>> I'm confident that "genuine" emotions will be able to be produced by non-biological life-forms in the future.

God I hope not... That would cause some serious ethical questions... oh well. I guess I'll cross that bridge when we come to it I suppose...

>> "real people with the ability to save themselves do or make a mess of themselves trying."

So true. I like to think I'll have this dramatically awesome death... epic last words... something like that. But in reality my last word will probably be something like: "Hey, could you reach behind the seat and grab me tha-"

Futurist and inventor, Ray Kurzweil suggests that it will not be an issue of "us versus them" as we will merge with "them", as we merge with our advanced information technology.

I cannot help but think about simpler technologies we use to enhance our experience of life: eyeglasses to see better, clothing to enable us to move in more extreme climates, automobiles for travel, etc.

The essence of identity boundaries will define the course of these events and our perception of them.

Yes, that is Hollywood.

Reality is "I want to live!"

That is primal.

>> we will merge with "them"

I actually was discussing this not to long ago with some friends. We were discussing the advancements in prosthetics and the new prosthetic arms that, once they get it all figured out, will have the potential to send the same signals for pain and feeling as a regular arm does.

I honestly would consider getting one of these arms as an elective procedure. I mean, you would never have to worry about arthritis, burning yourself accidentally, etc. simply by programing your arm not to feel those kinds of pain. Not to mention the advantage it would give you in a fight...

Assume that some of your friends and loved ones, or even all of them eventually die as you live. That would be saddening, but would not the sorrow eventually pass? Would it be a requirement that you also die? Would you not be able to kindle new relationships?

No. You just accumulate more losses. New relationships yes, but the sorrow never passes.

The whole topic of "the meaning of living a really damn long time, or being truly immortal" opens up massive avenues of philosophical and emotional exploration. Don't quite feel up to writing a full post about that at this moment, but I think it's cherry-picking to use examples where there is no tradeoff, or where the only choice is immediate death or a lifesaving procedure.

But, I will leave with this thought:

Would you accept losing the ability to die, including by your own will, while gaining no augmentations to physical abilities?

I think it's not quite so easy of a choice if you consider it.

Has anyone seen the film 'Surrogates'? The ideas in the film were very intriguing. The thought that you could live your life in the safety of your home but interact with the world, both physially and mentally, using a surrogate has a lot of potential.

Personally, the thought of whether l would want to live forever or not has not entered my mind in a serious way. My plan is to live as long as l can so that l can experience, enjoy and do as much as l can during my time alive. I plan to be 'immortal' in the same way that Einstien, Newton, Thatcher, Ned Kelly, LaVey, King Edward, Washington and many more are immortal. They may not be physically alive but they are well and truly still here on this planet because of what they did, what they achieved or what they became famous for. I don't know yet how l will become immortal but l plan to be remembered for something phenomenal!

I have thought about what l would do if l was in a car accident and found myself dying and my thought has always been that l would never let death win. I will force myself to get help, fix myself or whatever it would take because l am not leaving this party called life with out a good fight. However, l have thought of the fact that my mind might be ready to fight but if l loose too much blood, am far too physically damaged, etc, l might have a bit of trouble. I guess l will work it out at the time if it happens!

Our world has changed dramatically over the last 100 or so years. I find everything that happens fascinating and welcome all of it.

Life! Bring it on!

Hail Satan!
Midnight

A topic dear to my heart brother.

I see the next evolution of man being brought about through the use of technology.

First there will be cyborgs, as pioneered by Professor Kevin Warwick of Reading University in UK. I recommend his book 'I, cyborg' published by Random House which shares details and insight into his early experiments in the field of cybernetics.

My theory is that cyborgs, being technologically augmented humans will branch into what will become known as something like 'Homo Technicus' or 'Homo Technical' (has a better ring to it in my opinion).

Homo Technical will be very much a synergy of organic, mechanical and electronics. Beginning with a modified 'human form' (as we now know it) the term and the concept of what it is to be human will quickly adapt to encompass many 'non-traditional' antiquated bipedal forms.

Then there will come perhaps after, or perhaps simultaneously 'Techno Sapiens'.
100% non-organic but with an intelligence synthesized or perhaps replicated from a human intelligence.
Physical form will be much less relevant (if even required) unless specific to a task to be psychically performed.
Memory, intelligence and experience will be able to be reproduced and stored in digital form.
Death will in effect be redundant as any data saved in a secure location (like a back up hard drive) could be reproduced and replicated.

I could go on but I have other things to do at this particular moment.

I have spent the last 10 years or so developing the philosophy of TECHNO so I have many ideas on related subjects. Perhaps we can continue this discourse at a later date.

That's the spirit!

And that really is the whole point.

Good for you!

>> I have thought about what l would do if l was in a car accident and found myself dying and my thought has always been that l would never let death win. I will force myself to get help, fix myself or whatever it would take because l am not leaving this party called life with out a good fight. However, l have thought of the fact that my mind might be ready to fight but if l loose too much blood, am far too physically damaged, etc, l might have a bit of trouble. <<


Ah, yes. The will to live is the cornerstone of any life-loving philosophy - whatever one's take may be.

We should begin by not over-contemplating our death in the first place.

Habits can be reformed to suit the wants of the one who is the meddler but for the true Satanist a machine-like existence is not conceivable.

Yes, we are much like our deistic counterparts in that we have the same needs for survival. Shelter, food, clothes, money, a purposeful place in society. But as Anton LaVey had made clear:

We ultimately make our own decisions, unconcerned with what the rabble wants.

Did I miss something here...?

His post history will fill in the blanks. The one where he changed his name to Satan is a good place to start.

As for Transhumanism, I think it's really interesting and I am looking forward to seeing what happens, even if only a fraction of what is predicted is achieved.

As for myself, I'd obviously take every chance to extend my life, but I really doubt that unless I put a life time into getting into the circles with the scientists pushing these things that I'd get a chance to actually do it. Lets face it, there is too much living to do. Most the people I have met that know a lot about Transhumanism talk about it as if it will affect them, but once people start wielding the powers they won't share it with the mass populace.

>> His post history will fill in the blanks. The one where he changed his name to Satan is a good place to start.

Okay good. I'm not the only one noticing a trend.

>> Most the people I have met that know a lot about Transhumanism talk about it as if it will affect them.

Working in the medical field, I've seen how long it takes for even the most simple of medical products to get approved for the general public. There's a seemingly unlimited number of hoops and red tape that must be navigated before anything is even considered admissible into the general public. Not to mention the years it will take for these technologies to become even remotely affordable. (Not to mention the years of development that are still necessary for these technologies to be developed.)

In short, I was born too early...

Beware of straight line assumptions with exponential increases.

Ray Kurzweil has been the world's most successful predictor of major future events.

He is the hands-down champion.

He bases his predictions on the proven exponential (not linear) growth of information technology.

If you are going to make assumptions about the future it is wise to base them on those who have the best track record and whose methods are based on assumptions that make sense.

Kurzeil for years has predicted that machines will equal the computing power of the human brain by 2029.

Kurzweil has predicted for years that the AI Singularity will happen just about 20 years after that at which point intelligence will leap above the current human level exponentially.

Kurzweil has stated quite clearly that he expects that if he lives another 15 years he will pass through the current bottleneck that will lead to ongoing options to reverse aging and increasingly repair and maintain the human body which is, after all, just another machine.

My own opinion is simply that I do not place my bets with losers. I place my bets with winners.

In this field of prediction, Kurzweil is the world's top winner.

You were not born too early.

Anyone expecting to survive another 15 years wasn't born too early either.

Oh. One more thing.

Costs always drop as technology improves. When technologies enter exponential improvement as is true in this area then costs fall dramatically.

Also the level of technology determines the wealth of all members in society, not merely the rich. The poorest members of American society generally live better in every way than the wealthiest European kings of the Renaissance.

The nature of these accelerating technologies is such that they spread and are actually quite impossible to contain or sequester. Information technologies lend themselves to this as we see in the worldwide spread of the copying of music, videos, books on the internet.

There may be bumps and hiccups along the way, even major warfare and the loss of many cities through violence, however the forward thrust of these accelerating technologies appears to be quite unstoppable.

Those who face this future with eyes wide open will have the best chance to survive these issues and benefit from the resulting wealth.

Those who don't will never see what hit them.

Always look both ways when crossing a street.

Always look forward when the future starts rushing at you exponentially.

Don't blink.

My ever persistent pessimism surfacing. haha.

But seriously, thank you for your response Magister. I have always been fascinated with the future of human technology and evolution. (Hence my nerdly allegiance to the Star Wars Universe...) and the idea of such technologies (Transhuman, not lightsabers ) existing in my lifetime is a very exiting one for me. Especially in the 15 year estimate is correct.