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Much of the human thirst for power comes from a society that values power, it comes from a hyper-competitive environment which is no longer necessary.You have some great ideas, many of which I will address later, but something that caught my eye was your notion of engineering ourselves to be a race of equality. I have to ask you, what makes you think that humans truly, genuinely want equality? If anything, I would say efforts to create and maintain equality require a lot of energy and tend to be unstable institutions, and even in the presence of such institutions, those who hold the power are actively ensuring that people don't gain true equality. Why would people in power want equals? They are powerful!
Transhumanism would have to address the human thirst for power, and I don't see how that is possible when the fundamental building blocks of that system would be made by humans. IMO technology just tends to magnify all of the things we claim to be wishing to transcend beyond.
Much of the human thirst for power comes from a society that values power, it comes from a hyper-competitive environment which is no longer necessary.
We have reached a point where competition is detrimental to us as a species on a macro level. Competing wastes resources in a struggle for power that never ends and whose negatives far outweigh any positives that may come of such a struggle. Cooperation is the only sane alternative and such understanding granted by advanced technology will help us see that.
Even the strongest fire will eventually burn itself out.I agree that cooperation is key to survival at this point, but it is competition which has gotten us this far in the first place.
I agree, that is probably one of the most difficult hurdles but I dont see it as reason to stop or give up.My point was, if transhumanism is the key to humans transcending all of their problematic traits, it would still be up to those in power to decide if they want to implement such a change or not. It would be hard to start modifying humans without government approval.
The advantage is not with the political elite. History has shown that a determined population can surmount extremely stiff odds to oust a government.People in power never give up their power voluntarily, and often that is true even if there is a greater good that could be served. If you offered most powerful politicians a way towards a human utopia, free of violence, greed, envy, war, disease, and all of the things resulting from human problems, and all they had to do was become equal to everyone else for it to happen, most would never do it.
I would seriously hope not, as violence can quickly corrupt even the most noble of efforts. But...as much as I hate to say it...the benefits would seriously outweigh the costs.No, it would be a violent transition into transhumanism, as it has been in every other human era. That's my prediction anyway.
On Star Trek, they are called Borg.
On Star Trek, they are called Borg.
Through the use of advanced technology, you make possible the establishment of a true, universal, and pure democracy. Using a network of communication that links the mind of every individual to a central processing network. This network uses a synthetic intelligence to oversee the logistic and beurocratic functions of government. The network that links enhanced minds together will be linked to the synthetic intelligence such that it can have, at a moment's notice, the capability to poll the entire population about legislation or other issues.
On Star Trek, they are called Borg.
You didnt read the OP, did you?Your position is well thought out, I'll give you that. A "pure democracy" is never going to happen, and it shouldn't. There is no way a general populace can know all the ins and outs of the complex issues our legislature deals with on a daily basis. There is no way that all of the information that needs to be known before casting an intelligent vote can be disseminated. John Q. Public is not intelligent enough nor interested enough to become well informed. And if he was, there wouldn't be anyone left to work for a living. There'd be no time.
My first thought was The Matrix. My second was Borg. Neither of which are scenarios I wish to be involved in, in any way, shape, or form.
Secondly, we are not all equal, we never will be. And we shouldn't be. How ****ing boring would that be?
Parts of us are not equal (some have better hearing than others) and some parts of us are (the value of our consciousness or soul if you want to call it that)
I don't believe in a "soul".
Parts of us are not equal (some have better hearing than others) and some parts of us are (the value of our consciousness or soul if you want to call it that)
Humans are assholes because we dont have a full understanding or acknowledgement of the consequences of our actions.You know that no matter what you do or how much technology you use, people will always be assholes. To take away the basic acknowledgment of human nature doesn't mean you can start fresh on a new base and push forward. It just means that the proposed plan will in most likelihood not manifest itself as a practical system within an actual human society. Thus as it stands, I think while you have a good plan and perhaps noble ideals; they are unachievable in the real world. Humans are monkeys after all, you always have to keep that in mind.
I'd urge you to avoid pop culture when thinking of this, as neither scenario is accurate.My first thought was The Matrix. My second was Borg. Neither of which are scenarios I wish to be involved in, in any way, shape, or form.
No one is proposing a Harrison Bergeron scenario.Secondly, we are not all equal, we never will be. And we shouldn't be. How ****ing boring would that be?
Not on an input/output basis.
Thats why I used consciousness as an alternative example.
that's just the mind. And our minds certainly aren't equal either.
Neuro networking? **** that. No way, no how. I have no desire to be "connected" to everyone and have stuff extracted from and inserted into my mind.Humans are assholes because we dont have a full understanding or acknowledgement of the consequences of our actions.
I'd urge you to avoid pop culture when thinking of this, as neither scenario is accurate.
You are proposing true "equality", and that's impossible unless we're all carbon copies of each other.No one is proposing a Harrison Bergeron scenario.
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