for herding skill, why on Earth should it be impossible to breed humans for mathematical, musical or athletic ability?4 So in at least one sense Dawkins does agree with Hitler! And as much as he tries to avoid the logical connection between someone believing Darwinism also believing in social Darwinism, they are there all the same.

On the coattails of the postmodernist movement, ultra-modernism has birthed a new concept based on these (above) ideas resulting in a large global phenomenon that is gaining tremendous popularity with a broad base of supporters worldwide. Dubbed Transhumanism, one of the reasons it is popular is it attempts to be all inclusive, embracing Darwinism, Intelligent Design, spirituality, science, belief in ET etc wrapped up in a self guided salvation message. In short:

How will this utopia come about specifically? Christian apologist Carl Teichrib (a Canadian-based researcher and writer on globalization) explains;

The transhumanist group Technolifes website makes it clear;

And in a video8 on their site we hear Humans have a natural desire for perfection. Who will settle for normal when you can be perfect? Today we have the technology to go beyond any limitation nanotechnology, biotechnology, neuroscience, informatics all of these knowledge fields will soon converge. Superior bodies and minds, bodies without pain, without limits now we can offer you to be happy, healthy, beautiful and forever young.

Many might consider this a fringe movement except for the fact that this website represents a research project funded by European Union (The EU is an economic and political union of 27 member states located primarily in Europe including the UK, France, Germany, Sweden etc).

And a quick overview of a 2003 report titled, Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology, and Cognitive Science reveals these ideas are indeed far reaching. This extensive 405 page document issued by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Commerce of the US explains its (indiscernibly transhumanisistic) goal isnt just better bodies and more effective minds but actually the preventing an inevitable societal catastrophe.

In its introduction we read;

This is more that overcoming illnesses, diseases and birth defects that have beset us since the Fall. According to this report the answer to humanitys ultimate problems is a kind of worldwide technology induced unity:

Sounds like the Borg to me!

Indeed, the transhumanist magazine H+ (Humanity +, the + signifying what humans will evolve into) revealed an article on November 16 2010 titled Problem Solved11 with the following tag line; In 2011, with your help, H+ Magazine will solve all the worlds problems!, listing everything from poverty, disease, discrimination, terrorism and even death as problems solvable by transhumanistic beliefs. While admitting tongue in cheek that they didnt believe a magazine could solve all the worlds problems, it reveals the faith that they hold, that this path of transhumanism will eventually be our savior.

Transhumanist conferences are becoming popular, with Humanity+ holding one called Redefining Humanity in the Era of Radical Technological Change recently at the Beckman Institute at Caltech Los Angeles, California.

Transhumanists use the term convergence interchangeably with the word singularity, defined as singularity represents a point in a future time when technological change takes place so fast it produces a qualitative shift in society: the birth of a super-intelligence, the merging of Man and Machine.12 Humanity will be so linked together and so able to communicate with itself that in a timeless moment of consciousness we will transcend into a higher plane of existence. In essence it would be what some transhumanists have described as the Techno Rapture. What would the result be?

As it is on Earth, so it shall be in the heavens. The inevitable result of incredible improbability evolution is lipping us into the transhuman salvationattained by good works.

Leading Transhumanist Mark Pesce (a co-inventor of 3-D interfacing for the worldwide web, and a judge on ABCs TV show The New Inventors) posits the following; Once the genome was transcribed, once we knew what had made us human, we hadin that momentpassed into the Transhuman. Knowing our codes, we can recreate them in our so-called synthetic rows of 1s and 0snow we will reach into the improbable, re-sequence ourselves into a new Being, de-bugging the natural state, translating ourselves into supernatural, incorruptible, eternal. There is no God but Man.13

Notice his use of biblical terminology within his worldview:

Although most transhumanists emphasize only the seemingly beneficial aspects of their beliefs, the obvious ties to the eugenics movement have been brought before them and are seemingly summarily dismissed by most. It seems for many that an ends justifies the means approach is the norm. As human cloning researcher, Richard Seed said; We are going to become Gods. Period. If you dont like it, get off. You dont have to contribute; you dont have to participate. But if youre going to interfere with me becoming God, were going to have big trouble. Then well have warfare.

To assist in educating those that may not be on board so to speak the Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance paper suggested; Unifying science and education. To meet the coming challenges, scientific education needs radical transformation (emphasis mine) from elementary school through postgraduate training. Convergence of previously separate scientific disciplines and fields of engineering cannot take place without the emergence of new kinds of people (emphasis mine) who understand multiple fields in depth and can intelligently work to integrate them. New curricula, new concepts to provide intellectual coherence, and new forms of educational institutions will be necessary.15

Because transhumanism combines so many attractive concepts it is seen by many to be a unifying force for good. Many Mormons have embraced it as it affirms the central point of Mormon theologytransfiguration or exaltationman becoming God. Hindus and Buddhists also share many transhumanist beliefs.

Some UFOlogists have also endorsed it as belief in intelligent alien life fits in quite nicely. After all, if we were once lower on the evolutionary scale, have evolved to where we are today and know we will evolve in the future then naturally there must likely be post humans of some sort already running around the universe. Perhaps they are visiting us and want to help us evolve and transcend further up the evolutionary scale.

Intelligent Design proponents and Darwinists can also work together. Perhaps aliens kicked off our evolution and even designed portions of life while evolution filled in the blanks? That way evolution is affirmed while explaining the complexity of some features that dont seem to be explainable by wholly naturalistic means (ATP Synthase, Kinesin etc). And complete atheists/naturalists can maintain their worldview while giving a nod to some sort of spiritual notion as well. After all, its easier to believe in a god if you can become one yourself!

Even those calling themselves Christians can enter in! James McLean Ledford (who runs the websites Technical-Jesus.com and Hyper-Evolution.com), a declared Christian Transhumanist recently spoke at the October 2010 Transhuman and Spirituality Conference at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City where he delivered a talk called Christian Transhumanism. The description of his talk contained the following;

A future where all mankinds problems are solved (no tears, no pain, no struggle for existence, no conflict between each other), new, perfect bodies and minds, eternal life. Sounds great doesnt it!? The only problem is that transhumanism is based on a lie; evolution. All transhumanists hopes and dreams are built on a foundation believing molecules to man evolution being a real thing.

Just like the Technocrat Thorstein Veblen, they have designed their theories around the positivist science of Darwinian evolution. (Positivism is the philosophy that the only authentic knowledge is knowledge that is based on actual sense experience. Since Darwinian evolution has not been observed (so isnt scientific in the sense of being repeatable) and that positivism itself is not derived from a sensory experience, these ideas are based on a completely false foundations to begin with. It is the same old deception from Satan saying you will be like God 16 back in the Garden of Eden.

The concept of evolution is being constantly implanted into the consciousness of mankind. Similar to the victims of the Borg in Star Trek where the truth of who the victim was rewritten over the individuals true identity, once someone has been implanted with the concept of evolution, they can quickly get assimilated into an anti-God philosophy and be hard to lead back to truth.

Mankinds greatest hopes and dreams can indeed be achieved, but not by himself. People can be free one day of all tears, pain, mourning and even death. They will have a new incorruptible body and will live in paradise, but not because of what we will have done, but because of what our Savior Jesus Christ has done.

But this promise will not be given to everyone. It will only be extended to those that have repented of their sin and put their faith in Jesus Christ, the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer of the Universe.

Comments closed

Comments closed

Read more:
Transhumanism - creation.com

Transhumanism is a recent movement that extols mans right to shape his own evolution, by maximizing the use of scientific technologies, to enhance human physical and intellectual potential. While the name is new, the idea has long been a popular theme of science fiction, featured in such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, the Terminator series, and more recently, The Matrix, Limitless, Her and Transcendence.

However, as its adherents hint at in their own publications, transhumanism is an occult project, rooted in Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, and derived from the Kabbalah, which asserts that humanity is evolving intellectually, towards a point in time when man will become God. Modeled on the medieval legend of the Golem and Frankenstein, they believe man will be able to create life itself, in the form of living machines, or artificial intelligence.

Spearheaded by the Cybernetics Group, the project resulted in both the development of the modern computer and MK-Ultra, the CIAs mind-control program. MK-Ultra promoted the mind-expanding potential of psychedelic drugs, to shape the counterculture of the 1960s, based on the notion that the shamans of ancient times used psychoactive substances, equated with the apple of the Tree of Knowledge.

And, as revealed in the movie Lucy, through the use of smart drugs, and what transhumanists call mind uploading, man will be able to merge with the Internet, which is envisioned as the end-point of Kabbalistic evolution, the formation of a collective consciousness, or Global Brain. That awaited moment is what Ray Kurzweil, a director of engineering at Google, refers to as The Singularly. By accumulating the total of human knowledge, and providing access to every aspect of human activity, the Internet will supposedly achieve omniscience, becoming the God of occultism, or the Masonic All-Seeing Eye of the reverse side of the American dollar bill.

More here:
Transhumanism: The History of a Dangerous Idea: David ...

Extropy Institute continues to support critical research and development of sciences and technologies of human enhancement. For further information on our 2004 Vital Progress Summit please follow this link: About the VP Summit

In late 2006, Extropy Institute closed. ExI's Strategic Plan explains the details of this decision and the potential for the future of ideas that were generated during ExI's lifetime.

The philosophy of Extropy continues on into the future.

This website is the "Library of Transhumanism, Extropy and the Future". The Extropy e-mail list continues to be very active and is the main venue for transhumanists and one of the best places on the Internet to meet transhumanists for challenging and creative discussions about the future. ____________________________________

Welcome to website of Extropy Institute, the original force behind the philosophy and global cultural movement of transhumanism. We welcome you to join our efforts in promoting The Proactionary Principle.

The world needs critical thinkers now! What is Extropy Institute? Extropy Institute is a think tank ideas market for the future of social change brought about by consequential technologies.Our Board of Directors, Advisors and Proactive Supporters bring together diverse ideas about the future.Our approach is proactive, our focus critical, and our ideas are principled in addressing social concerns and questions that will make or break the future of humanity. Extropy Institute has been pioneering critical and creative thinking about the future for the past 17 years.

The Mission of ExI has been to serve its members by ensuring a reputable, open environment for discussing the impacts of emerging technologies and for collaborating with diversely-skilled experts in exploring the future of humanity.

As a philosophical and cultural organization, our goals include being an international resource for strategic thinking about the future. Specific outcomes of our vision over the years have been recognized through publications, conferences, virtual summits, university courses, extropy-chat email list, and members' projects; working toward designing our future. The outcomes are located on our resources page. _______________________________________________________________]

Support the ideas vital to our future by participating in the globalcommunity and become proactive and support the Proactionary Principle.

The current project: ExI Project No. 1 - PROACTIONARY PRINCIPLE As human lives and the global environment become ever more interconnected with technology, we become increasingly responsible for making wise decisions about how to use it. We need a balanced opinion on how to apply technology to human needs. We should not reject the products of applied science; neither should we implement powerful new technologies without foresight and proactive preparation. Above all, we must not tackle the decisions of the future with the cognitive habits of the past. We need new, smarter ways to evaluate the opportunities and dangers issuing from nanotechnology, genetics, machine intelligence, climate engineering, or neurological modification. The Proactionary Principle (ProP) is designed explicitly for this purpose.

The Mission of ExI in its transformational change is to serve its members by developing a core group to encourage and support the furtherance of the Proactionary Principle.

Vision: Our core group uses the most advanced decision-making and forecasting methods to promote critical and creative thinking about emerging technologies. We advise the public and private sectors on policies and initiatives to better manage risks and maximize benefits and opportunities arising from emerging technologies. Our passion is helping others to improve decision-making about these technologies, especially those presenting challenges without precedentsometimes even affecting the human condition itself.

Originally posted here:
Transhumanism's Extropy Institute - Transhumanism for a ...

June 15, 2015

The New Bioethics (vol. 21, no. 1, 2015) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: The subject of enhancement: Augmented capacities, extended cognition, and delicate ecologies of the mind by Darian Meacham Just a bit of fun': How Read More

May 26, 2015

(The Telegraph) Wealthy humans are likely become cyborgs within 200 years as they gradually merge with technology like computers and smart phones, a historian has claimed. Yuval Noah Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the Read More

May 15, 2015

Dialog(vol. 54, no. 1, 2015) is available online by subscription only. Articles include: The boundaries of human nature by Ted Peters Beyond the boundaries of current human nature: Some theological and ethical reflections on transhumanism by James M. Childs Jr. Read More

May 8, 2015

Theology Today (Vol. 72, no. 1, 2015) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: Bodies, selves, and human identity: A conversation between Transhumanism and the Apostle Paul by Steven John Kraftchick

March 10, 2015

(ABC.net) Our knowledge of human biology in particular of genetics and neurobiology is beginning to enable us to directly affect the biological or physiological bases of human motivation, either through drugs, or through genetic selection or engineering, Read More

February 6, 2015

World Future Review (Vol. 6, No. 3, September2014) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: The Boundaries of the Human: From Humanism to Transhumanism byJos Cordeiro What is Future Human Evolution About? byTed Chu Human and Robots Interaction: Read More

January 12, 2015

NanoEthics (Volume 8, Issue 3, December2014) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: Ethical issues in cyborg technology: diversity and inclusion by Enno Park Human Enhancement? Its all about body modification! Why we should replace the term human Read More

December 25, 2014

Neuroethics(Volume 7, No. 3, December2014) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: What to Enhance: Behaviour, Emotion or Disposition? by Karim Jebari Defining Moral Enhancement: A Clarificatory Taxonomy by Kasper Raus, et al Moral Enhancement and Self Subversion Read More

November 26, 2014

(Phys.org) What do pacemakers, prosthetic limbs, Iron Man and flu vaccines all have in common? They are examples of an old idea thats been gaining in significance in the last several decades: transhumanism. The word denotes a set of Read More

November 12, 2014

(Vox) Scientists have been making amazing advances inbionic technology in recent years: robotic exoskeletons that help people walk, artificial eyes that help blind people see. Some of these technologies are meant as medical aids to help people regain function. Read More

Read more:
Transhumanism | Bioethics.com