What “Irrelevance” Means and What It Doesn’t

I have proposed that a scenario of slower-than-disruptive tech development over the next 15-20 years combined with weak or reduced opposition to human enhancement could result in “increasing irrelevance” for transhumanists. But what exactly does that mean?

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Posted by Giulio Prisco  on  03/09  at  02:14 PM

I think the transhumanist spirit has only little to do with the expected pace of technology development.

Transhumanists think human enhancement, from moderate prosthetics to disruptive breakthroughs like indefinite lifespans (aka immortality) and mind uploading, are feasible and desirable in principle.

Most transhumanists realize that reality is more complex than simple mathematical models, and the actual pace of technology development may well be much slower than we wish.

I don't think our generation will see immortality and mind uploading. More specifically, I don't think I will live long enough to see mind uploading, and I don't think I will live much longer than my grandfather. This makes me sad. Does this mean I am not a transhumanist?

Not at all, quite the contrary. I do think future generations will see immortality and mind uploading, and I think their lives will be much better for it. This makes me happy. I do think the efforts of our generation are contributing to wonderful outcomes for our grandchildren. I wish them a very long, very interesting cosmic journey with awesome vistas much beyond our imagination, and I am happy for them. This is why I call myself a transhumanist.

Posted by Infinite Infinitesimal Progress  on  03/17  at  04:26 AM

To be a transhumanist is to view the world as a machine, a very very very complex one, yet just a machine. To be a transhumanist is to be a naturalist.

When you're feeling or creating something that \"no machine could ever be capable of,\" you must only look back at the history of the species to realize your mistake. Our distant ancestors (not so many generations ago) were physically incapable of creating and feeling the things we today take for granted as part of the normal daily human experience. Specifically, they were incapable of generating and processing the mind states of our brains. Our thoughts would be as incomprehensible to them as they are today to any other species but human.

In the future there will be minds that far surpass our current ability to create and feel - as a result natural evolution, no artificial enhancement needed, just add time. But of course artificial enhancement is necessary for further progress, at some point, since biological systems have their inherent very limiting limitations that other arbitrary atomic configurations do not share.

It seems inevitable that our descendants will be more capable of everything we are now capable of. Our minds will be incompatible with their minds. Perhaps not on a daily, mundane level, but on some more fundamental level. You can\'t tell the difference between a top physicists and, say, yourself, when you\'re talking about the weather or shopping - when you\'re doing non-expert things. The fundamental differences of cars aren\'t obvious unless you put the pedal to the metal.

The future is, obviously, the result of the efforts of each generation, and as a transhumanist, one must make sure that the efforts are not only the right ones but the best possible ones - as soon as possible. Keep the pedal to the metal.

Posted by Khannea Suntzu  on  03/23  at  05:10 AM

What mike, do you assume that 'some stereoscopic VR contact lenses' and 'a decade of life extension benefits' will suffice by 2025? Exponential growth will also exponentially give me and other H+ians new ideas to want want want now.

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