...“Transhumanism. The world’s most dangerous idea” (Francis Fukayama). Is it? Transhumanism ‘is a loosely defined movement that has developed gradually over the past two decades’ (2003: 493); it can be viewed as a move away from and subsequent outgrowth of traditional religious values and an embrace of more scientific ones. The concept behind the term is that, as humans we have the ability to augment not only ourselves, but also the world around us. As Joshua Raulerson describes it ‘a movement organised around the pursuit of technological interventions that will directly facilitate the transformation of humans into posthumans’ (2013: 31). Equally, it is also to expand our knowledge, to enhance our lives for comfort, ease and functionality....
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...Some aspects of Alife seemed to be pretty similar to the stuff mentioned by Paul Virilio in Crepuscular Dawn, and that may be due to the fact that everything in the future links. The idea of trying to evolve and become better is present in how life is today and it will only continue being an essential part of life, even when posthumans and the singularity become a reality. Transhumanism is a very interesting and intriguing concept because it is rooted in the idea of defying death and other natural components of life, like aging. It can be admirable that people try to not be so complacent and actually try to fight back, but trying to defy death seems to be as something that could backfire. Transhumanism or posthumanism is transcending the limitations...
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...reading written by Mr. Young discusses the controversial topic of transhumanism which is the belief that humans are able to evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations especially with the help of technology and science. I found this article to be more than beneficial to my understanding on how we humans are artificially changing the process of biological evolution and where the line of morality stands. Over the duration of human existence it is undeniable that the quality of life has only gotten better as we discover more and more technological advancements. For instance, in the era of George Washington, it was considered a full life to life to your forties; however today that would be considered fairly short. This is because of medicinal technologies that help us stay alive. As we become more aware of our biological make-up, we are able to prepare greater hypotheses with intentions that were never imaginable before; such as the hypothesis of nanobots designed to repair dying or dead cells inside our bodies. With unheard of possibilities like this, there are moral and ethical limits that we believe should not be surpassed. Some believe that altering the evolution cycle with technology and science is morally wrong because it would be taking away our fundamental ability to choice or that only God should have that power. Prior to both our lecture in class and this article by Young, my views on transhumanism were like others that none of the research should be conducted...
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...Transhumanism; Introduction; Transhumanism is a term that covers the fact that humans enhance the natural human capacities with the help of technology – either making sure that the human can enhance mind, body or intellect in any form. Transhumanism is to fundamentally revolutionaries what it means to be human by the help of technological advancements. It approves the use of current and future technology that can bring about beneficial societal change, and strives for a point where we can finally be satisfied with the way things are. Transhumanism is seeing as something farfetched and easily countered as science fiction, yet a fact is that we are already transhumans. We are already integrating more with technology, living longer with the help of science, communicating through and gaining information with the help of technology. Immortalize; As the technology becomes more and more advanced. We will be able to achieve immortality. To achieve immortality, you have to turn your brain into a computer; you have to upload your brain to a computer. There are a few consequence, for example, you lose your entire body. However, there are also some good things about it, if you uploaded your software to the internet, you could be everywhere and nowhere at once. A person, who has uploaded to a computer, would still be a person. Because you would still have all your memories from when you were a human. To become immortal this way, we would not have problems with materials, as food. We...
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...cyborg and what are the risks of that for human being Human being is a special species not because it could speak but because of it abitlity of thinking seeking improvements Human enhancement is becoming more and more prominent otherwise are we heading to a bionic society an if so what are the two sides of such Cure illness should be the goal of medical evolution but there is a new tendency that is there to enhance normality. The ongoing evolution occurring in prosthetics and bionic devices is just amazing What might our descendants look like could be totally different from the known human image we’ve had till today eyer has become something of a poster boy for "transhumanism". Encompassing everything from robotic limbs to memory-enhancing neural implants to gene therapies that slow ageing, transhumanism (or posthumanism) concerns the technologies and drugs that are rapidly altering the limits of human performance, as well as notions about what we might look like in future organ transplants to replace malfunctioning livers and kidneys, or vaccines to boost the immune system, command wide social acceptance, At the moment, bionic hands are poor substitutes for the real thing – they can grasp and manipulate objects, but cannot feel. But what if in the future we could make bionic hands with a sense of touch that were also capable of enhanced performance? "What's crucial about these technologies is they don't just repair us, they make us better than well," says Andy Miah...
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...Ten ways Artificial Intelligence will affect our lives Bruce Alan Sasser INF103 Professor Roger Goodman 4 February 2013 10 Ways Artificial Intelligence Will Affect Our Lives. I chose my title and my ten A.I.’s from discovery.com. I have read around 100 articles for this project and before I started I did not think A.I.’s existed yet. I was surprised to find that, there is a car in Nevada that drives itself. Earlier this year, the state of Nevada issued the first license for an autonomous car. Everywhere you turn A.I. is touching our lives, from the weather predictions to your spam remover on your email. “We have long suspected that intelligence is not exclusively a human quality, and that it is possible to build machines that can reason and learn as well as a human can. But what seemed straightforward at first has turned out to be surprisingly difficult.” Peter Norvig, New Science, Ashford Library. I found many different ways that A.I. will affect our lives but I chose these ten different ways. Taming the Weather- After researching Artificial Intelligence I came across many articles about the weather being predicted by A.I… They state that the software can sift through complex data and spot patterns missed by the human eye. The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence said that “when the software sees a big storm coming, it will automatically issue alerts to warn residents and the media, and this may help save lives.” The University Corporation...
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...One very interesting argument in favour of transhumanism comes from academic speaker, author and businessman Juan Enriquez. During his 2009 TEDtalk, entitled The Next Species of Human, he discussed his predictions for augmenting ourselves and improving our bodies through technology and science. He states that we will see these developments from current experiments in three major areas that have become trends through TED talks over the last 25 years. These include; the ability to engineer cells, the advancement of engineering tissues and finally the continuing research into robotics. In terms of engineering cells Enriquez cites the work of Craig Venter, a biotechnologist, who had already engineered a fully programmable cell. It allows DNA to...
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...Technology’s Redefinition of the Human In response to Ray Kurzweil predictions of a world “in which humans gained near immortality by becoming one with robotic technology,” Bill Joy expresses great alarm and distress at the notion that the contemporary definition of the “human” may transform. Even though this definition has transformed with various evolutions that have shaped or, perhaps more accurately, reshaped human biology, psychology, sociology—and yes, even technology—Joy’s pessimism towards this version of a future appears to stem from its underlying principle—that technology will eventually surpass human faculties and capabilities and ultimately, not transform us into a new species of sentient beings, as per Kurzweil’s predictions, but replace us as the supreme beings of this planet. The question then is: does technology have the ability to replace us? Any investigation regarding technology in contemporary society will reveal an impressive catalog of the progress technology has made. And while the same investigation will yield an equally long list of improvements and advancements that yet to be made, Joy’s fears resonate with the fact that any such investigation will also reveal how increasingly reliant we are on technology and suggest that one day, when technology does develop sentience and it exists independent of humans may very well cease to exist. However, as technological experience and human-based experience become one and the same, perhaps it is not Joy’s extinction...
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...Plato: Illuminating the Human Condition In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato starts his writing with, “and now, I said, let me show a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened…” (66). The definition of allegory is “the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence; also: an instance (as in a story or painting) of such expression” (Merriam-Webster). Plato’s works were written before the birth of Christ. Yet it is just as relevant today as it bears witness to the complexity of human life and sheds light on the human condition—certainly a timeless topic for exploration. Plato’s writing depicts how we, as human beings, view, understand, and experience life and the things around us in our own unique way, and how we all struggle to make the right choices for ourselves, as it’s often easier to take the path of least resistance. When we see the sun, do we all see the same sun or see the same color? When we dream, do we all experience the same dream and give it the same meaning? These thoughts and feelings require us to look at our existence in a metacognitive way. As the story begins, there are prisoners living in a cave, bound by chains, and surrounded by fire. They can only see what is right in front of them. There is an opening in the front of cave that allows the light in. The prisoners can choose to see the light outside and yearn to be out of the cave, although most of them believe it is easier...
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...Asses the claim the rows over finance caused the greatest conflict. Parliament and James I had conflicts in a variety of areas such as finance but the rows over finance did not cause the greatest conflict under James I. There were many other factors such as the royal prerogative and foreign policy which all caused more conflict. In terms of the extent of conflict finance was less significant than other factors. This is because the most serious the conflict that aroused over finance was an angry exchange of words when James called parliament a disgrace a disgrace in 1610. This was because they delayed in passing the great contract. This disagreement caused less conflict than foreign policy which in 1621 led to the protestation. This was the greatest conflict that arouse during the reign of James. This was because not only was there the physical element of James actually ripping the document out of Parliament’s journals but it has been described by many Whig historians to put England “on the high road to civil war. Although both the conflicts really came about because of the royal prerogative meaning that the royal prerogative caused the greatest conflict under James I. This was because the protestation was really a conflict over he believed foreign policy was his royal prerogative and it should not be discussed by the commons and the commons challenged him on this thus questioning the royal prerogative meaning that the royal prerogative was a greater cause of conflict than...
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...After reading all five of the articles, it is apparent that the scenario revolves around the use of technology enhancement and advances used in medicine. The main ethical question here is whether or not it is natural, safe or even fair to use emerging technologies and put the value of technology and high tech operations over human nature and free will. Michael Sandel makes a strong statement regarding this ethical question on page 818: “The promise of mastery is flawed. It threatens to banish our appreciation of life as a gift, and to leave us with nothing to affirm or behold outside our own will”. This statement takes on a critical view of human enhancement but also puts the risks into consideration. Many things must be considered and taken into account when discussing enhancement. For instance, the meaning/purpose of the enhancement, the social context, and the other people and institutions involved are all determining factors in an enhancement scenario. In Ashley’s particular scenario, the ethical question is whether or not permanently sterilizing and shortening her body in order to improve her quality of life and future was the right and fair thing to do. Since Ashley has no control over her medical decisions the parent’s took full control and did something that has caused a lot of rage and harsh feelings in the medical setting. In this article, the moral theory that encourages the doctors to make their decision about Ashley’s condition seems to be the ethical theory...
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...Jack Arnett Technology in society Controversy: Human Immortality The speculation and realization that within the next 50 years, it is possible to extend human life span indefinitely. The science is progressing faster than we can keep up with, and the very real possibilities are no longer something of science fiction, but rather science fact. There are many things to consider both pro and con on this subject. Some see it as a great achievement in human evolution and part of the natural progression of our race. Some see it to bring forth the very worst of society and that moral decay will spread, for no longer is the fear of death a factor to consider. There have been many movies and books on this subject, and I will explore the impact of a few of them on society. The ethical questions that are being asked are needed and to plan ahead for this event in human history will need to be closely considered and controlled. There is also religious considerations, will the religious community embrace or repulse this science? Does this make us more Godlike and are we competing with God by bending his natural ways? I will evaluate both sides of this controversy and leave you to decide based on the information I present. Ray Kurzweil, author of “The singularity is near” explores the possibility and firmly believes that the singularity is nearly here. The technological singularity is a hypothetical moment in time when artificial intelligence will have progressed to the point...
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...Grit Test- Lab 1 On the scale of 1 to 5, my grit test score was a 2.57, I gave every answer my time and was full honest but for some reason it just doesn’t make much sense. This test of grit is supposed to measures conscientiousness courage, excellence, resilience, and endurance versus perfection. In the courage part when it talks about fear of failure is described as, “a debilitating disorder characterized by an unhealthy aversion to risk. Some symptoms include anxiety, mental blocks, and perfectionism…” Even though I don’t think I have a disorder I’m pretty conscious with the fact that I do have a fear of failure. In fact, when it comes to perfectionism, I end up spending more time on the final presentation and every little detail rather than focus on the excellence of a project. Age is a very important in determining level of grit in a population. Individual experience about when being persistent allows you to figure out which things are worth doing. It may be worth someone you may be paying for services or solution to a problem, but it may not be worth pursuing a modeling career at the age of 30 and being 60 pounds overweight. Learning to pick my fights is not a reflection of my grittiness, but somewhat realistic of the human condition, which is almost always disappointing. Most of the tips listed on ways to improve grit said I was “realistic optimist” (Jotski, K.). This worked for me a couple quarters back when I chose to be the leader for a debate. ...
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...WHOLE BRAIN EMULATION (WBE) TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: 1 BRIEF HISTORY: 2 NEED FOR WHOLE BRAIN EMULATION: 2 SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR WHOLE BRAIN EMULATION: 4 BENEFITS OF BRAIN EMULATION: 5 ISSUES: 6 Ethical Issues: 6 Legal Issues: 6 Religious Issues: 7 Philosophical Issues: 7 CURRENT RELATED RESEARCHES: 7 FUTURE RESEARCH: 8 CONCLUSION: 8 REFRENCES: 9 WHOLE BRAIN EMULATION INTRODUCTION: The term emulation originates in computer science, where it denotes mimicking the function program or computer hardware by having its low‐level functions simulated by another program. While a simulation mimics the outward results, emulation mimics the internal causal dynamics. The emulation is regarded as successful if the emulated system produces the same outward behavior and results as the original. Whole brain emulation (also referred to as mind uploading or mind transfer) is the hypothetical process of scanning and mapping a biological brain in detail and copying its state into a computer system or another computational device. The computer would have to run a simulation model so faithful to the original that it would behave in essentially the same way as the original brain, or for all practical purposes, indistinguishably. The simulated mind is assumed to be part of a virtual reality simulated world, supported by a simplified body simulation model. In analogy to a software emulator, a brain emulator is software (and possibly dedicated non‐brain hardware)...
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...“What is an adult? A child blown up by age.” (Simone de Beauvoir). Is William Golding saying anything about the adult world in Lord of The Flies? William Golding says so much about adults it was an adult world he placed the boys in and the boys react in a way that adults very well can react. And In a way the power struggle, mob mentality, fear and violence represented in Lord of The Flies has played out many times over history. William Golding was not just comparing the two worlds they were one and the same represented by boys because really adults can be just as vulnerable and volatile they simply hide behind the idea of maturity which can quickly disintegrate when scared. This of course happened in Lord of The Flies the maturity disintegrated and they descended into savagery. It is simply human nature “I believed that the condition of man was to be morally diseased creation…trace the connection between his diseased nature and the international messes he gets himself into”. (Pg. 253) The symbolism in Lord of The Flies represents so many different aspects of society. The conch represents democracy and power it being the object that brings them together to vote, assemble and speak freely. As long as the conch exists the island is a place of order and fairness and with the conch comes Ralphs reign as chief. But when the boys begin to ignore the conch does Jack gain more power though he is still not equal to Ralph until the conch is destroyed the conch represented Ralphs authority...
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