Transhumanism Notes

These are my rough notes on the subject of Transhumanism. I wanted to show these early notes in case the release of my essay seems jarring in its subject matter.

THIS IS NOT SCIENCE FICTION, It's happening right now.

Who
What
When
Where
How

The human condition as we know it is not a given constant, its not fixed. It is something that will change maybe not tomorrow but in the coming years or decades.

Technology has a big part in it, but we need to be wary of the things technology can do.

Humanity develops randomly, in ten years will people have more blue eyes or less, be taller or shorter? No one really knows.

Transhumanism seeks to bring the evolution of humanity under control through he use of technology. Allowing us to shape and change the future of the human race as we see fit. It is important to note that trans-humanist believe in a positive and bright future, we are all aware of the potential hazards of humanities reliance on technology. But trans-humanists are not immobilized by this, they strive forward hopeful. 

 robotics, nanotechnology, genetics, bionics, artificial intelligence
push and change human limits
no longer exclusively biological

Human beings are not designed for the modern age
soft tissue, surrounds strong bones, we could do with this the other way around.

Mankind has always sought longevity, immortality.
through transhumanism that is potentially possible.
how many people die every day? if this was preventable would we be working harder to change it?

cyborg manifesto
Evolution does not dictate
consciousness means that we have the capacity to reflect upon the world
ourselves our futures
choose our evolution

revolutionize

future technologies

3 areas 3 supers
super longevity
super intelligence
super well-being

Aubrey Degray
priorities
combat aging
modern medicine used to keep us healthy, why not treat aging
longevity
Huge questions

Ray Kurzweil
every year computers get more and more powerful faster and faster
the technological singularity
edit our bodies to interact with computers
symbiotic relationship
recorded human knowledge
unthinkable 20 or 30 years ago
artificial intelligence
AI will self improve
we merge with AI
what will reliance on computers mean for our future
Stephen hawking fears that AI will supersede us

David Pearce
remove suffering
we've been design to survive
today's world does not need the same things
we are aggressive jealous people
need to edit our genes
abolitionists
making children is down to chance
do we need suffering?

seen as far fetched but its not
live longer
integrate with technology


Bibliography
Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Harraway
http://www.egs.edu/faculty/donna-haraway/articles/donna-haraway-a-cyborg-manifesto/

The Real Cyborgs by Arthur House
http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/the-future-is-android/index.html

"On the shoulders of steel" Ted Talk by Rodney Brooks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA-J0510Pxs
Baxter the robot brewing Coffee or machine tending.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcxKd-oe-L0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFKRSvM45GI
 
Emily Howell - Robot Composer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEjdiE0AoCU
Article on Emily Howell by Jacqui Cheng
http://arstechnica.com/science/2009/09/virtual-composer-makes-beautiful-musicand-stirs-controversy/

The Coming Transhumanist Era by Jason Sosa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ugo2KEV2XQ