In a message dated 9/4/00 1:05:36 PM Central Daylight Time, jr@shasta.com
writes:
> Well funded and organized luddites perennially prevail over science and
> reason
> (nothing new there). Nevertheless, I doubt that any anti-science/technology
> backlash (which comes mainly from affluent and spoiled Western cultures)
can
> delay the advance of Asian populations (Japan, China, etc.) which are
> working
> day and night to catch up and develop nano, biotech, and AI. In addition,
> government centers, whether national or international, can plainly see that
> whoever leads in these fields will have a balance of power in their favor.
> The
> luddites may rant and rave with their well funded organizations, but when
it
> comes to taking real action, governments and corporations do what results
in
> increasing their power base, and that means they rely on science and
reason.
> Bottom line: luddites cannot effectively steer any ship of state.
While I'm usually in the first rank here of those calling for guidance from
history (perhaps because I've invested so much of life in its study), we also
need to be mindful of those things that really do make our time unique from
previous eras. Yes, with very few exceptions advances in science and
technology endow those who embrace them with power and competitive advantage
and are therefore ultimately impossible to completely stop. The metaphor of
likening human ingenuity to a river that can be channeled but not dammed
seems apt in most instances. The most powerful example in our own history is
the movement of the center of innovation northward as the Mediterranean world
became more orthodox during the Counterreformation.
But the scientific and technological advances with which we are concerned
here are in many respects unprecedented. Genetic engineering, nanotechnology
and AI not only promise quantitative increases in power, but also qualitative
changes in the KIND of power humans and their institutions will have. One
thing that marks transhumanist thinking is the extent to which we see these
advances as marking a phase-shift in human history. For better or worse,
this realization is increasingly sinking into the comprehension of a wider
and wider realm of commentators and actors. Those who want to turn back from
the brink of this qualitative change are coming to agree with us about how
momentous the leap we face will be.
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<gburch@lockeliddell.com>
Attorney ::: Vice President, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
ICQ # 61112550
"We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know
enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another
question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species."
-- Desmond Morris
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