Tuesday 30th October 22012 Mankind Magazine
MANKiND MAGAZi N E Human Perfection, What Could Go Wrong?
Forced Evolution Transcending death through technology When humans become God An exclusive interview with Kevin Warwick And so much more...
www.mankindmagazine.co.uk/magazine
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Mankind Magazine
Mankind Magazine
CONTENTS When juxtaposed against the films and images of the impact of thalidomide and the resulting effort to produce prosthetics to overcome the birth deficiencies of having no arms or limbs, or the artistic short displaying victims of landmines chasing flying prosthetic legs, suddenly we can see that shift in perception displayed for us in a direct way. We are moving into that period where augmentation is not only about restoring what was lost, but equally or even more so about discovering what is possible. This is the core theme of the exhibition and its scope, and it’s a powerful one... ...continued on page 16
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Features
Regulars
Transhumanism explained
Posthumanism
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Taking care of number one
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-We cover five possible routes transhumanism could take in the future
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Nootropics vs. Cognitive Enhancement Transhumanism
-When humans become God
Human Extinction?
-Should we be trying to hold onto our humanity or should we be pushing for a posthuman state
-Changing the way you see the future
-We take a look at how changing your now could add 10-20 years onto your life
Our Future Predicitions A future divided by two
-An exclusive interview with Kevin Warwick about future divided by humans and posthumans
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Transhumanism Explained Transhumanism, abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities. Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations, as well as study the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies. They predict that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label “post-human”.
The contemporary meaning of the term transhumanism was foreshadowed by one of the first professors of futurology, FM2030, who taught “new concepts of the Human” at The New School of New York City in the 1960s, when he began to identify people who adopt technologies, lifestyles and world-views transitional to “post-humanity” as “transhuman”. This hypothesis would lay the intellectual groundwork for the British philosopher Max More to begin articulating the principles of transhumanism as a futurist philosophy in 1990, and organizing in California an intelligentsia that has since grown into the worldwide transhumanist movement.
Bionic Limb Enhancement These enhancements are taking prosthetic limbs to the next level. The robotics in the arm have the capability to interact with your brain allowing you to control the like any other part of the body. In the early stages of these enhancements they will follow on from prosthetics, being used by people who have had the misfortune of losing a limb trough disease, injury or birth defect. However as the technology advances we predict that the general public will want to try them out for themselves, choosing to replace their own arms and legs with these bionic wonders.
Computer Implant These implants take out the middle man (our phones, laptops, televisions, etc.) and allow us to access the internet using our mind, a lot like having a computer in your head. Update your status’ with just a thought or even post an image from one of your memories. You’re always online and you’re always connected.
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Virtual Being This alternative takes out all of life’s sour points like disease, death, illness, injury and even the need for sleep. It expands on the implant but is the opposite in the way that it takes your consciousness out of your body and puts into a virtual world of your choice. You live forever and still have new experiences everyday.
Cyborg This takes all of what the previous two have to offer and then some. Allowing you to live your life through a machine taking out the risk of illness, disease and old age, increasing your lifespan to possibly forever.
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I always look forward to Welcome Collection exhibitions. Not only for their inherent quirkiness and lateral-thinking curation, but because they make for great Future Conscience posts! Okay, so there’s a selfish motivation in there; but really it’s more of an appreciation for the collection and the way the team promotes its breadth and highlights some fascinating aspects of the relationship between humanity and science throughout the ages. The latest exhibition Superhuman: Exploring Human Enhancement from 600 BCE to 2050 is another great offering.
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Change the way you see the future
Superhuman - Exhibition Photo. The first thing I noticed when compared to the previous exhibition Brains: The Mind as Matter was that the layout of the space was much more open and free flowing. There is far less emphasis on glass cabinets, as the exhibition moves away from the fetishisation of objects and creates a contemplative space of imagery and ideas with substantial amounts of film and artistic work. The interpretation of the topic hinges upon a few dominant themes: broadening the definition of enhancement, including a too-brief look through history; our changing attitudes towards disability; the
integration of man and machine; and the world of sport and human athletic endeavour (including the eye-catching colour of vintage superhero comics). Capping these sections off is an open space with a future time-line to 2050 prominently displayed, and a collection of ‘talking head’ experts that explore some of the more detailed areas of philosophical and ethical grappling with the transhumanist themes that are understated but run through the whole exhibition. Let’s get the obvious part out of the way. As a free exhibition I can do nothing but recommend that you go and see it, and I have the highest praise for the continued efforts of the exhibitions team at the Welcome Collection. They’ve created another fantastic space right in the heart of London that challenges our perceptions of self and identity and does so in an accessible way. If you’re reading this and are located in London then you should definitely make the time
to drop by – it will take an hour out of your day and will plant enough seeds of thought to last you many evenings of conversation and debate Some of the themes that I found most impacting, coming from the position of having already grappled with the futurist themes of transhumanism, are to be found in the first half of the exhibition. To begin with, the broadening of the theme back into the past breaks the commonly held notion that issues of human enhancement are merely an issue for the future. I’d never considered before that high-heels are an example of this train of thought, but of course they are even by the very name they go by. Likewise a substance such as Viagra, enhancing our sexual drive and ability and extending vibrant sexuality until well into old age. Superhuman - child prosthetics. The sections on disability were impacting and empathetic, with a whole section on the damage caused by widespread use of thalidomide during a four year period between 1958-1962 and the subsequent birth defects that followed. The showing of Matthew Barney’s surrealist film Cremaster 3: The Third Degree filled with esoteric imagery and overt references to Masonic symbolism I found of personal interest, and they were linked to the exhibition by the inclusion of Paralympian and double amputee Aimee Mullins in the film.
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Transhumanism: When Humans Become God
When juxtaposed against the films and images of the impact of thalidomide and the resulting effort to produce prosthetics to overcome the birth deficiencies of having no arms or limbs, or the artistic short displaying victims of land-mines chasing flying prosthetic legs, suddenly we can see that shift in perception displayed for us in a direct way. We are moving into that period where augmentation is not only about restoring what was lost, but equally or even more so about discovering what is possible. This is the core theme of the exhibition and its scope, and it’s a powerful one. With this strongest point in mind, where the exhibition falls short surprisingly enough is the question of transhumanism and its impact on our sense of identity. There are pithy lines in some of the interpretation panels that ask questions such as: will we retain our essential humanity if the border between man and machine is completely removed? But they are left hanging, the anxiety is pointed out in passing without leading the viewer into an emotional encounter with what that question really means. Granted, it’s not an easy thing to do, and the attempt to cover the more weighty issues with the darkened area of talking heads discussing deeper philosophical concepts falls short mainly because it lacks a certain sense of gravity and enthusiasm around the subject. This question is big, it’s not one that can be dealt with easily but it is one that can be opened up creatively and through the kinds of artistic pieces that run throughout the exhibition the viewer could have been left with a much more impacting idea of how central these questions are to our foreseeable future. Superhuman - Exhibition Photo (2)Instead they are relegated to a dark corner, one in which the words of those speaking can’t be heard clearly enough and
for most visitors are likely not part of their experience of the exhibition at all. Thankfully the very well produced programme gives their positions in full, and for just £1 you can’t possibly ask for a better piece of the exhibition to take away with you. But there’s still a sense throughout that something is lacking, that the gravitas of the subject is not truly grappled with but rather only lightly approached – perhaps because to envisage it or articulate it in the language of an exhibition of this size proves very difficult to do. Of course, this might also have to do with the scope of the collection itself and you have to work with what you’ve got. If you get a chance to visit this exhibition in a group I would recommend you do so, the time-line wall – with its various predictions up to 2050 (why do we always stop there…is it because most alive today won’t live past that period?) – Is situated in a large open space. One that just begs for a vibrant group discussion about the various markers of future progress that it predicts. The extensive use of artistic thinking and even a large installation piece (I’ll leave you to discover that one, but it’s turned on for an hour a day at 1230 – surprisingly mesmerising)
promotes a kind of free-flowing experience that you don’t get in exhibitions that rely more on objects as curiosity items and begs for detailed discussion to go along with it. This is an exhibition that will make you think and will push the boundaries of how you consider the time period we currently exist in. I just wish that more was done to lead people to a true encounter with the awe-inspiring shift in human identity that we may not necessarily see in our lifetimes, but is almost certainly just around the corner. The iBrain normally uses only one sensor to measure brain signals. This makes it easy to apply and NeuroVigil claims that its smart software which employs specialized algorithms more than makes up for using only one channel. The EPOC device made by Emotiv, on the other hand, uses a multitude of sensors. Its neuro-headset looks like a fancy pair of earphones with extensions in all directions. These extensions pick up electrical signals that our brains produce while we are awake or asleep. Such measurements are by far not accurate enough to determine what individual nerve cells in our brain are doing. They are more like an athlete in a big sports stadium,
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‘‘Historically, transhumanists have a solid set of knowledge and skills for discerning fact from sloppy thinking. Yet all too often, we all find ourselves in a quandary when attempting to get the most recent information and verify that the details and essentials of our writings are as accurate as possible.’’
who could not possibly hear what each viewer is saying, but who can nevertheless draw conclusions about the general mood by listening to which parts of the crowd make most noise. Users learn to concentrate on specific thoughts and the EPOC learns that the related “brain noise” corresponds to a certain command, such as moving the active object in a computer game to the left. Emotive has a strong presence in the computer games market. Users can move huge blocks on a virtual Stonehenge site, use brain signals to shoot fireballs or train their meditation skills. Emotiv also produces a Mind Workstation for research purposes. NeuroVigil as well as Emotiv are engaged in sleep research and this is also the key competence of Zeo, which offers a wireless headband to monitor sleep patterns and improve well-being. The headbands talk to smart-phones using a Blue-tooth link. Zeo also offers the Bedside Sleep Manager, a comprehensive system that works without a smart-phone. The resulting signatures could then be used to diagnose neurological disorders such as Alzheimer, depression and autism, which will again increase the scope of potential users. An increasing number of people are
keen to do their own health monitoring and new, inexpensive, wireless sensors and data processing by smart phone applets helps them do this. Cheap brain-computer interfaces fit squarely into this trend. Beyond the health market beckons the lifestyle sector. An increasing number of people want to track their lives to learn more about themselves and to use that knowledge to improve themselves – or to have more fun. If a brain-computer interface can provide some measure of happiness, what activities make users most happy? Could it really be that the supposedly fulfilling work scores lowest and the scornfully lambasted TV soap scores highest? Which people make users relax and who makes them tense up? When the time spent with your life partner scores lowest, it is time for counselling. Naturally, this will provide excellent opportunities for dating and making friends and entice another sector of the population to use brain-computer interfaces.
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“Democratic governments will certainly attempt to get a grip on the problem by appropriate regulation. This may be helpful in some cases, but it will not be sufficient.”
The most common use might turn out to be the one that Stephen Hawking is aiming at – a simple equivalent of writing text and clicking with a mouse. Once virtual reality glasses look just like normal reading glasses, people will want to interact with the virtual environment without pressing buttons or irritating people around them by mumbling commands into a voice interface. Brain computer links, preferably integrated into the VR glasses, would be perfect. Imagine a business traveller who is completely lost in a foreign city and thinks: “Show me the way to our hotel”. His mobile phone decodes the message, uses a GPS to determine his current position and a map to plan the route. His VR glasses show a green line on the road and he simply follows it while continuing the conversation with his business associates. In the lobby he is enthusiastically greeted by a stranger. He thinks: “Who is that?” while looking at him. Face recognition and a database look-up instantly provide the name on his VR glasses, just in time to address the person correctly. In the following sales discussion, he has all the relevant figures ready, because mind queries make them instantly visible to him. Such systems offer better performance at work and in private life and once they actually work, few will want to miss out. The vast majority of professionally active people will then use a brain-computer interface of some form. When the assumptions made thus far are correct, it will not take long until most people will be connected most of the time to a set of devices that can read their thought processes and emotions and record what they do and say to whom at the same time. This will generate data of a new quality. Current investigators might, for example, use banking records to find out when the person they observe bought a specific book. They might then sift through recorded telephone conversations and social network data and catch a few snippets of his opinion about that book
and draw some conclusions. Future investigators, with information from brain computer interfaces at their fingertips, might be able to determine for every single sentence in that book what the person felt and thought while reading it, whether he agreed with the concept expressed and whether it was the ethical aspect, the formal logic or simply the style of writing that shaped his opinion. Furthermore, collecting this information will not be expensive. The users will pay for the devices that collect it, ensure that it is collected and eagerly send it on to numerous places on the internet, which will make it hard to protect. Detailed knowledge of a person’s mental processes not only allows conclusions of what he has done and what he is doing right now. It also allows conclusions of what he would be likely to do in a given situation. A corrupt manager in a government organisation with access to this kind of information could, for example, determine who else in his organisation would be prepared to break the law to earn some extra income. He could build up a network of corrupt employees with little risk. He could even get them to do rather daring things by revealing his own mind signature to assure them that he is indeed just greedy and power-hungry and not an undercover policeman. A spy could use such information to determine which employees of a defence contractor would be prepared to pass on confidential information – may it be for ideological reasons or for a fee. Defence contractors will be inclined to use the same technology to determine potential leaks in advance. This type of information would also make it much easier for well-positioned, ambitious people to grab political power and bold on it.