h+ Magazine

One worry about the possibility of radical germ line enhancement of the human species is that it may, at some point, produce a being so genetically superior to the regular human that the race would split in two. 

The Jetson’s already was telling a tale of the monotony of the type of work that was performed by white collar workers in the mid 60′s. George Jetson worked for “Spacely’s Sprockets” a generic name combining the founder of the company with a “sprocket” a generic device that is never fully explained in the series.

Ok, so you have a provocative idea. You’ve done the math. Everything appears good to go. How do you gather a swarm around the idea?

“This is a battle without bombs, prison bars or blank inserts in newspapers, but if care is not taken, the enemies of the truth may sweep the board.”

Somewhere today, a loose-knit group of activists who are having fun is dropkicking a rich, established organization so hard they are making heads spin. Rich and resourceful organizations are used to living by the golden rule – “those with the gold make the rules”. New ways of organizing go beyond just breaking the old rules into downright shredding them – leaving executives in the dust, wondering how that band of poor, rag-tag, disorganized activists could possibly have beaten their rich, well-structured organization.

It is becoming clearer now that the tactic of simply holding on and hoping that an ‘inevitable’ up-turn in economic conditions will come just in time to stop massive dislocation of the political culture that was created in the 1980s is no longer working.

If the posthuman entities – such as the Wide Descendents eating up the inner solar system of Stross’ novel – lack a linear, narrative consciousness, can their form of existence be worthy of ethical consideration?

In last night’s State of the Union address, president Obama mentioned 3D Printing techniology briefly and called for the creation of 15 regional hubs to promote innovation in manufacturing technologies in the United States. Here’s the excerpt.

All civilizations either become spacefaring, or become extinct.

As technological change speeds up and trans-humanist thought becomes a serious tool in the armoury of society, perhaps it is time to become more sophisticated about the political circumstances in which it appears.

Ben Goertzel converses with Hugo de Garis on his transhumanist argument for the reality of a Creator.