Human evolution? Some Silicon Valley greats hope to merge with machines

Some of us might help raise money for the purpose, hoping some of them will just disappear at that point onto Planet Ferrous, to construct a cyborg civilization—or whatever turns their cranks. But seriously, what then?

Neuroscientists Michael Graziano explains,

… “At the simplest level, mind uploading would preserve people in an indefinite afterlife. Families could have Christmas dinner with sim Grandma joining in on video conference, the tablet screen propped up at the end of the table – presuming she has time for her bio family any more, given the rich possibilities in the simulated playground. It’s this kind of idealised afterlife that people have in mind, when they think about the benefits of mind uploading. It’s a human-made heaven. – Michael Graziano, “What Happens If Your Mind Lives for Ever on the Internet?” at the Guardian”

He argues that most peopled in high-tech environments live in a virtual world already so it would make little difference whether those we interact with in our human-made heaven are living persons or the sims of deceased ones.

In his envisioned world, individuality is no longer a term that has any meaning.

“Transhumanism: is it a dangerous idea?” at Mind Matters News

Further reading on transhumanism:

Will we become mere apps of our smart computers?

Is Ray Kurzweil’s Singularity now nearer—or impossible? In response to Kurzweil’s talk at the COSM Technology Summit, panelists noted that AI achievements are revolutionary in size but limited by their nature in scope

Tech pioneer Ray Kurzweil: We will merge with computers by 2045 For computers, “Even the very best human is just another notch to pass,” he told the COSM Technology Summit

What if technology caused some people to live forever? What would it mean for them and for the rest of us? The authors also warn, “We can be pretty certain, for instance, that rejuvenation would widen the gap between the rich and poor, and would eventually force us to make decisive calls about resource use, whether to limit the rate of growth of the population, and so forth.”

and

But could techno-immortality ever be the real thing? Oxford mathematician John Lennox looks at Ray Kurzweil’s techno-immortality from a Christian perspective