Transhumanism and the ‘Intelligence Principle’

“In sorting priorities, I adopt what I term the central principle of cultural evolution, which I refer to as the Intelligence Principle: the maintenance, improvement and perpetuation of knowledge and intelligence is the central driving force of cultural evolution, and that to the extent intelligence can be improved, it will be improved.”—Stephen J. Dick

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Posted by Mark Thompson  on  06/24  at  02:17 PM

Dear George,

An assumption of technological progress at a linear rate does not hold up to historical scrutiny, as exemplified by the following pasage:

"In capitalism the rate of change has been incomparably greater than anything before in human history. In the last hundred years the technological developments have been, if anything, more far-reaching in their social implications than those of the previous hundred years. A century ago there were no motor cars or lorries and no road system which could have supported today's mass of high-speed traffic. There were no aeroplanes or helicopters. There were no farm tractors, combine harvesters, milking machines or tuberculosis-free cattle. There was little domestic gas and virtually no domestic electricity so that there were no household machines such as vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, washing machines, or food mixers. Electronic engineering, with its wide range of applications from radio and television to computers, microwave ovens and automatic control systems, had not yet begun. There was no automation, no laser and fibre optics, no space engineering, no biological engineering, no atomic engineering, no man-made fibres or plastics, no stainless steel or even aluminium. It was a society of horse drawn vehicles, domestic servants, heavy manual work, cast iron and steam power."

The developments over the last century have clearly demonstrated exponential growth in technological development. Each advance builds on the advance before it.

Some critics argue that difficulties in overcoming technological barriers will also grow exponentially, resulting in linear gowth. Notwithstanding the historical record, today's challenges do not accumulate based on yesterday's difficulties, which are periodically solved, unlike technological solutions which accumulate based on positive feedback loops.

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