It just sounds so farfetched to me. The idea of genetic engineering becoming so advanced that a plethora of possibilities become available to human kind. The idea of living forever, being faster, stronger and smarter than any of our other predecessors merely through a chip in the brain or a bolt in a joint…
It’s so easy to dismiss it as a thing
that’s better left to science fiction novels and t.v shows.
Then again though, if you were to tell a
person a few hundred years ago that a device the size of your palm would allow
you to communicate with someone on the other side of the world, they would’ve
looked at you like you were a nut and possibly, depending on where you were in
the world, convict you of heresy or witchcraft.
So maybe a distant future of men who can
run 100 yards in under 5 seconds, or workers that can function with no sleep or
people who live well past what their natural limit isn’t so distant after all.
Ray Kurzweil’s article “The Six Epochs”, in
a nutshell, documents the exponential evolution of human kind coupled with the
advancement of technology and how the x-axis of mortality and y-axis of science
will soon enough converge into full fledged fusion.
Cybernetic bags of meat. That’s the image
that I think of. I guess that’s far too pessimistic. Nor is it how I truly feel
about Transhumanism. In fact, I applaud scientific advancement. Anything that
will better the lives of people is good in my books. But what doesn’t rest easy
with me is the philosophical, moral and ethical ramifications that come about.
I guess you could think of me as a fence sitter. I’m all for test tube emotions
and super computer-esque brain power, but I guess I wouldn’t want to experience
it for myself. That, I do believe, is generations to discover, explore,
document and enjoy. While I appreciate the idea of it, I don’t think I want to
be a part of a transhumanist world. In transhumanism all I see is the further
stratification of society, the depreciation of human life and questions being
raised that blur the line of right and wrong to a shade of grey that is
unprecedented in human history. A shade of grey which no one will be able to
understand. The tension between humankind caused by its supposed betterment
isn’t something id like to face or be a part of. If cybernetic humans were to
co-exist with regular humans, would it not create an us and them mentality?
Race would no longer be a factor, but rather how much machinery you have in your
tendons. A superiority complex would develop and prejudice would rear its
unwelcomed and familiar face towards a different target. All humans are created equal, according to the United States. But what would constitute a human?
On the other hand, I want my son to have
brown hair, brown eyes, to be half Filipino, half Caucasian. I want home to
grow up to be six foot and one inch tall exactly. I want his shoe size to be
ten and a half and I want him to be inclined towards spontaneity and
outgoingness. I don’t want him to be reserved, but rather quietly outspoken and
I want him to be smart. Not too smart, but smart enough that he’s successful
and is able to one day genetically map out his own son too. This, I feel, is
the best way my son will be able to face a transhumanist future. A society of
perfect individuals, where flaws are erased and the capacity for creation and
advancement has overridden our tendency to destroy. Where the old can feel
young again and wear the disable become able. A world where everyone is a
perfect individual, united by a microchip and bonded by steel. This is the part
of transhumanism that I do appreciate.
For now, I still unabashedly sit on the
fence. So no, I wouldn’t freeze my brain if I were given the choice, rather I’d
give that privilege to my perfect six foot one son.
