1. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Democratic Transhumanism and the Emerging Biopolitics James J. Hughes Ph.D. Executive Director, World Transhumanist Association & Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies Public Policy Studies, Trinity College, Hartford CT James.Hughes@trincoll.edu

2. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Signs of Emerging Biopolitics Schiavo, stem cells, reprotech, Pope’s focus on bioethics Christian Right vs. libertarians Progressives and Secularists divided Why? Biopolitics is new, and cuts across existing political ideologies

3. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 20 th Century Politics

4. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 21 st Century Politics

5. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Biopolitical Battlefronts Who is a citizen with a right to life?: abortion, stem cells, great ape rights, brain death, chimeras Control of Reproduction: contraception, abortion, fertility treatments, genetic testing, germline gene therapies, cloning Fixing Disabilities to “Human Enhancement”: cochlear implants, prosthetics, eye and brain chips, gene therapies, cosmetic procedures Extending Life: from treatments for aging-related diseases, to anti-aging drugs and therapies Control of the Brain: Ritalin and Prozac, psychoactive drugs, brain chips

6. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Drivers: Emerging Technologies Tech that will radically change human life: Psychopharmacology Genetic engineering Nanotechnology Artificial intelligence Cognitive science The accelerating convergence of all these

7. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 NSF: Nanowiring the Brain “Neuro-vascular central nervous recording/stimulating system: Using nanotechnology probes,” Rodolfo R. Llinás, Kerry D. Walton, Masayuki Nakao, et al. “The emergence and policy implications of converging new technologies integrated from the nanoscale,” M. C. Roco

8. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 BioConservatives/BioLuddites Religious Right CS Lewis The Abolition of Man Deep Ecologists, Romantic Luddites Aldous Huxley Brave New World Jeremy Rifkin Algeny Left-wing/Feminist Critics of Biotech Gena Corea The Mother Machine Center for Genetics and Society Pro-Disability Extremists Not Dead Yet

9. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 2002: BioPolitical Landmark Leon Kass appointed Chair of President’s Council on Bioethics Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future (2002) Greg Stock’s Redesigning Humans (2002) Christian Right’s Manifesto on Biotechnology and Human Dignity (2002) Vatican’s "Human Persons Created in the Image of God“ (2002) Bill McKibben Enough (2003) PCB’s Beyond Therapy (2003) Leon Kass Chair, President’s Council on Bioethics

10. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Christian Right Biocon Network Millions of dollars being poured into “conservative bioethics” Center for Bioethics and Culture (Jennifer Lahl, Nigel Cameron, Prison Ministries, etc.) Trinity International University/Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity Discovery Institute (Wesley J. Smith) Ethics & Public Policy Center’s BAD (E. Cohen, New Atlantis) American Enterprise Institute (L. Kass, J.Q. Wilson) National Catholic Bioethics Center (John Haas) Hudson Institute (Michael Fumento)

11. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 IBHF: Building Biocon Alliances

12. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Leftist Opponents of Biotech Leftist, feminist and anti-racist opponents of “technoeugenics”

13. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Deep Ecologists and Luddites Jeremy Rifkin’s FOET Andrew Kimbrell ETC Foundation on Deep Ecology Anti-GM food groups Brent Blackwelder, President, Friends of the Earth

14. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Pro-Disability Extremists E.g. Not Dead Yet Opposed to: Efforts to “cure” or “fix” disabilities Christopher Reeve Cochlear implants Parent’s right to terminate disabled fetuses The right of sick and disabled to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment Human enhancement medicine

15. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 What is Transhumanism? An intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of transcending the limitations of the human body through applied reason especially by using technology to eliminate aging and enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities. Trans-humanists are humanists who emphasize what we have the potential to become through reason.

16. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Proto-Transhumanists JP Condorcet and William Godwin – foresaw conquering death as part of utopian programme HG Wells and Olaf Stapledon– portrayed future evolution of humanity JBS Haldane, 1923, "Daedalus: Science and the Future“ – in vitro fertilization, genetic engineering JD Bernal, 1929, "The World, the Flesh and the Devil” – first projection of cybernetic implants JD Bernal Jean Condorcet

17. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 “Transhumanism” Julian Huxley, 1957, coined term "Transhumanism“ - "the human species can transcend itself." “FM-2030” (FM Esfandiary) popularized term “transhuman” in the 1970s

18. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 90s: Libertarian H+ & Extropians Extropy Institute http://extropy.org Extropian Principles Extropian email lists Max More Reason writer Ron Bailey

19. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 TranshumanistsBioConservatives Personhood, cyborg citizenship Human-Racism or mysanthropy/deep ecology Humanism, reason, individual liberty, progress Sacred taboos, “the natural”, yuck factor, romanticism Risks are manageablePunishment for hubris inevitable; Tech should be banned Central Biopolitical Disputes

20. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Beyond Human-racism… Human-racism = Humanness as basis of rights-bearing Humans have souls or crypto-spiritual “human dignity” Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights (UN General Assembly, 1998) “The human genome underlies the fundamental unity of all members of the human family, as well as the recognition of their inherent dignity and diversity.” Annas/Andrews Treaty: human enhancement should be “a crime against humanity” Embryonic citizens?

21. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 …to Personhood Is hairlessness one of the genes necessary for citizenship? Persons: “conscious beings, aware of themselves, with intents and purposes over time” You can be human and not persons: fetus, braindead You can be a person and not human: great apes, AI, posthumans Legal personhood confers “right to life” and to technological self- empowerment

22. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 H+ = Radical Human Rights Personhood, not race, gender or species, defines citizenship Citizens have a right to control own bodies & brains Goal of governance should be to help each person fulfill her potential John Locke 1632-1704

23. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Technological Self-Determination The right to use technology to control our own bodies and minds The right to more life and ability Health care access Cognitive liberty Transgender rights Right to body modification and cosmetic enhancement Reproductive rights Right of disabled to assistive tech

24. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Bioethicists Moving Towards H+ Religious Right (Schiavo) and Kassites are polarizing and scaring bioethicists They are becoming more H+ as they are forced to defend autonomy & technology against religious thuggery and nonsensical yuck factor arguments Arthur Caplan: “…enhancing intelligence or changing personality or modifying our memory, maybe that should be available to everyone as a guarantee of equal opportunity.”

25. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Growing H+ Movement World Transhumanist Association transhumanism.org 30 chapters, 3000 members Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies ieet.org Immortality Institute Terasem Foundation Betterhumans.com Foresight Institute Singularity Inst for AI Dr. Nick Bostrom Oxford University WTA & IEET Chair Nasteho Abdi Jumale Vice-Chair of WTA-Kenya Gaurav Gupta Chair, Indian Society for Transhumanity

26. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Constituencies for H+ Disabled seeking assistive tech and cures Feminists supporting full reproductive rights including germinal choice Drug law reform advocates supporting deregulated access to neurotechnologies Human rights activists supporting a right to bodily autonomy Scientists & health workers alienated by growing religious right restrictions LGBT community seeking reproductive options Tech-friendly ecologists supporting tech solutions to eco-threats Senior citizens looking for cures for aging-related diseases Developing countries hoping to use emerging technologies to “leapfrog” to development Animal rights activists advocating a post-speciesist basis for rights

27. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Growing Diversity of H+ From the March 2005 survey of WTA members Atheist, Agnostic, Secular humanist 63% Spiritual, Buddhist, Protestant, Religious humanist, Catholic, Pagan, Unitarian- Universalist, Hindu etc. 25% Other 13%

28. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Democratic Transhumanism Core Principles: We liberate ourselves from nature through technology, and from social oppression through democracy Core values: liberty, but also equality and solidarity Tech needs regulation and universal access Public policy needed to prevent and redress downsides of tech innovation, e.g. BIG for structural employment

29. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Building H+ Coalitions H+ Coalition BioCon Coalition

30. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Tech is not the problem Greed, racism, inequality, poverty, patriarchy, authoritarianism, ignorance and superstition are the problems Technology only opens new battlefronts The Crossbow was invented to oppress peasants. But it became the perfect tool for knocking knights off horses.

31. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Universal Access is a Problem Expand universal access Universal health insurance coverage, including beneficial enhancements Research & tech transfer for needs of the developing world clean water, telecom, vaccines, immune tweaks, nano, GM crops Toronto Bioethics Centre’s reports on genetics and nano for the developing world

32. Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 For more information World Transhumanist Association transhumanism.org Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies ieet.org Betterhumans.com Me: james.hughes@trincoll.edujames.hughes@trincoll.edu