Book Teaser

The following is a teaser, the first few pages of a book I am working on called "Through the Eyes of God: How Humanity Can Save Itself."

Enjoy.

Humanity is at a fork in the road. It is a very significant fork, because the choices we make over the next 50 years will determine the future of our race for the next several million years, and once we choose our path we are stuck with it.

You may be familiar with the Kardashev scale. It is a measure of the technological advancement of a race based on the amount of energy it can generate and consume. Type one societies are able to produce and consume the energy equivalent of all of the solar energy available to their planet, type two can produce and consume the energy equivalent generated by their star, and the level definitions go on increasing in energy requirement. Currently, humanity is just over Type .7, which is a pretty respectable level of development if you ask me.

It hasn’t been an easy road to this point, though. Many wars have been waged, many good men have devoted their lives to the study of science, and many governments have invested considerable wealth into energy research. The most significant leap forward in energy technology came with the discovery of fossil fuels. They are so plentiful, so easy to harvest, and so dense in energy that they have enabled humanity to experience a dramatic and sudden leap forward in technological advancement. Everything from the invention of computers, to the advent of the internal combustion engine, to the discovery of plastic, we owe to fossil fuels. They have truly taken society to a place it never could’ve reached otherwise.

There is a problem though: Fossil fuels are a finite resource. In a short span of only about 200 years, our species has consumed almost all of the fossil fuel reserves on the planet Earth, reserves which were created over the course of billions of years. When the fossil fuels run out, what comes next? There are only two choices. We can either use the gift of fossil fuel as an essential stepping stone to an even more advanced level of society and energy generation, or we can take several steps back and become a pre-industrial society again, with limited access to energy or advanced manufacturing materials.

Choosing not to choose is choosing to go back. A type 1 civilization is advanced enough to persist, a type 0 civilization is small enough to persist, but our current level of energy generation and consumption is unsustainable. In order to move forward, we must intelligently leverage our remaining reserves of fossil fuels to enable a new type of human civilization. If we fail, our descendents may have another chance in a few million years, when the reserves have been replenished by the decaying bodies of trillions of carbon based life forms. There is no shortcut however. Fossil fuels are a gift, a necessary step from primitive to advanced civilization.

This book is the story of choosing to move forward. It is the future that man can deliver upon himself should he choose to recognize the precarious nature of his own existence, embrace his own strength, and create something better with the rare opportunity before him.

Overpopulation and Resource Depletion: Does it even matter?

Are overpopulation and resource scarcity legitimate problems for a transhuman society?

Whenever I discuss transhumanism in general, and defeating death in particular, I invariably get the same response. "The world's already overpopulated." It's a major point of contention for almost everyone who isn't familiar with the future that we transhumanists envision.

Generally, this is a problem that transhumanists disregard. Asking a transhumanist how the world will handle population growth is like asking Beethoven if he'll be able to read music in a convoluted key signature. It's really a non-starter, but why?

For many people, there's a bit of a "gut feeling" factor, and it has merit. Can we really a picture a race so advanced that it has defeated ageing, merged it's mind with machines and enhanced it's own intelligence, and presumably elevated its own existence to that of some race of demi gods, being defeated by overpopulation? It's a little strange to think about, as one would think such a radically advanced civilization would have solved such petty problems and moved on to more sublime causes.

I am less concerned with the gut feeling, though, and more concerned with examining exactly why it is that we needn't worry. After all, strongly held but unsupported notions have had a tendency to end up being wrong(See: the Earth is actually round).

Transhumanists will presumably consume more energy than humans do, and thus they will also consume more resources. So how can we be so sure that their population will not be a major factor? Well, a few reasons:

• Space Mining
• There are already several companies in existence which are spending time and money finding asteroids which are suitable for mining operations. It has been estimated that a single asteroid could add more than a trillion dollars to the economy. These include deep space industries and planetary resources.
• Advanced Construction Technologies
• Right now, construction is very inefficient. While the materials have changed some, we still build using scaffolding, hammers, nails, and other tools which are almost as old as reason itself. Some modern companies, such as Deep Space Industries with Micro Gravity Foundry, are already examining advanced construction methods, which will allow us to do more for less, which brings me to my next point.
• More Real Estate
• Using advanced construction methods, it may very well be possible to create a vast amount of habitable real estate for humans to utilize.
• Family Planning
• Imagine that tomorrow morning you get a note in the mail from your doctor, congratulating you on the fact that you are going to live for ten thousand years! Wow, that would be exciting. At the tender young age of less than a hundred, with the vast majority of your life ahead of you, and the best in birth control methods available to you(including the option of spending most of your time frolicking in cyber space, where sexual reproduction is not possible) the first thing you are going to do is get yourself knocked up with a biological child, right? Wrong.
• Advanced Energy Solutions
• There's more than enough energy from just the sun to power humanity several billion times over. Assuming our future selves figure out something a little more efficient than solar panels, we shouldn't have any problems with energy dependence even if we limited our energy source to solar. That said, nuclear fusion appears to be on the horizon, and, once we get that right, our energy problems are a thing of the past.

The list actually goes on and on, the end conclusion being that the technologies we are creating today will vastly reduce our concerns regarding overpopulation and resource depletion in the future. We will, judging from what we see today, be a much more efficient and resource rich society decades from now. This is our response to the "we can't live forever because of overpopulation" argument, but it doesn't mean that we should ignore the question of resource management and overpopulation entirely. 

Our civilization is at a precarious spot in its development. We are, every day, faced with new and exciting developments and challenges, the likes of which we haven't matured enough as a society to fully understand and manage yet. The steps we take between now and the day that Artificial Intelligence assumes control of our destiny will be the difference the twenty second century being a time of rapid expansion into both space and cyberspace, or a time of rubbing sticks together to start fires in caves.

While the future can certainly be devoid of overpopulation problems and resource scarcity, in order to enable the development of those grand technologies we must become a more sustainable society TODAY. If, due to our own negligence, we are still completely reliant on fossil fuels thirty years from now, and those fossil fuels run out, we WILL NOT become a transhumanist society. We will become a pre-industrial society, and irreversibly change the course of human history. A society which does not have fossil fuels available as a stepping stone cannot maintain the energy levels required to advance beyond our current stage of development, and we would never achieve this level of progress again.

The choice, the responsibility, is ours. Which future will you enable? 

Zoltan Shrugged

Transhumanist Zoltan Istvan's book, The Transhumanist Wager, has been compared to Ayn Rand's classic. What role does libertarian philosophy play in Transhumanism?

Cyberpunk.

Mind uploading.

Eternal Life.

Enhanced awareness.

Transhumanism has an unavoidable appeal to the ego, but has it become dangerously selfish?

When I read a recent review comparing Zoltan's book, which describes a militant transhumanist colony's takeover of the world, to Ayn Rand's ode to the self, I became concerned. Transhumanism is a global effort, the most purely and truly altruistic endeavor possible. Through acheiving a transhuman reality, we can eliminate suffering, eliminate death, spread knowledge and the freedom it brings throughout the world- but that's not what some individuals are focusing on.

I believe that the movement should do everything it can to distance itself from a libertarian philosophy. When I say that, I am not saying that libertarianism is wrong, I'm saying that it's wrong for transhumanists. In today's world, there is a legitimate debate as to how big a role government should play in the lives of the individual. To focus on a libertarian transhuman future, however, is false advertising.

To transhumans, the concept of government and government involvement will seem archaic. We will all be the government, as our minds will be connected and for the first time we will face the world and its problems as one united human race. While I believe that any attempted connection between humanity's transhuman future and the political ideals of today will be irrelevant, I think that attempting to do so with libertarianism can actually be harmful.

Here's why: Transhumanism is scary and powerful.

We can't really fathom exactly what it is that the transhuman era will bring. We know it will be great, we know it will be sublime, we know that we will experience things which we have never experienced before, and that frightens people.

While I believe that the transhuman era will arrive regardless of how many people resist it, the last thing that we should be doing is focusing on individualism. We should be welcoming people and easing their concerns, encouraging them to help us all seek a brighter future. For starters, transhumanism is not about being individual, its about being connected, so I think that this is a poor representation to begin with. Even more important is that on the path to transhumanism we should be fostering acceptance, diversity,and empathy. We should not be selling transhumanism as the ultimate form of wealth, or as the great escape from the tyranny of government and into self gratification. In order to ease the pains of this transitional time ahead of us, we should instead be spreading a message of goodwill, of wellfare, of happiness and kindness.

As a transhuman, you will be smarter and even more loving and capable of making the world a better place for everyone else.

Transhumanism is not libertarian, it's not liberal or conservative. It is, at its heart, altruistic. Let us not focus on political comparisons or on making transhumanism some sort of ego trip, instead, lets focus on it for what it is:

A WAY TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.

The Universal Machine

credit www.greendisk.com

That's not just an outdated computer. Its not just an archaic mesh of plastic and transistors. It is a universal machine. Transhumanists aren't promoting computer science and artificial intelligence because it's cool, we do so because computers are the most significant and astounding invention in the history of mankind, and we believe they will change the course of history.

As I said above, its a Universal Machine- which is very significant. Some theoretical difficulties aside, there is pretty much nothing you CAN'T do with a computer. The only limiting factor in computer science is our knowledge of HOW to go about doing something.

In bare essence, a computer is simply the restricted flow of electrons through microscopic wiring. That's it- nothing more or less. Yet, from this simple eb and flow of energy, something greater manifests: Computation.

Its amazing if you really think about it. What is so special about a clump of wiring and plastic such that simulations, solutions and (someday) consciousness should come forth from it? The existence of computers is, to me, just as astounding as that of life and organic consciousness.

And now, in the 21st century, we are on the cusp of yet another powerful breakthrough: Quantum Computing.

In a traditional computer, composed of "bits," each physical bit exists in one of two states: On or Off. 1 or 0.
This limits our ability to fully integrate computers into our daily lives, because, even as transistors get smaller and smaller, we still require that each computer consist of billions of individual transistors.

No matter how small a physical object is, if you multiply said object a couple billion times over you tend to end up with a significant amount of matter.

Enter the Qubit.

Qubits are single atoms(bits) suspended in a quantum state, in which they can represent a number of values simultaneously(instead of just a one or a zero), and they represent a major leap forward in our abilities to both increase computing power and integrate small computers into every aspect of our lives.

A quantum computer the size of a grain of sand could be exponentially more powerful than today's most advanced computers, and anyone with a brain BIGGER than a grain of sand should realize that there are profound implications in such a development.

Scientists are already hard at work developing the hardware(and are getting very close to sustainable success), so the problem becomes how to store and create software which operates on a system of a few qubits rather than a billion transistors.

Perhaps computer hacking skills are a little more important than bow hunting skills after all.

Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration

The Age of Spiritual Machines

What will the turning point be? When will humanity as a race acknowledge that it has created artificial sentient beings? This is a question I am not prepared to answer, but which I ask with great enthusiasm.

Original image located at http://invensis.net/blog/industry-news/artificial-intelligence-future-inbound-call-center

At some point, likely in the near future, software will catch up to hardware. Our most advanced computers today are very powerful, but humanity lacks the ability to create software programs which take full advantage of physical computing capacity.

As awareness of and interest in the field of Artificial Intelligence grows, more and more advanced methods of creating thinking programs are being developed and becoming (relatively) common knowledge.

In order to bring about an Artificial Intelligence revolution, computer scientists don't need to be able to build a god-like super-human intelligence. We need only to create a hardware/software combination slightly more powerful than the human brain, and teach it how to program.

Once we can accomplish this, the gloves are off.

The AI can be unleashed and allowed to design an AI more intelligent than itself, which will also be able to create an even better one, ad infinitum.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

http://www.assignmenthelp.net/assignment_help/images/artificial%20intelligence.gif

No one really knows. After we succesfully create the first slightly super-human AI, the process of self-improvement within the world of virtual intelligence will be both beyond our control and beyond our understanding.

The best thing we can do is augment ourselves, communicate with our creation, and hope for a merger of man and machine.

This will be the end of man, and the beginning of the Age of Spiritual Machines.

For more information on Artificial Intelligence, and to become involved in the field yourself, I recommend visiting Udacity and taking their free online computer science courses, which culminate in developing an Artificial Intelligence program for a self driving vehicle.

Russia now has a Transhumanist party. The video above is both inspiring and insightful.

The Hunt for Alien Life Just Got Serious

A Dyson Sphere under construction

If you had $200,000, what would you do with it? According to Paul Gilster of Centauri Dreams, a scientist named Geoff Marcy has just received a $200,000 dollar grant to search for extraterrestrial life, and he's putting it to good use.

Marcy isn't just searching for any old slimy alien civilization, he's searching for an advanced race. More specifically, a Kardashev Type II civilization, by searching for Dyson Spheres.


Marcy plans to observe thousands of stars for tell-tale signs in the light signals we could expect to receive from them. Certain permutations would indicate a Dyson Sphere under construction. In addition, he will also be using the funding to monitor the prime candidates for laser communication. That's right- if there are phasers set to kill, we'll know about it.

Marcy's techniques are unique because they specifically would help to identify alien races potentially advanced enough to communicate with us across vast distances of space.

"Technological civilizations may communicate with their space probes located throughout the galaxy by using laser beams, either in visible light or infrared light. Laser light is detectable from other civilizations because the power is concentrated into a narrow beam and the light is all at one specific color or frequency. The lasers outshine the host star at the color of the laser." -Geoff Marcy

Contact with an advanced alien race would no doubt create new possibilities for the expedient technological advancement of humanity.

Now that's a good way to spend two hundred large.

The Beginning of the End

Is anyone else obsessive over the idea of "the end?"

I know most of you are, or else such pop-culture phenomenon as the Zombie Apocalypse, Doomsday Prepping and Economic Collapse wouldn't be as prevalent as they are.

I am here to help you discover and embrace a new kind of end: The end of suffering, of need, of death, of stupidity. I am here to help you welcome the end of humanity.

If you read the philosophy page, here, you will know that Transhumanists don't advocate the forced, um, "Transcendence," of those who wish to stay human. That doesn't mean that we aren't aware of attrition. Even the most ardently traditional "humanists" will have children who wish to become something more. As the years go by, Transhumans will continue to live, while generations of remaining humans will die off or choose to augment themselves- eventually, Homo Superior will be the only form of humanity left on the planet(living alongside artificially intelligent creations.)

As this is a young blog, I must admit that you will not find all of the information you seek here at this time. I therefore encourage you to visit the following website for more updates and to become more intimate with the coming reality: Humanity Plus Magazine.

Be aware, be knowledgable, and CONTRIBUTE.

The most powerful thing an individual can possess in the coming years is knowledge. Those of you who haven't discovered the beauty of physics, mathematics, and computer science should begin reading books written to enlighten the layperson.

I personally recommend Brian Greene's book, The Elegant Universe, and A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking.

If you'd wish to start learning immediately about soon-to-be technology, Ray Kurzweil(the most prevalent figure in transhumanism today) wrote the must-read book The Singularity is Near, and released a movie called Transcendent Man, which is at this time available for instant streaming on Netflix.

It is important to inform yourself.

A brazilian company recently placed an order for a hundred "robot kiosks" to rove around malls, helping customers buy products and find information. Swarm intelligence in the form of robotic bees is currently being researched and developed. Eager "Biohackers" are implanting magnets into their fingertips in order to enhance themselves and be able to sense magnetic fields.

The time when new developments and discoveries happen faster than can be comprehended by the unaided human brain is fast approaching.

Prepare yourself to live forever.

Welcome to the Future of Humanity

I want to thank you for coming to Become Transhuman.

Since you are here, it is likely that you already are or are soon to become a member of a small, but steadily growing, group of like-minded individuals. Individuals who see a greater purpose for humanity, who pursue a tangible goal of transforming the world within our lifetimes.

As a community, we transhumanists are unique in that we are not just trying to change humanity, but to leave it behind all together.

Nanotechnology, Brain-Computer Interfaces, Artificial Intelligence, Immortality, Post-Scarcity.

These are the things we pursue as a movement.

Our hope is not to develop a plan for what a posthuman world should be, but to enable a posthuman world to create itself.

I am creating this blog because- as a Theoretical Mathematics and Theoretical Physics dropout- I am limited in the ways I can directly influence the movement. While I would like to continue school, I am also hoping to be able to create awareness and bring together more people with a common vision.

There are no limits as to what I believe Become Transhuman as a website can accomplish, just as I believe there are no limits to humanity as a intelligently evolved race.

If this site gains a following, if it can generate revenues and someday recieve donations, then it could become more than a blog: It could become a force. A force which takes the driving force of today(money) and uses it to enable the world of tomorrow.

Again, thank you for visiting, and please leave feedback while enjoying the transformation of this site and of our society.