The PostHuman Race

This is an interview with Pro. Sandra Kemp of the Royal College of Art, on human enhancement.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• cybernetics
• enhancement
• human
• pharming
• posthuman

[Cryptiic6]

We humans are already beyond genes. Genetic changes occur too slowly. What realy evolves is our idea. Our memes. The same process of natural selection, of trial and error, sped up beyond imagining, is what enabled our rapid social and technological growth over the past few centuries. We have to cease imagining our next step in evolution as the pseudo-magical appearance of new genes, but rather the constant exponential growth of our ideas.

[MaryStewart]

if our future are metaltalic fake humans, what if the computer brain has a bsod?

[NoogLeader]

Suicide bombers get compensation by terrorist organizations in the form of Huge Monetary pay outs to their families(helping the family/gene pool). Though there is no guarantee that the terrorist organizations will pay up.

[SailorBarsoom]

durned character limit

Also, there is memetic propagation to think about. The suicide bomber isn't doing squat to preserve his own life, or his own genes. But he is promoting his cause, or at least thinks he is.

Human motivations are complicated things.

[SailorBarsoom]

I seem to recall (it was the early Eighties) a scientist saying that, from a purely genetic standpoint, it makes sense to sacrifice your own life to save two siblings or five cousins. But with human beings you have to consider more than genetics; you have to consider thoughts and feelings.

Now, the soldier throwing himself on that grenade probably doesn't have two siblings or five cousins in that platoon with him, but he may well think of his his fellow soldiers the same way he would brothers.

[NoogLeader]

Self Sacrifice. Now that isn't a natural motivation. Most creatures have self preservation as there main motivation. Reproduction is actually about preserving genes and is a form of self preservation. Now if you consider protecting comrades protect wider range of genes then just your own it may be that Self Sacrifice would help in the gene survival of the group. Interesting line of query with that one.

[SailorBarsoom]

I'm glad this has finally come back around to the subject of posthumans.

Look, if you want to assign the label "greed" to every human desire, be it rape and theft or giving to charity and throwing yourself on the grenade to save your fellow soldiers, I certainly can't stop you from using the word "greed" in that way.

Just understand that people won't take you seriously.

Now as for a posthuman future: a posthuman future will likely also be a post-scarcity future, and everybody will be rich.

[NoogLeader]

If you remove greed from people then there would be no drive to pursue goals. Greed is an important drive for any living creature to have. If you don't desire resources and pleasure then you might as well be dead. Removing human emotions isn't the way to reach a post human civilization. Making Humans do what they do better is the best way to reach a post human civilization. THINKING and MAKING TOOLS.

[SailorBarsoom]

First off, you are redefining the word "greed" so that it means something a bit different than what it means when most people use that word.

But if we use your definition (let's call it Greed 2.0), then yes, you are exactly right. It doesn't much matter that you are right, because all you're really saying is that people pursue goals which are important to them, whether the goals are noble or base.

But we all knew that already. Besides, you can always be right if you define your own words.

[NoogLeader]

You still suffer from a form of greed.

Regardless whether it is considered good or not. From a psychological greed for the feel good feeling. If you get something in return regardless of whether it is monetary compensation, power or feeling good they all stem from greed. You cannot separate yourself from greed. It is a basic drive.