Re: >H RE: Present dangers to transhumanism

Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
31 Aug 1999 15:23:00 +0200

Touche! :-)

Actually, we probably need more good studies of pros and cons of transhumanists ideas put on the web, to show that we are actually looking seriously at these issues. Otherwise people will get the wrong impression and think we are just naive technophiles.

k_aegis@mindspring.com writes:

> den otter writes:
> >Until we fully acknowledge the "darker" side of progress,
> >instead of giving it the occasional lip service, and become
>
> >motivated by 50% hope and 50% fear, transhumanism
> >won't reach maturity and [thus] its full potential.
>
> It seems that we have been having that debate for quite awhile
> now. It's been going something like this:
>
> ANDERS, in lilting tones: There is this wonderful new proposed
> technology, [insert name of technology]. With this new technology,
> we could make our brains bigger and think more thoughts. We
> could cure disease. We could upload! See, I have some calculations.
>
> NICK, with steady gaze: This new proposed technology can be
> used to blow up the planet. It can melt your brain. See, I
> have calculations.
>
> KATHRYN: You both have good points here. I'd like to see a
> working prototype! Does this thing really work? Let's do science,
> not science fiction....
>
> ANDERS: The really stubborn people come from Nick's part of
> Sweden.
>
> NICK: Let's write a paper.


Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y