One of my articles on Techno Progressivism has been published by the IEET. Here is an excerpt :

We are perpetually consumed by this “double life” scenario between what we project our society to be, and the society we actually live in. Impregnation of fantasy expectations portrayed in movies and other art forms into reality is a much favored venture of the human species. Laws of acceleration and trends of minimalism have increased the inclining curve of technological progress and physio-dimensional proportions. Energy, computing power, and genetics have all been favored playing fields.

The technologies or their advancement is in itself not to be blamed since their evolution is a natural inevitability of human civilization. In fact, all of the previously mentioned technologies hold great promise in improving the human condition.

Answers and newer knowledge on genomics and proteomics would increase our knowledge about our origins, strengths, and susceptibilities. We will have improved specific medications for serious ailments. Synthetic biology would bring down delivery timelines for precision drug design and delivery systems at the nano-scale. Sentience generation in other species would enable their utilitarian exploitation. Research into mice longevity would indeed eventually contribute to human longevity. However, I think that too much hype is being placed in the wrong direction.

Why are we fascinated by these technological fantasies?

I am writing this after having responded to a respected “bioethicist” friend with whom I am connected via Facebook. In his photo albums, he has a picture of a protected area for dogs in Thailand. This got me thinking. Being the “internet savvy” and “digitally addicted” personality that I am, I immediately commented on the photograph with my personal reflection that dogs within protected enclosures only creates “secluded love”. I went on to state that real love towards these animals would be to watch them roam around freely, whilst still being protected from harm ! I did receive a very nice reply from him saying that such protective measures for animals showcase the hope for a basic love towards all kinds of life. I liked his reply on the re-affirmation of hope. However, I was not completely satisfied with the promise of hope and love. Why ?

You see, Thailand incidentally happens to be one of the major sources for “Dog meat” in Asia, especially Vietnam. (read about it here). Dogs evoke such strong emotions in us because they express to us, a lot of love. My own departed canine friend was like a brother to me for over 14 good years ! Therefore, we are naturally inclined to protect those animals which respond to us with love, intelligence and in many cases, obedience. However, the entire world is not so rosy. Members of the canine species have long been used as meat, experimental animals and for sadistic sports; which are often direct reflections of our barbaric instincts. To those among us who love our canine friends, such cruelty is horrifying. However, our sympathy alone will not do any good. What else is needed ?

Given a choice between protecting a crocodile and a cute puppy , 90 % would choose the puppy. If given the information on a greater importance of the crocodile to the balance of the ecosystem compared to the thoroughbred puppy, the percentage of “puppy protectors” may or may not drop down. But if given the choice our survival in the planet would be severely challenged in the next week without the crocodile; most of us would willingly sacrifice the puppy and embrace the crocodile!

Are we truly the altruistic beings we portray ourselves to be ? I think not. We may pride ourselves as being the only living being that provides protection for other forms of life. But sadly, we are much further from the truth. We protect and conserve wildlife and natural resources because of our own selfish need to survive as a species. Modern ecological science has taught us that the future of mankind in this planet is bleak if we keep destroying the other inhabitants of this life, irrespective of their “cuteness”. Take the most basic example from India. A rice farmer tolerates an abundance of poisonous snakes only because they keep the rat population at check. If the same farmer moves to a protected rodent proof greenhouse, protection of the snake species would not be such an important criteria.

Okay. Enough with the usual sentiments of protecting the flora and fauna of our planet. What does all of this have to do with a posthuman future ? The transhuman or the posthuman future would be manifested on this, and other planets. How would we treat our current planetary co-habitants then ? Would we still offer refuge and protection ? I am not so optimistic. We would probably at best do what we have continued to do thus far. We would accelerate the growth and multiplication of species which are of the most beneficial and eradicate those that are not. Locusts and other traditional pests that include the ubiquitous mosquito would be a distant memory. So would parasites which sustain the life of pathogenic micro-organisms. We would re-engineer several species as we have been doing currently to our livestock. This is not a prediction. It is already happening. Hybrid and genetically altered livestock are being used by us on a normal basis. Every living creature is allowed life solely for the preservation of the human species. Am I going too far ? I don’t think so.

Let me make one thing very clear. We are neither the angels nor the demons to this planet. We are merely an intelligent species. Therefore, all these excuses about us loving our planet for it’s beauty and splendor are an absolute delusion that we place, upon our fundamental nature and instinct to survive as a species. If given the technological capacity of planetary population control , we would readily sterilize all other species and allow procreation of our species alone. This is not a “wrong” thing to do if understood very carefully and logically. The fundamental purpose of every civilization’s growth in human history has been to preserve human life. If we do not build fences, the other animals would not hesitate to make short work of our resources. This is the law of nature and we are also subject to the oldest law “survival of the fittest”. Are we no better than parasites or viruses then? I think not.

(Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sus_scrofa_domestica.jpg)

The ongoing evolution towards Technological posthumanism is bringing several positive changes. We are harnessing energy from resources more efficiently. The old notions that technology will bring unprecented disaster upon the planet should be put into reserve in face of technologies that are becoming cleaner every year if not every decade ! Very soon, synthetic biology shall enable us to “create” our requirements rather than modify or enhance the existing gene pool of this planet’s biodiversity. The Bioethical principles are rapidly becoming outdated and must be renewed in face of a glorious future for our species. We will be able to communicate and incorporate our sentient qualities onto the animals we find useful for our survival.

The true test to our morality and altruistic nature would come as we race towards the technological singularity. Would we bother about other life forms in this planet when we have no need of them for our sustenance ? Would we “love” them then ? Would they have “hope” for a “basic life” ?The answers are available now, every time we choose a meat product or a vegetable from the supermarket. What are our present choices ? Organic or non-organic ? To most, it is a question of the amount of money in one’s wallet relative to the number of family members to feed. When the questions and the answers become as simple as this, what would be the reason for “hope” and “love” towards animals and other life forms in the posthuman future ? THINK.

I feel both definitions somehow have drifted apart instead of a favourable fusion. When I first became exposed to the transhumanist gravy train, I thought the advanced technologies being addressed or promoted would be for the betterment of all human civilization. However, as each year passes into the next great revolution, the transhumanist movement is increasingly becoming a passive observer in face of the rapid acceleration of technology. In fact, I guess the singularity movement has played it safe by stating that the wolf would come and it would come so fast that it would eat you up before you had time to react..the wolf being the singularity.

Before transhumanism, there was only Bioethics. It still exists in the form of committees and legislations. However, the acceleration is so rapid that there is now absolutely no time to say we should proceed with caution. The one thing I can find comfort in is the fact that someone somewhere would have coined a word, a movement and even a well balanced definition for this condition.

We are losing the battle to a safe utopia for all of us. We are losing track of what it means to be “us” anymore. Our fascination with social networking websites and self proclamations with “status messages” has replaced live conversations. We project our personas with the aid of cellular phones, portable music players onto a vast multitude of like minded personas which really have no bearing beyond their pixelated existence. All of these are only stimulants of the senses without permanent purpose.

At best, we can say that we have effectively become “slaves” to the technology we create. The technology that is created is still inaccesible to the large majority of humanity. Even more disturbing is the fact that the technology being created is rapidly being owned not by governments but by corporations which reaffirm the fears initially expressed by dystopian movies. We may not place much importance to the impacts of technology on our environment, but with every cough and toxic exposure, we do pay the price and will continue to do so.

This far, I have addressed very briefly the incredible promises of transhumanism and how distant it really is from humanism. Technological acceleration need not be regulated or curbed. However, it would be better if it headed in a direction where everybody benefited instead of a minority of developed nations. All humans have the right to become transhumans. If not, then the transhumanist movement is no longer humanist. It is something else for which I am sure a new word will be framed.

So what is the solution ? The easiest solution is to come back to ground reality. While it may be fanciful to imagine that we are living in a matrix like world and are dissociated from all of our peers; it would only take one simple power cut or an EMP pulse to sever all of the technologies to which we are so desperately tied up for self expression. While it is important to embrace technology and the Cyborg fantasy, it is even more important to realize the value of our individual “self” . Let us atleast from now, try to understand the real value of emergent technologies to the whole of humanity instead of hedonistically experiencing them. Think about it.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License

I do not understand what the big deal is among transhumanist bloggers who have critically bashed the most awesome movie ever , AVATAR ! I mean, it is still not possible to get tickets in Chennai unless booked several days in advance. As for transhumanist expectations, the movie is designed for a mass audience and has to answer to everybody’s sensibilities rather than answer to philosophically accurate ramblings about existentialism ! I personally felt the completely immersive 3D experience to be just awesome and unforgettable… cannot wait to see it again ! And I cannot even imagine how awesome it would be on IMAX ! I shall write more on this movie soon enough !

One of the biggest challenges facing the spiritual seeker is the understanding of the “self”. Scientifically, this could be redefined as the exploration of ones consciousness. We do this by consious introspection using our biological body. Perhaps the subtle body is all but the deep-seated awareness of the electrical activity that goes on within our body. Perhaps there is a deeper reason which we cannot yet measure with available technology.

Anyway, both the spiritual seeker and the Cyborg enthusiast or rather “futurist” are essentially trying to transcend set boundaries of known dimensions.

In the heart of the yogi, time and space are simply metaphors and cease to exist as physical realities. In the mind of the cyborg futurist, time and space are dimensions which are to be overcome by immortality and infinite migration. Just as a yogi transmigrates one’s consciousness , the internet junkie and the futurist in us transmigrate our consciousness during an internet browsing session, a virtual reality immersion game or just simply while losing ourselves to the rhythms produced by our compressed music players.

Perhaps the starkest difference between the cyborg and the mystic is belief in God. However, what is thought of as a conflict is actually a grave misunderstanding. The real frontiers of spirituality or mystical thinking dissolve the concept of God into that of complete union with all known and unknown elements of the Earth and beyond.

We are often too caught up as a species with our desires for technological excellence that we fail to realize our status as transitory civilizations. Each civilization is known for it’s stereotype symbolism and so will be ours. Perhaps our civilization would be known by the next civilization as one fascinated by machinery ! I personally think that the next civilization would be an “energy” civilization where we would become forms of energy. These forms of energy would look upon our current status in much the same stereotypical manner that we reverently look at the egyptian civilization. Take a moment to realize these things and we would be humbled at how temporary we are, like moths or mayflies dreaming for an union with the bright lights ! We are sentient, but that does not mean we are out of the loop of time yet !