Deliberate, designed further evolution of human beings...

[BeanDip478]

                        I have long been interested in the prospects for improving upon the physical and neurological aspects of human beings, through ever advancing biotechnology, gene editing (CRISPR/Cas), brain-computer interfaces and so on.

                       Obviously, this is an enormous subject, encompassing many different fields of research, but after reading numerous related books and following the science news in these areas every day, I definitely believe that what I'm alluding to is not only possible, but inevitable.

                       There are many good reasons for doing so, ranging from making us less prone to the effects of aging to making us increasingly immune to disease and infection, but also, particularly via the brain-computer interface, when it gets more advanced, allowing our intelligence to merge with that of AI, multiplying our intelligence by orders of magnitude.

                       I am not interested in what happens all too often on social media, i.e. nasty people making vituperative remarks and calling each other names. I am hoping we can have an intelligent, thoughtful discussion about these ideas.

 

 

 

 

[exchemist]

1 hour ago, BeanDip478 said:

                        I have long been interested in the prospects for improving upon the physical and neurological aspects of human beings, through ever advancing biotechnology, gene editing (CRISPR/Cas), brain-computer interfaces and so on.

                       Obviously, this is an enormous subject, encompassing many different fields of research, but after reading numerous related books and following the science news in these areas every day, I definitely believe that what I'm alluding to is not only possible, but inevitable.

                       There are many good reasons for doing so, ranging from making us less prone to the effects of aging to making us increasingly immune to disease and infection, but also, particularly via the brain-computer interface, when it gets more advanced, allowing our intelligence to merge with that of AI, multiplying our intelligence by orders of magnitude.

                       I am not interested in what happens all too often on social media, i.e. nasty people making vituperative remarks and calling each other names. I am hoping we can have an intelligent, thoughtful discussion about these ideas.

 

 

 

 

What brain computer interface do you have in mind?

[Phi for All]

Did you want to discuss how biotechnology can improve individual performance, or did you want to talk about what impact this biotechnology will have on the evolutionary process?

Also, I think it's wrong to assume that being able to "interface" with a computer will "multiply our intelligence by orders of magnitude". Technology has always had the effect of making some individuals smarter while actually dumbing down everyone else. Before the abacus, some folks did arithmetic in their heads, and afterwards more people could tackle it but perhaps with less understanding of it. Technology handles problems we used to have to painstakingly figure out, and while that seems a great thing, it means there are fewer people who have the knowledge and skills we invested in to begin with. 

Does technology make us more intelligent? It can certainly improve and extend our lives, it can take the place of learning skills, and it can magnify our existing abilities a great deal, but I'm not sure it makes us more intelligent. 

[BeanDip478]

On 5/11/2024 at 10:12 AM, Phi for All said:

Did you want to discuss how biotechnology can improve individual performance, or did you want to talk about what impact this biotechnology will have on the evolutionary process?

Also, I think it's wrong to assume that being able to "interface" with a computer will "multiply our intelligence by orders of magnitude". Technology has always had the effect of making some individuals smarter while actually dumbing down everyone else. Before the abacus, some folks did arithmetic in their heads, and afterwards more people could tackle it but perhaps with less understanding of it. Technology handles problems we used to have to painstakingly figure out, and while that seems a great thing, it means there are fewer people who have the knowledge and skills we invested in to begin with. 

Does technology make us more intelligent? It can certainly improve and extend our lives, it can take the place of learning skills, and it can magnify our existing abilities a great deal, but I'm not sure it makes us more intelligent. 

              Let me take this one piece at a time. My answer to your opening question is...both. I do not perceive individual enhancement through advanced technology, on the one hand, and using advanced technology to further the evolution of the whole species as being mutually exclusive.

           My comments regarding our intelligence or consciousness eventually merging with that of AI, and thus making us many times smarter, come from reading all of Ray Kurzweil's books, a book by Michio Kaku in which he discusses it, and following Elon's company Neuralink closely, with each iteration of their brain computer interface getting advanced. It may take quite some time, but I do believe that one day such an interface will exist, and then, given that our greatly enhanced intelligence will be able to address the deepest questions in math, physics and the other sciences, the sky will be the limit.

        Not sure I agree with you about technology historically making some people smarter and other people dumber, the reason being you are attributing the responsibility of availing oneself of new technology so as to further oneself to the technology. That both makes no sense and I am someone who believes if you want to learn something new, get a new skill set, get a higher paying job, etc., it's up to you to do that.

      I enjoyed the touching insouciance of our banter, the almost inflatable swimming pool toy of it all. Sigh...Oh this, oh that...

 

 

 

  

             

On 5/11/2024 at 2:07 AM, exchemist said:

What brain computer interface do you have in mind?

             I know there are a bunch out there. Probably like you, I have seen models that allow disabled people or those suffering from loss of mobility due to neurodegenerative disease to regain some of that function. I remember the very first iteration from Elon's Neuralink being used to do research into neurodegenerative diseases via direct brain stimulation, i.e. applying electrical current to the affected neurons.

          The telepathy one was incredible. A woman who was one hundred percent paralyzed, had locked in syndrome, stared intently a computer monitor for a bit, which had what appeared to be a Microsoft Word document open, and then suddenly a perfectly grammatically constructed sentence appeared on the monitor.

        Then yesterday, I think, Neuralink came out with another iteration, this one looking like a small sugar cube. Incredibly, in an out-patient procedure, the cube is installed below the skull, above the part of the brain where there is a problem, but not in the brain itself. Again, a man who had lost mobility due to a disease was able to regain a good deal of it this way.

 

 

 

 

[Phi for All]

12 hours ago, BeanDip478 said:

Not sure I agree with you about technology historically making some people smarter and other people dumber, the reason being you are attributing the responsibility of availing oneself of new technology so as to further oneself to the technology. That both makes no sense and I am someone who believes if you want to learn something new, get a new skill set, get a higher paying job, etc., it's up to you to do that.

I bolded the part that makes no sense to me. I don't know what "furthering oneself to the technology" means.

The problem is simple. As an example, before calculators people had to know how arithmetic works, but after calculators people only had to know the operation they wanted and the machine did the calculation. After a while, many people used it as a substitute for learning. Those folks today can't do the calcs in their head, and rely on the technology. It made those people dumber while helping others do more smart things.

And most technology works like that. Canning preserves food, but those who rely on it often don't remember older ways of doing the same thing, so canning is the only option. Nail guns really help speed up construction work, and also produces people who don't know how to use a hammer. Does that help you see my point?