In 2012, a series of web articles titled "H+" introduced us to a futuristic world in which many people have high-tech implants in their bodies that can access the Internet directly through brain-computer interfaces. In science fiction, those technological pioneers often don't end well. The implants were infected by a virus, and the human body and technology were quickly thrown into chaos.
The series explores the future of transhumanism, with the title "H+" representing transhumanism. Today, five years after the article was published, the ideal of transhumanism is being realized step by step.
In early February 2017, the innovative billionaire Elon Musk spoke again about an idea he had come up with many times over the past year: the need for humans and machines to merge. Musk believes that brain-computer interfaces are absolutely necessary, not only to allow humans to continue to evolve as a species, but also to keep us up with the pace of machine development. Musk said that if we don't actively integrate with the machine, it will become useless and dispensable. Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari, author of the best-selling books A Brief History of Mankind and A Brief History of the Future, shares the same sentiment. He believes that in the future human society, 99% of people will completely lose their employment opportunities due to the popularity of artificial intelligence and robots, and become a so-called "useless class".
Musk does not call himself a "transhumanist," but this idea of human-machine fusion has become the basis of the "transhumanist movement," which emerged in the 20th century. As we enter the turbulent 21st century, transhumanism is rapidly moving from a niche philosophical and cultural trend influenced by science fiction to a more mainstream and increasingly popular movement.
<h1>What is transhumanism? </h1>
Simply put, transhumanism is a broad intellectual movement that advocates the use of technology to transform humanity. Thinkers in the field argue that we can and should harness whatever emerging technologies are available to enhance our brain, body, and mental capacities. From genetically modified genes to improve intelligence and extend lifespans, to relying on bioengineering and mechanical implants to enhance physical abilities, transhumanists see the future of humanity as transcending human limitations with the help of technology.
The term "superhuman" dates back hundreds of years, but in terms of what we currently use, it came from the 20th-century biologist and eugenician Julian Huxley. In a series of lectures and articles in the 1950s, Huxley proposed a utopian futurism: human beings evolved beyond the limitations of the present human body.
"We need a name for this new faith." Huxley wrote in 1957, "Superhumans may be appropriate. Man is still human, but transcends himself by realizing new possibilities for the human body. ”
Arguably, Huxley's ideas were inspired by the likes of the famous mid-20th century science fiction writers Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein, and the more explicit and concrete ideas of transhumanism that he himself subsequently proposed influenced the group of cyberpunk writers of the 1980s. Cyberpunk is a branch of science fiction that often deals with things like cyborgs or future societies controlled by computers. It was during that era that the first self-proclaimed transhumanists began to emerge, holding formal meetings near the University of California.
The pace of technological progress has accelerated dramatically in the 21st century, and transhumanist ideas have begun to manifest themselves as more concrete visions of the future. Cryonics and life extension technologies are a focus of transhumanists, while others see human body modification, gender transformation, and biohacking as ways to transcend the limits of the human body.
<h1>Opposition</h1>
Transhumanists have been controversial for years, and their extreme view of the future of humanity has led many to wonder if this will deprive us of the essence of what makes us human. Critics fear that humans will become some sort of inhuman, god-like robot civilization. It sounds terrible and makes people who are more traditional feel uneasy.
Science fiction often reflects concerns about the future of transhumanism, from the world-dominating super-artificial intelligence Skynet in the movie Terminator to the dystopian class division in the film "Mutant Aliens". Francis Fukuyama, a prominent critic of transhumanism, in his book Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution, seriously points out the dangers of transhumanism.
Fukuyama believes that human complexity cannot be easily reduced to good traits and bad traits. If we try to eliminate traits that we consider to be bad, whether through genetic modification or other means, then we may misunderstand the fundamentals of human survival and continuous progress, which is extremely dangerous. "We cannot protect ourselves without violence and strife; we cannot be loyal to those who are intimate with us without a sense of exclusivity; we cannot feel love if we do not feel jealousy." He wrote.
For the nascent transhumanist future, we should be more worried about how such a rapid technological revolution will affect the social economy. In today's world, the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider and wider, and we can't help but worry that the future technology dividend will become the patent of the rich. If life-extending technology becomes a reality, but only the billionaires can afford it, then in the world of the future, the rich will become richer and live longer, while the poor will be poorer and short-lived. In Yuval's writings, these elites, armed with various advanced technologies, are called "gods of wisdom."
Without exceptionally powerful political reforms to ensure equitable access to enhanced human technology, it is easy to foresee the class divisions caused by genetic technology. As environmentalist and activist Bill McKibben points out, "If we can't afford to pay 50 cents per person to buy mosquito nets to help most Africans fight malaria, then we may not be able to make the latest genetic technology work for everyone, and the beneficiaries will only be the richest." ”
<h1>Remember eugenics? </h1>
Around many transhumanist ideas, there is a shadow of eugenics. In the first fifty years of the 20th century, the term eugenics was associated with Nazi Germany, which was disturbing, but not without reason. Forcing those deemed flawed to be sterilized or euthanized is an incomparably brutal genocide. But as the genetic revolution gradually emerged in the late 20th century, the philosophical ideas of eugenics began to rise again.
Transhumanist ideas are often similar to eugenics ideas, but most people who call themselves transhumanists like to distinguish themselves from the infamous eugenics, preferring words like reproductive genetics and reproductive selection. The idea of transhumanism in reproductive genetics is more positive than the negative consequences of eugenics, which seems to have become a consensus. In today's 21st century, selective genetic modification is closer to us, as long as all parents have equal rights to genetically modify their children, as long as they are not forced by governments that try to strictly control the gene pool, there is no problem.
Nick Bostrom, a prominent advocate of transhumanism, points out that critics of the movement always cling to potential risks or bad outcomes while turning a blind eye to possible positive effects. He claims that while it is possible to produce negative results, this possibility is not enough to stop the momentum of the technology.
In an essay, Postrom dissects the views of transhumanist thought on human genetic modification, and explicitly puts forward his own views in the article. "Positive impacts can outweigh negative ones." He wrote, "The idea that the disadvantages outweigh the benefits lack strong arguments to support such speculation cannot be a reason to stop the technology." ”
<h1>The new God</h1>
At first glance, the transhumanist movement seems to be synonymous with atheism. In 2002, the Vatican issued a lengthy statement discussing the integration of technology and religion. The statement warned that altering human genetic traits is "extremely immoral" behavior. In criticism of transhumanism, critics often accuse scientists of playing God. The aforementioned transhumanist István even wrote an op-ed titled "I'm an Atheist, So I'm a Transhuman." In the text, he tries to equate the two, but his statement is a bit pale and weak.
However, there are some compelling intersections between religion and transhumanism that lead to the belief that atheism and transhumanism may not be as mutually exclusive as one might think. A survey of transhumanists conducted by the Institute of Ethics and Emerging Technologies, found that only half of respondents identified themselves as atheists or agnostics.
Lincoln Cannon, founder of the Mormon Transhumanist Association and the Christian Transhumanist Association, advocated modern forms of post-secular religion, advocating the combination of scientific belief and religious belief. He believes that transhumanism can allow humans to evolve into what he calls "superhuman."
In an article titled Neotheism, Cannon envisions a creator similar to the future "Superman." He assumed an evolutionary cycle in which we were created by a "superhuman" god, then evolved ourselves into a "superhuman" god, and then created new life that worshipped us as gods, and so on.
Neotheism is an interesting example of the evolution of religious thought, but it has also pushed transhumanism into the realm of religion, which is sure to make many of the proponents of the transhumanist movement uncomfortable. Transhumanism has also spawned another, more extreme branch of religion, the self-proclaimed "supra-religion" Terasem.
Teresaism, reminiscent of the new age mood of the 1990s, has four core beliefs: life is purposeful, death is optional, God is technical, and love is essential. The Cult of Tressé, founded by millionaire entrepreneur Martine Rothblatt, is both a transhumanist movement in the religious world and a charitable organization that invests in technology research and development. The movement is dedicated to cryonics, which attempts to preserve people's consciousness by downloading people's thoughts and memories to mainframes or standalone social robots.
<h1>The rise of biohacking</h1>
At the turn of the century, a community of transhumanism began to form, combining the spiritual qualities of computer hacking with the human body's transformation movement aimed at creating DIY neural control devices. They pursue the kind of "cyborg" technology that can be integrated directly into the human body.
Biohacking takes the form of changing the chemical structure of the human body through drugs and implanting electronic products such as magnets, radio frequency identification devices, or near-field communication tags into the human body. These groups are at the forefront of the transhumanist movement, and they will try the occasional somewhat extreme DIY surgery on themselves.
Lepht Anonym is a Berlin-based biohacker who advocates for the democratization of neural control devices. Over the past decade, Anonim has made a number of human modifications, including implanting neodymium metal sheets under his fingertips to make the body sense electromagnetic fields, and implanting several compasses to make the body perceive the north and south magnetic poles.
The biohacking movement is moving from the fringes to the mainstream, and over the past few years, several tech startups have emerged trying to tap into the commercial market for human body modification. In terms of research and development of human body enhancement technology, Grindhouse Wetware in Pittsburgh, USA, is very prominent.
The company's most famous product is Northstar, an implantable device that promises bluetooth capabilities that users can control with a simple gesture. The first generation of Northstar had a good appearance, with LED lights under the user's skin, which was a form of imitation of bioluminescence. Future versions of Northstar could also interact with smartphones, record signs such as blood glucose, or act as controllers for various IoT devices.
<h1>The timing is just right</h1>
As technology accelerates, transhumanism is moving into the mainstream with unbridled momentum. In the face of this magnificent new world, advocates argue that we should move forward, while traditionalists, on the other hand, become more uneasy.
Like it or not, there are plenty of people who are scrambling to implant brain-computer interfaces into their brains for the first time, or to genetically engineer their children to have certain traits. There is no doubt that we live in exciting times. It's just that I want to watch Mutant Aliens again, hoping that it won't become a documentary that foretells the future of humanity.
Translation: Yu Bo
Source: Newatlas
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