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Until recently, technologies have changed, but people have remained unchanged - this has been the progress throughout the history of mankind. Today this era ends: the direct interaction of technology and consciousness is a matter of the coming decades. Many are very wary of such a turn, but there are also enthusiasts of the new state of affairs. They call themselves transhumanists and consider biological change in humans with the help of the latest technology a blessing. How will a new round of scientific and technological development affect us and society?
The world doesn't ask permission before it changes. Those who change it are in no hurry to ask for our consent. The idea of progress, which appeared during the Enlightenment, gave a person the hope that he himself is able to change for the better. But how to do that?
The philosophical concept of transhumanism offers its own version: in order to change the biological nature of a person, technologies must be integrated into it. Then the person will no longer be so vulnerable and can finally intellectually and physically surpass himself.
Philosopher and famous popularizer of transhumanism Nick Bostrom argues that man is not the final stage of evolution, but rather its beginning. But the political scientist and philosopher Francis Fukuyama, on the contrary, considers transhumanism to be perhaps the most dangerous worldview in the world, undermining the egalitarian ideals of liberal democracy.
However, in 2002, a transhumanist declaration was adopted. Then the concept appearedNBIK Convergence, meaning the fusion of nano-, bio-, information and cognitive technologies. In 2012, the US National Intelligence Council announced that in the next 15 years, the main trend will be the expansion of "innate human capabilities" with the help of NBIK technologies.
Some experimental NBIK developments have already been presented to the general public. For example, Edward Snowden spoke about remote monitoring of neurons(Remote Neural Monitoring). The technology works on the principle of an underwater sonar: coded low-frequency signals are sent to the auditory cortex and visual centers. This causes reverse fluctuations in brain potentials in a certain range, as well as electromagnetic radiation. Then the resulting vibrations are decoded and projected onto a monitor.
In fact, this allows you to literally carry out telepathic communication: directly transmit audio and visual messages, see and hear with someone else's eyes and ears. It is planned that this technology, among other things, will be used to identify unreliable social elements - and this already refers us to the idea of a mental crime police.
It is interesting that reading thoughts at a distance was predicted in The Rose of the World by the mystic writer Daniil Andreev - this was not even the case with Orwell.
Another development of scientists - optogenetics, designed to help everyone to improve the innate qualities and characteristics of the body through the management of brain activity. For this, scientists propose to use genetically modified neurons capable of synthesizing opsins - light-sensitive proteins contained in eye cells. Their activity can be controlled using light signals, thereby affecting brain activity.
First, light-sensitive genes isolated from microorganisms such as algae or viruses are introduced into the modified neuronal membranes. Then a hole is drilled in the skull and a thin fiber-optic cable is inserted through which light signals enter the dense fatty tissue of the brain. This is how scientists manipulate the electrical activity of neurons. So far, the researchers are training on mice and have already learned how to put them to sleep and awaken them, as well as make them feel hungry. The disadvantage of the technology is that the subjects have to take a special drug that helps to change brain activity.
A similar effect can be achieved with the implantation of brain implants. One of the pioneers in this area was the startup Neuralink, recently presented by Elon Musk.
100 wires and 3000 electrodes are implanted through an 8 mm hole in the skull. The signals are received by a small block, which is planned to be placed behind the ear, and it, in turn, will transmit data to the computer.
According to the project representatives, the ultimate goal is to combine the work of the brain with artificial intelligence. Elon Musk himself claims that in the future, a person will have the opportunity to improve his qualities. In the meantime, the developers have focused on helping people with disabilities live a full life again. But they do not particularly spread about their successes, since the military departments are actively interested in the project: it is possible that in the case of successful human tests, it will be possible to remotely control military equipment. The same functions in the future can be provided by the BrainGаte2 neural interface - a remote control system for disabled people, which has been developed and tested for 10 years.
The company Kernel also has a project to implant brain implants. The developers are seeking to improve cognitive abilities and intend to help patients. According to the head Brian Johnson, the implantation of the chip will help to cope with drug addiction, depression, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions. But although the development has been going on for several years, there is still no result, and almost nothing has been reported about the principles of the device.
But a similar device was created by a team of scientists led by professor of biomedical engineering Don Song. 20 volunteers were implanted in the brain with electrodes for point stimulation according to a given algorithm; As a result, the short-term memory of the participants in the experiment improved by 15%, and long-term memory by 25%.
Evolution or Revolution?
Kernel chief executive Brian Johnson believes that everyone, not just a select few, should have access to information, learning and cognitive evolution. And he's not the only one to bring up accessibility and ethical issues. Now there is a debate on this topic in the scientific and expert community, and it is difficult to make any predictions.
In the meantime, there can be problems with accessibility.
The authors of the US National Intelligence Council's Global Trends 2030 report state:
Recently, scientists from the Royal Society of London confirmed that transhumanistic technologies will make a real social revolution, but at the same time their high cost will increase the stratification of society.
For example, a brain implant for the treatment of Parkinson's disease costs 35-100 thousand dollars, an artificial heart - 100-200 thousand dollars. If today heart replacement saves lives, then in the future, implants can be used to upgrade a healthy body. It is possible that the video will be interrupted by advertisements suggesting parting with an absolutely healthy heart and replacing it with a "smart pump". After all, an artificial organ, in contrast to the "built-in by default", will be able to function flawlessly, control overloads and change operating modes.
It is clear that this will happen only if it is possible to achieve a reduction in the cost of production of "improving technologies", as well as to change the attitude of people towards the idea of technical improvement.
The initiators of the transhumanist revolution believe that now the majority is not ready for technological improvement: not everyone will dare to drill a hole in their heads.
But cyber optimists hope they can change the way people think about the idea in the future. homomodernization: the idea of getting superpowers and eternal life seems too tempting. For those unwilling to do so, British cyberneticist Kevin Warwick warns:
Brave digital world
Many supporters of this "improvement" of people believe that the technical improvement of man leads to the creation of a fundamentally new species. For Elon Musk, who intends to create a symbiosis of humans and artificial intelligence, this is the only way to compete with AI. Medical researcher and writer Daniel Teller believes that a new man in the struggle for living space will have to face the "monkey of the future" Homo sapiens, just as Homo sapiens once fought the Neanderthals.
In response, transhumanists cite a transhumanist declaration that claims the right to "a dignified life for all highly developed sentient beings (be they humans, posthumans, animals or organisms with artificial intelligence)." So, whoever turns out as a result of experiments, he will be able to coexist normally with Homo sapiens, who remained at the previous stage of evolution.
But can such a technological improvement of man be called evolution in the full sense of the word? This concept itself implies that the qualities acquired by a person become integral, which cannot be said about electrodes and wires implanted in the brain, which need an uninterrupted supply of communication.
Despite such a substitution of concepts, the initiators of homomodernization insist: the forthcoming technical improvement is the next step in human evolution.
And all the fears about the prospect of becoming "Human 2.0" are unnecessary, since we are already working as "machine hybrids". On the contrary, you need to be wary of not becoming "Human 2.0". It turns out that transhumanism is making us an offer that cannot be refused?
The world doesn't ask permission before it changes. Those who change it are in no hurry to ask for our consent. The idea of progress, which appeared during the Enlightenment, gave a person the hope that he himself is able to change for the better. But how to do that?
The philosophical concept of transhumanism offers its own version: in order to change the biological nature of a person, technologies must be integrated into it. Then the person will no longer be so vulnerable and can finally intellectually and physically surpass himself.
Philosopher and famous popularizer of transhumanism Nick Bostrom argues that man is not the final stage of evolution, but rather its beginning. But the political scientist and philosopher Francis Fukuyama, on the contrary, considers transhumanism to be perhaps the most dangerous worldview in the world, undermining the egalitarian ideals of liberal democracy.
However, in 2002, a transhumanist declaration was adopted. Then the concept appearedNBIK Convergence, meaning the fusion of nano-, bio-, information and cognitive technologies. In 2012, the US National Intelligence Council announced that in the next 15 years, the main trend will be the expansion of "innate human capabilities" with the help of NBIK technologies.
Some experimental NBIK developments have already been presented to the general public. For example, Edward Snowden spoke about remote monitoring of neurons(Remote Neural Monitoring). The technology works on the principle of an underwater sonar: coded low-frequency signals are sent to the auditory cortex and visual centers. This causes reverse fluctuations in brain potentials in a certain range, as well as electromagnetic radiation. Then the resulting vibrations are decoded and projected onto a monitor.
In fact, this allows you to literally carry out telepathic communication: directly transmit audio and visual messages, see and hear with someone else's eyes and ears. It is planned that this technology, among other things, will be used to identify unreliable social elements - and this already refers us to the idea of a mental crime police.
It is interesting that reading thoughts at a distance was predicted in The Rose of the World by the mystic writer Daniil Andreev - this was not even the case with Orwell.
Another development of scientists - optogenetics, designed to help everyone to improve the innate qualities and characteristics of the body through the management of brain activity. For this, scientists propose to use genetically modified neurons capable of synthesizing opsins - light-sensitive proteins contained in eye cells. Their activity can be controlled using light signals, thereby affecting brain activity.
First, light-sensitive genes isolated from microorganisms such as algae or viruses are introduced into the modified neuronal membranes. Then a hole is drilled in the skull and a thin fiber-optic cable is inserted through which light signals enter the dense fatty tissue of the brain. This is how scientists manipulate the electrical activity of neurons. So far, the researchers are training on mice and have already learned how to put them to sleep and awaken them, as well as make them feel hungry. The disadvantage of the technology is that the subjects have to take a special drug that helps to change brain activity.
A similar effect can be achieved with the implantation of brain implants. One of the pioneers in this area was the startup Neuralink, recently presented by Elon Musk.
100 wires and 3000 electrodes are implanted through an 8 mm hole in the skull. The signals are received by a small block, which is planned to be placed behind the ear, and it, in turn, will transmit data to the computer.
According to the project representatives, the ultimate goal is to combine the work of the brain with artificial intelligence. Elon Musk himself claims that in the future, a person will have the opportunity to improve his qualities. In the meantime, the developers have focused on helping people with disabilities live a full life again. But they do not particularly spread about their successes, since the military departments are actively interested in the project: it is possible that in the case of successful human tests, it will be possible to remotely control military equipment. The same functions in the future can be provided by the BrainGаte2 neural interface - a remote control system for disabled people, which has been developed and tested for 10 years.
The company Kernel also has a project to implant brain implants. The developers are seeking to improve cognitive abilities and intend to help patients. According to the head Brian Johnson, the implantation of the chip will help to cope with drug addiction, depression, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions. But although the development has been going on for several years, there is still no result, and almost nothing has been reported about the principles of the device.
But a similar device was created by a team of scientists led by professor of biomedical engineering Don Song. 20 volunteers were implanted in the brain with electrodes for point stimulation according to a given algorithm; As a result, the short-term memory of the participants in the experiment improved by 15%, and long-term memory by 25%.
Evolution or Revolution?
Kernel chief executive Brian Johnson believes that everyone, not just a select few, should have access to information, learning and cognitive evolution. And he's not the only one to bring up accessibility and ethical issues. Now there is a debate on this topic in the scientific and expert community, and it is difficult to make any predictions.
In the meantime, there can be problems with accessibility.
The authors of the US National Intelligence Council's Global Trends 2030 report state:
If we take into account the global trends towards a decrease in household income, these forecasts may be fully justified.
Recently, scientists from the Royal Society of London confirmed that transhumanistic technologies will make a real social revolution, but at the same time their high cost will increase the stratification of society.
For example, a brain implant for the treatment of Parkinson's disease costs 35-100 thousand dollars, an artificial heart - 100-200 thousand dollars. If today heart replacement saves lives, then in the future, implants can be used to upgrade a healthy body. It is possible that the video will be interrupted by advertisements suggesting parting with an absolutely healthy heart and replacing it with a "smart pump". After all, an artificial organ, in contrast to the "built-in by default", will be able to function flawlessly, control overloads and change operating modes.
It is clear that this will happen only if it is possible to achieve a reduction in the cost of production of "improving technologies", as well as to change the attitude of people towards the idea of technical improvement.
The initiators of the transhumanist revolution believe that now the majority is not ready for technological improvement: not everyone will dare to drill a hole in their heads.
But cyber optimists hope they can change the way people think about the idea in the future. homomodernization: the idea of getting superpowers and eternal life seems too tempting. For those unwilling to do so, British cyberneticist Kevin Warwick warns:
Ben Herzl, head of private artificial intelligence software company Novamente LLC and bioinformatics company Biomind LLC, envisions this future:
A separate area of development of NBIK-improving technologies is bioengineering, with the goal of creating "X-Men". Nowadays, the change in the innate qualities of a person no longer seems like a fantasy, but raises questions, as in the case of a digital upgrade. For example, British ecologist Bill McKibben is confident that technology will not be available to everyone. And molecular biologist Lee M. Silver argues that they will lead to the creation of a two-tier society of genetically engineered "haves" and "have-nots."
Brave digital world
Many supporters of this "improvement" of people believe that the technical improvement of man leads to the creation of a fundamentally new species. For Elon Musk, who intends to create a symbiosis of humans and artificial intelligence, this is the only way to compete with AI. Medical researcher and writer Daniel Teller believes that a new man in the struggle for living space will have to face the "monkey of the future" Homo sapiens, just as Homo sapiens once fought the Neanderthals.
In response, transhumanists cite a transhumanist declaration that claims the right to "a dignified life for all highly developed sentient beings (be they humans, posthumans, animals or organisms with artificial intelligence)." So, whoever turns out as a result of experiments, he will be able to coexist normally with Homo sapiens, who remained at the previous stage of evolution.
But can such a technological improvement of man be called evolution in the full sense of the word? This concept itself implies that the qualities acquired by a person become integral, which cannot be said about electrodes and wires implanted in the brain, which need an uninterrupted supply of communication.
Despite such a substitution of concepts, the initiators of homomodernization insist: the forthcoming technical improvement is the next step in human evolution.
And all the fears about the prospect of becoming "Human 2.0" are unnecessary, since we are already working as "machine hybrids". On the contrary, you need to be wary of not becoming "Human 2.0". It turns out that transhumanism is making us an offer that cannot be refused?
