Human Limits?

 “Humanity Won’t Be Augmented, It Will Be Drowned”

By: Hugo de Garis

The Transhumanists, as their label suggests, want to augment humanity, to extend humanity to a superior form, with extra capacities beyond (trans) human limits, e.g. greater intelligence, longer life, healthier life, etc. This is fine so far as it goes, but the problem is that it does not go anywhere near far enough. My main objection to the Transhumanists is that they seem not to see that future technologies will not just be able to “augment humanity”, but veritably to “drown humanity”, dwarfing human capacities by a factor of trillions of trillions. For example, a single cubic millimeter of sand has more computing capacity than the human brain by a factor of a quintillion (a million trillion). This number can be found readily enough. One can estimate the number of atoms in a cubic millimeter. Assume that each atom is manipulating one bit of information, switching in femtoseconds. The estimated bit processing rate of the human brain is about 10exp16 bits a second, which works out to be a quintillion times smaller.

Thus artificial brains will utterly dwarf human brains in their capacities, so the potential of near future technologies (i.e. only a few decades away) will make augmenting humanity seem a drop in the ocean. My main beef against the Transhumanists is that they are not “biting the bullet” in the sense of not taking seriously the prospect that humanity will be drowned by vastly superior artilects who may not like human beings very much, once they become hugely superior to us. The Transhumanists suffer from tunnel vision. They focus on minor extensions of human capacities such as greater intelligence, longer healthier life, bigger memory, faster thinking etc. They tend to ignore the bigger question of “species dominance” i.e. should humanity build artilects that would be god like in their capacities, utterly eclipsing human capacities.

Since a sizable proportion of humanity (according to recent opinion polls that I have undertaken, but need to be scaled up) utterly reject the idea of humans being superseded by artilects, they will go to war,  when  push really comes  to shove,  to ensure that humans remain the dominant  species. This will be a passionate war, because the stake has never been so high, namely the survival of the human species, not just countries, or a people, but ALL people. This species dominance war (the “Artilect War”) will kill billions of people, because it will be waged with 21st century weapons that will be far more deadly than 20th century weapons, probably nano based.

The Transhumanists are too childishly optimistic, and refuse to “bite the bullet.” They do not face up to the big question of whether  humanity should build artilects or not and thus risk a gigadeath Artilect war. The childlike optimism of the Transhumanists is touching, but hardly edifying. They are not facing up to the hard reality. Perhaps deep in their hearts, the Transhumanists feel the force of the above argument, but find the prospect of a gigadeath Artilect War so horrible that they blot it out of their consciousnesses and pretend that all will be sweetness and light, all very happy, but not very adult.

hplusmagazine

A Reply the above by Steve Richfield

I used to believe as you do, but my opinion has since morphed a bit after many discussions with singulitarians.

Singularity is a religion, only instead of praying to an existing God, they are seeking to create their own God. The parallels to the Tower of Babel are there for all to see.

I have come to believe that anyone who would buy into a “human friendly AGI” must necessarily be too stupid to ever build one, and hence is no threat. Simply ignore the singulitarians, as you now ignore the many other lunatic cult religions.

What is a threat is the diversion of resources to such folly, and the potential awakening of governmental regulation over competent AI development.

Note that several companies now have prototype cold fusion reactors working, but there has been SO little press after past bogus claims. It will be interesting to watch as this technology moves into the mainstream, because the dangers are very parallel in that lunatics could potentially build hydrogen bombs in their kitchens. While this may not be as dangerous as releasing super-human AGIs, it is nonetheless dangerous enough to observe the social response.

Transhumanism

 Transhumanism

by Zen Gardner

Transhumanism has a variety of definitions and can be made to appear as just an innocuous notion. In fact, it’s latest portrayal is as a method of transcending death through technology.

Nice try.

We’re plagued with mechanization and digitization. Technology moves information, ourselves, our economy. So how can it be bad? Why not use it to enhance our capabilities? Yeah, but where do you draw the line?  What’s really going on?  What Is Transhumanism?

Wiki says;

    “The transhumanist vision of a transformed future humanity, which is influenced by the techno-utopias depicted in some great works of science fiction, has attracted many supporters and detractors from a wide range of perspectives. Transhumanism has been condemned by one critic, Francis Fukuyama, as the world’s most dangerous idea, while one proponent, Ronald Bailey, counters that it is the “movement that epitomizes the most daring, courageous, imaginative, and idealistic aspirations of humanity”.

 OK, make it look like there’s some discussion on the matter, blah blah. In reality it’s all over the place and getting shoved down our throats as the “wave of the future”. From commercials to pop stars to military “breakthroughs” we’re seeing the chipping and robotization agenda in full swing. It’s a dehumanizing trend that is being programmed into an unsuspecting human population. In fact, the younger generation is more and more enthusiastic about the idea the more they drink the propaganda cool aid and play with their toys.

The impetus for this “bionic body” gains its early momentum from the health (s)care faction. There are wonderful inventions to help humanity. No doubt.

But just like splitting the atom can go both ways, so does everything. And right now, the Controllers are ruling. They have the technology to help the blind see, the immobilized move, replace missing limbs…

But don’t be fooled. The PTBs are always out to control. Period.

Fact is, you see it everywhere. There’s a new mechanized apparatus every day for some new “improvement”. Do you think things are improving?   Sure, things run quicker and faster, but where? Does it matter? Has efficiency become the “drug of choice”, as long as we’re numb and dumb to the effects.  

 Are we letting our humanity be erased out of expediency and our lack of willingness to deal with the reality of what’s happening?  Transhumanism is essentially eugenics. It’s the lessening of the human factor in humanity for the sake of the few who control.

Here’s a terrific quote on the profound impact of the transhumanist agenda and definition of eugenics:

    Julian Huxley, brother of Aldous who authored Brave New World, first used this word: Transhumanism. Huxley was a member of the British Eugenics Society, eugenics being the foundation of Transhumanism.

“Eugenics is a science dedicated to a Darwinist philosophy applied to humanity, that the strong should thrive and evolve, while the weak are culled and eradicated.

    Eugenics rests on a necessity of there being superior and inferior genetic pools in the human population. It might be very socially unacceptable to speak publicly of there being some races, ethnic or cultural groups who are inferior to the rest, yet in secrecy this is exactly what elite Eugenicists believe.

    The public is guided to love the idea of Transhumanism by being persuaded that it is not a goal attached to race or ethnicity, but simply a means of bettering all of humanity. This is quite untrue.

    Elite Transhumanists have no desire to “evolve” all humankind, their goal is one which seeks to advance only their own bloodlines and to leave the rest in disadvantage to them so that these unfortunate ones have no choice but to become their slaves, their lab animals and their labor force.

        “The lowest strata are reproducing too fast. Therefore… they must not have too easy access to relief or hospital treatment lest the removal of the last check on natural selection should make it too easy for children to be produced or to survive; long unemployment should be a ground for sterilization.”

        - Julian Huxley

    The elite, as they are wrongly called, are blood relations of one another, descending from the hybrid tyrants who ruled in result of this same Transhumanist philosophy pre-flood. Speaking of Julian Huxley, yes, he’s the brother of Aldous, “foretelling” author of Brave New World that also just happens to cover this very subject, with precognitive awareness of the coming pharmaceutically adapted, genetically sculptored society and more. Ahem.

Elite geniuses? Or co-conspirators in constructing this “brave” new world odor (not misspelling). As David Icke says, these bloodlines have other dimensional capabilities to see down the timeline to future events. Somehow, these Huxley boys, George Orwell, HG Wells, Darwin and many others had the “Inside scoop” or agenda “talking points”.

Think about it.    It’s programming.

Hollywood’s productions are not mere entertainment. It’s a form of psycho-entrainment, teaching humanity to resonate with whatever themes and memes it wishes to introduce into the human consciousness.

And transhumanism is HUGE in their agenda as you can easily see. The mix of man and machine is now officially “cool”.

Not to many of us.

zengardner