in the shell

[samusaran253]

What do you guys think of transhumanism? I discovered it semi-recently myself and am now a pretty hardcore transhumanist. In layman's terms it's humanity controlling our own destiny and steering the course of human evolution. We do this through augmentations of various kinds, such as mechanical augmentations, nanotechnology, human-AI merging, development of a hive mind, and the transfer of consciousness from flesh to machine. I suspect that we'll see transhumanism really go mainstream in our lifetimes, and we should be relatively young, I suspect most of us will be in our 20s by the time it hits (probably in the 2020s). Here's a video if you want to watch it explaining transhumanism, unfortunately it's biased and the guy who made the video hates transhumanists and is trying to stop the future (and failing at it), but it's the most informative video I could find for teaching non-transhumanists about transhumanism and the video itself isn't all that biased.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e30M3hw3u04

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z8bU41X-EM

[cong06]

Well, if pop culture teaches us anything, I think that we need to be careful.

Personally I wouldn't be able to stand implants, I hate surgery as it is.
I think as long as we don't destroy what makes us inherently human, these changes aren't terrible.

Now, at the same time we can already see how Email, Twitter, and the Internet are changing how we interact. No one will say that it isn't good, but I'm still worried about those that refuse to interact through other means.
I could elaborate on this, but I don't want to create a side topic. It was more of an example... Technology--even in-direct technology--will change us, and we might not be ready for it.

[shadowferret]

I feel as if something like this is inevitable. What's among the top fears of human beings? Death. The species seems to have some kind of fetish for changing our destiny. A lot of literature, t.v. shows, movies, etc. have the recurring theme of changing one's destiny from desolation and doom to happiness and salvation. I think a lot of people who've been influenced by these works would want to embrace this philosophy, this way of life, and live forever alongside their friends and family. Of course, people will get bored and stray away from the usual if this does happen.

My personal thoughts on the matter are, though, that it is extremely... unnecessary. Sure, it'd be neat being able to live a long time. It'd be neat to see if humans could interface with the internet with their mind. It'd be neat to defy our limits and be like mini-supermen. But there are the problems that would arise.

1) Personal relationships between humans wouldn't be as fulfilling. Let's say you've achieved immortality through augmentations or consciousness transference. What, then, is the point of marriage? I don't know the statistics, but I know a good portion of marriages are ending in divorce in this century so far. Let's say we take out the fear of death, and thus the fear of dying alone. How many more of those marriages stay together? I don't see a reason why it would help reinforce that concept, either. Not just marriages, either, but romantic relationships in general. Would the race be reduced to simply forming relationships based on who can give the best sex?
Now, I don't mean to push on that whole mantra of, "Marriage is sacred and important" bull on anyone. I'm just saying that something a good amount of people view that way would die out. Alongside the death of personal relationships, too. Hey, you have all eternity to make new friends and meet new wo/men.

2) This is simply a theory, so I won't spend too long on it. But let's say we integrate our minds with computers. The internet is now just a thought away! But, let's think about it. It always happens in Ghost In The Shell. Your brain gets hacked, and crazy stuff happens to your body or with your body. Since this is just a theory, working off the hypothetical that we could interface with the internet with our minds, I don't think this needs/has any more explanation.

3) Body augmentation seems to imply improvements. Improvements come with, of course, better physical capabilities. Stronger, faster, we can rebuild you, we have the technology. But exactly how far could it go? Could one be given inhuman strength? Could one run faster than a vehicle, or just faster than a normal human? Now let's apply these to popular sports. What's to stop those football stars from getting these implants just to improve performance? What if a natural player has an issue with it because the enhanced player always does better? Would it breed discrimination? Remember that there will always be exceptions to these great movements. In that case, do we split up every major event and sport into categories, those who are enhanced and those who are not? While it's easy to see the point of "Humans directing their own evolution" here, we also have to think, are humans ready for these developments? Do we need those developments?

I'm not necessarily against this idea, but I can see a lot of issues coming up over it. Controversial, that's for sure. But I wouldn't mind seeing this idea develop. While it's not necessary (humans could go on without it, albeit while remaining mortal), it's still a very interesting concept, and like OP said, I think the time is approaching when it will be the reality. Could be ten years, could be twenty.

Though to be quite honest, I'm personally very interested in the concept of the Hive Mind...

[Freitag]

I'm not sure not dying alone was ever a good foundation for a marriage - that and someone has to go first.

Marriage might become stronger - imagine if you could literally become one. You merge your minds into that of one being with two bodies.

For sure you'd want to be a little more careful about being that intimate with someone, but just imagine the closeness!
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People tend to look at you a little strangely when they know you stuff voodoo dolls full of Ex-Lax.

[John_234]

No offense, but this sounds like a bit of a "no duh" comment. The dominant race on the Earth affects their own future? Who would have guessed...

We do the best we can despite our flaws and try to improve quality of life. I think that's pretty decent.
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"If I believe I have a ghost, I will." Is this true? That's quite a controversy.