Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Where Next? The Future of Human Evolution James J. Hughes Ph.D. Executive Director, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies Editor, Journal of Evolution and Technology Lecturer, Public Policy Studies, Trinity College April 18, 2008 – Madison Wisconsin - Evolution in the 21st Century

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Evolution Has Been Accelerating More genomic change in the last 40,000 years than the previous 400,000 years 40,000BC humans were more similar to Neanderthals than us

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Beyond Natural Selection? Memetic selection Dawkins Memes spread from brain to brain Lamarckian evolution Facilitated by our Cyborgification (Literacy)

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Beyond Natural Selection? Group selection Economic, cultural, military

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Human Intelligent Design We have not been optimised by blind evolution Human intelligence will accelerate evolution – genetic, memetic and group – even more

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Emerging Technologies Tech that will radically change the human brain: Psychopharmacology Genetic engineering Nanotechnology Artificial intelligence Cognitive science The accelerating convergence of all these “for improving human performance”

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Accelerating Tech Change Moore’s Law Accelerating trends in all sciences Convergence Hans Moravec “When will computer hardware match the human brain?,” Journal of Evolution and Technology. 1998(1)

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Singularity: Punctuated Equilibrium

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Human Enhancement Goals Curing disabilities Optimum health Longer lives Intelligence Emotional control Spiritual goals Aesthetic expression Ensuring the best lives for our kids Dark Angel television series

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

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 TranshumanistsBioConservatives Personhood: All persons have moral standing Human-Racism: Only humans have moral standing Reason, individual liberty, diversity of life goals, progress Sacred taboos, “the natural”, yuck factor, the broccoli argument Risks are manageableRisks unknowable (evolved complexity or divine plan); Punishment for hubris inevitable; H+ tech should be banned Central Bioethical Disputes

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 “Trans-humanism” and “Transhuman-ism” Julian Huxley first director of UNESCO "Transhumanism“ "the human species can transcend itself." “FM-2030” (FM Esfandiary) popularized term “transhuman” in the 1970s

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Transhumans and Posthumans What is a transhuman? A 'transitional human', a human taking the first steps towards becoming posthuman. What is a posthuman? A posthuman is a human descendant who has been augmented to such a degree as to be no longer a human. But…What is “human?”

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Possible Modes of Being accessible by humans accessible by transhumans accessible by animals accessible by posthumans

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Postbiological Life BCI and uploading

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Brain-Computer Interfaces

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Bostrom on Existential Risks Whimpers – slow bad posthuman outcome Shrieks – quick bad posthuman outcome Crunches – permanent stasisBangs – sudden extinction

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Bangs Asteroids, SuperVolcanoes, Nuclear War

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Crunches Permanent civilizational stasis

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Shrieks Rapid undesirable posthuman takeover

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Human-PostHuman Conflict "The posthuman will come to see us (the garden variety human) as an inferior subspecies without human rights to be enslaved or slaughtered preemptively. It is this potential for genocide based on genetic difference, that I have termed "genetic genocide," that makes species-altering genetic engineering a potential weapon of mass destruction." George Annas, 2001

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Whimpers Evolution to undesirable posthuman state Elois and Morlocks in The Time Machine Batteries for Robots in The Matrix

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Will We Evolve Less Diversity? Diversity of some kinds will decrease Diversity of most kinds will increase

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Could We Evolve Beyond Individuality? Neurotechnology The Borg and superorganisms Blurring of individuality Co-existence of individualist and collectivist societies

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 Conclusions? Our future could be really cool and diverse Our future could be really awful Future people may evolve into awful things There may be no future for intelligent life at all We have some choices to make

Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2005 For more information World Transhumanist Association transhumanism.org Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies ieet.org Me: