From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Sat Jul 19 2003 - 01:47:54 MDT
On Fri, Jul 18, 2003 at 07:14:49PM -0700, Dan Fabulich wrote:
>
> I hinted at the answer above, but it should seem obvious now what it must
> be: all of the positions I've described are "extreme." None of them are
> balanced against the other; all of them are taken to their "logical
> conclusions." It's clear that there needs to be a middle ground, a
> sliding scale. Get used to working part time and perhaps I'll find it
> more fulfilling than I realize; maybe I'll get hooked and become an
> ascetic instead.
>
> Perhaps my imagination is simply drained, but it's hard to see what kind
> of work I can usefully do in my free time, to contribute to the
> ultratechnologies.
But is contributing to the ultratechnologies the best way of furthering
transhuman goals? There are certainly some technologies that would
benefit from more people tinkering, and some transhumanists that are
well into relevant technologies and developing them. But then there is
the rest of the project: we need to make sure these technologies are
usable for transhuman goals, and not just furthering of current human
goals (or even worse, dangerous or subhumanity-causing). Here we need
people participating in the public debate to make the transhumanist
position acceptable at the negotiation table, here we need people
analysing stuff on all scales to point out possibilities and threats,
here we need people trying out different solutions, technologies and
social networks to see what works and what doesn't work. And of course,
it would be great to have more people with funding opportunities within
this ideological sphere.
Some of this is "activism" and some of it is "scholarship". But there is
also plenty of room of being an entrepreneur and a transhumanist
(selling something transhuman, making money that can be used in
transhuman ways or just having a transhumanism friendly organisation) or
even doing it from the inside of an organisation (sure, foobar corp
might not care the least about transhumanity, but if the marketing
department has a transhumanist flair or the research department
understand the importance of nanotech the effects can be rather good -
for all involved).
As I see it the question "how can I get involved?" can be turned into
the question-tree: "Can I turn my current activities and interests into
something more useful? If not, do I want to change them in such a
direction?". Most people are going to find that the first step actually
gives plenty of room for practical action.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
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