Is Transhunamism a Bad Thing?

byGordon3

301 followers

Updated 6 years ago

I started this post as a comment on MKearn's blog titled 'Man Machine extreme'. I have been keeping an eye on the issue for a while but since Mike has blogged about it I figure it must be something that is pretty big as in a news gestalt as Mike tends to have his finger on the pulse of current events. This was the article he posted

There are some huge promises for the next evolution in tech that we are going to see from here on in. On the one hand there are going to be amazing medical cures in both AI interface and the new genetic venture capitalist projects. People are going to walk and grow new limbs. Maybe even new brains with old memories downloaded back in like nothing ever happened. There will be super human powers bestowed on us. The ability to breathe underwater and have super human strength like the 6 million dollar man.(for those old enough to remember that show lol) only better.

Of course the main sources of information on Youtube that I have seen are seeing danger in all this. I can see their point, but as Elon Musk has said AI is coming and there is no way to stop it. Here in Canada just a short drive from me in Burnaby there is a lab funded by the likes of Elon Musk and other Silicon Valley big wigs, who have created a Quantum computer called D-Wave. Google just bought one. Now this thing is growing in its power to think and calculate exponentially. Every month it's getting smarter and i suspect it has or will at some point have the capacity to think of things, realities, that no human could even dream of because it exists at a quantum (other dimensions) level. In short the thing will develop intention and control and will be smarter and faster than anyone else ever combined. Both Elon Musk and people like Stephen Hawkings have expressed concern about this. Think Terminator and Space Oddessy 2001.

The concern is that this thing will kill us. That it could pose a threat greater than nuclear war. And it's here only it could be all encompassing. Consider the development of nano technology and what they have deemed "smart dust". With that dust sprinkled on everything, this computer or something like it could control every living organism on the planet, and more.

And of course "there is no stopping it's development" There will be too much money and benefits to had from it. (At first lol). So what is Elon Musk's solution?

He feels that we humans "must" merge with the mainframe. That is we must become a part of the machine (AI) in order to have any hope of co existing with it.

There is a Christian guy on Youtube (actually there are a few) who are complaining a lot about this. They literally see things like D-Wave as Satan! Of course when I hear this kind of talk I think that whenever there is new technology around the corner there is always some Christian guy or group that thinks it's from Satan lol. They said that about TV, I'm sure they said it about radio. I know there were some marching around about cars, Elvis and the Beatles too. haha. But there is always the nagging thought..."could they be right this time?" What do you think?

But I should be fair and say there are some decidedly non Christians

who have been making the Satan connection even though they don't supposedly believe in those types of things.

So the Question is. Is Transhumanism a good thing? Not just for medical purposes mind you which is obviously a good thing, but for everybody? Should we all become machines hooked into and probably controlled by the "internet of things?' just ...because Elon Musk says we should?

What I think is. Its coming. In fact, it's here. There is nothing we can do about it. We might as well see the positive aspects of it and hope for the best. For example, one could argue that we have always been controlled by something. Be it the church, government, the Queen, oligarchs, dictators, family even. We are socially wired to be influenced and controlled by others. We as a society might as well be controlled by something that is at least smart. With new advances in genetics and AI interface there will be humanoids who are happy with their place in the cast system. If we were bred to be a worker bee then we won't have a problem with it. No more revolutions, no more disgruntled workers or voters. The only problem will come if the machine decides there is nothing about humans that are needed. Think driverless cars....but there will be so much more that humans might not be needed for. I guess that will depend on what kind of intention the global AI decides as it develops.

And now as I see my kids literally glued to their computers they are in a sense already a part of them, now influenced by 'social media' but still a computer. Yesterday I took my daughter to the store and on our way out I suggested we go to Starbucks and she agreed. (we needed some sustenance to get us home). Then she insisted we go through the drive through. I thought why? the whole idea of Starbucks is to go in there and people watch and soak up the Starbucks vibe! "Nope" she said she had forgotten to bring her Cell phone ....wouldn't think of going into Starbucks and sitting there without it. "This isn't the 90's you know" she said.

So we are half way there anyway. might as well get the chip and be done with it. It could be good. It could be bad.

What do you think?

I guess I should talk a bit about WA as relates to all the jobs that AI and robotics will be taking over the next half a dozen years as they keep telling us. As it stands right now, I don't think writers and marketers are going to be replaced. At least not for the moment. They say there is a computer that can compose music now. Truck drivers?...yes. Writers like us? Thank God no. So invest the time now and it should pan out well for us all here at WA. Also with the "retail Apocalypse" that is happening people will be and are buying from Amazon more and more. We are again on board there. I see myself now as the replacement for the sales guy at SEARS who used to stand around the department asking people if they need any help. Only it's on line now.

Also this is the flagship blog post for me in that I am now on Level 4 lesson 7 and I've just clued into the benefits of blogging here regularly. OK its another task I will be writing stuff about. Its been long I'll try to make the rest shorter and 'helpful' maybe regarding my own progress through this whole Affiliate thing. Maybe a diary of sorts too. IDK. Please let me know if you liked this article or not also if you think AI and humans merging with AI is good or bad. Maybe an argument is in order...so I'll play 'devil's' advocate and say ...its a good thing! lol