From: Replicant00@aol.com
Date: Thu Oct 14 1999 - 22:43:57 MDT
To karljahn:
Basically, what you have written is quite self congratulatory. Thanks to you,
the evil beings you envisioned have come to light. Your scenario sounds
plausible, to one not familiar with the facts.
: )
I believe you are short sighted, in the way you accuse transhumanists of
being of the same cloth as some thing you invented in yoru sci-fi world of
demonic super-races.
Or comparing them to Borg. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Why? Well, because you don't know them, don't have the history, and haven't
explored the genre.
If you had you'd know and be able to site those that have done the work in
ethics. You'd know that there are already many serious minds wrapping around
the problems of ethics and bioengineering, and the capabilities and daners of
nanotech and AI. Perhpas you would not agree with their work (I see some
definite holes in someof the leaps they make), but you would be able to at
least site it.
I suggest you read some of the literature FM2030 and Max More have written to
see what the real ethics questions are. And to understand what the motivation
is for embracing the tide of transhumanism. Start with some Vinge, some Bart
Kosko, Marvin Minski, Eric Drexler, Hans Morovec, Linda Nagata and Greg Bear.
Try reading up on robotics, nanotechnology and neuroscience, not to mention
genetic and cryogenic and medical research. Find out what you can about
Artificial Intelligence and the dangers of not being intellignet enough to
write dafeguards. See what happens if one ignores the technology (in the
fashion of the Luddites) and what happens if one tries to keep up with....
Then, educated, look at a possible future where we can actually enhance our
lives by improving our own lots, instead of looking at how we can grab power
we don't deserve by the old tribal way you suggest: enslave others.
And remember, if you own a telephone, have ever had surgery or taken a drug,
or own a computer, you've already become a mutant anyway, so you're a
mutationist yourself.
I do not call myself a transhumanist. I do not want to live forever, or
upload myself into a computer. I have a healthy interest in learning and
growing and exploring limitations and I admire the transhumanists for their
bold and ever opimistic quest for making this world and the people on it
expland and become immune to the age old plagues of death, ignorance and
folly.
You are assigning evil to good group of folks, without really understanding
them.
RP
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 15:05:31 MST