Transhumanism
I have always distrusted transhumanism, the idea that we should improve the human species through genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and other new technologies, because I don't think we have the wisdom to make good use of such power.
Imagine what would happen if genetic engineering were perfected.
If there were reproductive freedom, so individuals could decide how there children are engineered, I expect that would be a significant minority of parents who would engineer their children to be successful athletes. Some would make their children bigger and more muscular than normal, so they would be successful football players. But when their children grew up, they would have to compete with other children who were engineered to be football players. Parents engineering the next generation would have to make them even bigger to out-compete the new normal for football players, but they would be competing with those whose parents did the same. After a few generations, we would have a subspecies of football players who look more like the Incredible Hulk than like humans.
I expect the majority of parents would engineer their children to make them more successful economically. We would have lots of children who are good computer programmers, but fewer parents would engineer their children to be critical thinkers.
In there were not reproductive freedom and the state controlled the sorts of genetic engineering allowed, I expect that democracies would allow people to be engineered to meet the demands of the economy at the time. People would think that they were helping the children by making it easier for them to get and keep jobs, but once again, there would not be much call for critical thinkers.
Of course, it would be much worse in dictatorships. No doubt, the Kim Jong Uns of this world would engineer their people to be docile, so their dynasty could remain in power indefinitely.
My doubts were confirmed when I read that Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire accused of sex trafficking, has long been fascinated by transhumanism and was planning to make a contribution to improving the human race by spreading his own DNA by bringing women to his New Mexico ranch and having twenty women there at any time who have been impregnated by him.
In addition to being charged with sexual trafficking of girls as young as fourteen years old, Epstein has lied about the identities of his clients, about his wealth, and his personal achievements. These are not exactly the character traits that we would want to spread through the population - but it seems that transhumanists are likely make decisions based on egotism rather than on improving the human species.
Imagine what would happen if genetic engineering were perfected.
If there were reproductive freedom, so individuals could decide how there children are engineered, I expect that would be a significant minority of parents who would engineer their children to be successful athletes. Some would make their children bigger and more muscular than normal, so they would be successful football players. But when their children grew up, they would have to compete with other children who were engineered to be football players. Parents engineering the next generation would have to make them even bigger to out-compete the new normal for football players, but they would be competing with those whose parents did the same. After a few generations, we would have a subspecies of football players who look more like the Incredible Hulk than like humans.
I expect the majority of parents would engineer their children to make them more successful economically. We would have lots of children who are good computer programmers, but fewer parents would engineer their children to be critical thinkers.
In there were not reproductive freedom and the state controlled the sorts of genetic engineering allowed, I expect that democracies would allow people to be engineered to meet the demands of the economy at the time. People would think that they were helping the children by making it easier for them to get and keep jobs, but once again, there would not be much call for critical thinkers.
Of course, it would be much worse in dictatorships. No doubt, the Kim Jong Uns of this world would engineer their people to be docile, so their dynasty could remain in power indefinitely.
My doubts were confirmed when I read that Jeffrey Epstein, the billionaire accused of sex trafficking, has long been fascinated by transhumanism and was planning to make a contribution to improving the human race by spreading his own DNA by bringing women to his New Mexico ranch and having twenty women there at any time who have been impregnated by him.
In addition to being charged with sexual trafficking of girls as young as fourteen years old, Epstein has lied about the identities of his clients, about his wealth, and his personal achievements. These are not exactly the character traits that we would want to spread through the population - but it seems that transhumanists are likely make decisions based on egotism rather than on improving the human species.
posted by C. Siegel at 11:50 AM
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