Benedictus Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 I don't take anything here that seriously :dancer1: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChildForever Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 This thread is like...Gattaca meets Repo Men. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polskieserce Posted June 8, 2014 Author Share Posted June 8, 2014 Personally, I think that transhumanism will be an abomination to God and a plague on humanity. If people wait too long, it will be too late. It will be like a cancer that destroys God's vision of humanity. Here is an interesting video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcCh_7sP66c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfink Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Personally, I think that transhumanism will be an abomination to God and a plague on humanity. If people wait too long, it will be too late. It will be like a cancer that destroys God's vision of humanity. Here is an interesting video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcCh_7sP66c I feel that's more than a little sensationalist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Credo in Deum Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polskieserce Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 I feel that's more than a little sensationalist. Well what are you basing that statement off of? If you traveled back to the year 1800 and told people that 145 years from their time, the US military would have bombs that imitate the power of the sun and can level an entire city, they would think you are mentally ill. Nowadays, people know about nukes only because they were used to destroy 2 cities. Rest assured that there are plenty of weapons the US has right now that are kept under wraps and will be kept under wraps unless they are ever used. You really think the US government would not do some testing with trying to create the ultimate soldier? Lol of course they would. They would just keep it secret just like they do with all of the other weapons that we have not been told about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Catholic Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I always assumed when Jesus came back he'd be in a mechsuit riding a velociraptor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfink Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Well what are you basing that statement off of? If you traveled back to the year 1800 and told people that 145 years from their time, the US military would have bombs that imitate the power of the sun and can level an entire city, they would think you are mentally ill. Nowadays, people know about nukes only because they were used to destroy 2 cities. Rest assured that there are plenty of weapons the US has right now that are kept under wraps and will be kept under wraps unless they are ever used. You really think the US government would not do some testing with trying to create the ultimate soldier? Lol of course they would. They would just keep it secret just like they do with all of the other weapons that we have not been told about. You're comparing technological advances in medicine which could possibly be adopted by the military to the development of the atomic bomb. I really don't see the analogue. It's just blatant fear mongering against useful technologies. All technology can potentially be abused, if you get creative enough, and honestly, the weird ideals of humans evolving past themselves and never experiencing death that transhumanists talk about would be a pipe dream even if the technology they dream of actually existed, so I'm not worried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfink Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Just to give you an idea: We're not even remotely close to defying death. We can't even deal properly with cancer yet, and there are other things which will just step into the gap once we do. As for transferring consciousness out of the body and into a machine... have you worked with robotics or servers before? You'd die in a week or at best a couple years in a machine body that resembles what we have now. It would be a definite downgrade. And that doesn't even take into account the fact that we can barely comprehend how the human brain and consciousness are connected. We don't even have solid evidence that consciousness can be reduced to brain activity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfink Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Well what are you basing that statement off of? If you traveled back to the year 1800 and told people that 145 years from their time, the US military would have bombs that imitate the power of the sun and can level an entire city, they would think you are mentally ill. Nowadays, people know about nukes only because they were used to destroy 2 cities. Rest assured that there are plenty of weapons the US has right now that are kept under wraps and will be kept under wraps unless they are ever used. You really think the US government would not do some testing with trying to create the ultimate soldier? Lol of course they would. They would just keep it secret just like they do with all of the other weapons that we have not been told about. I'm not so sure of that point either. In part because, people in 1800 knew about bombs. They knew you could make big ones. They might have scoffed at the scale, sure, but they could at least conceive of bombs. I cannot for the life of me conceive of human consciousness being transferred outside the body. It's never been done, and there isn't even a theoretical mechanism to accomplish it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidei Defensor Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I always assumed when Jesus came back he'd be in a mechsuit riding a velociraptor. I think I remember reading that in Revelation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossCuT Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 I think the thing we need to worry about in the near future is eugenics. The new emerging technology surrounding genetic manipulation to ease or eliminate disease and illness from people is AWESOME!! But it could bring with it some undesired effects...like genetic discrimination or gene superiority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polskieserce Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 You're comparing technological advances in medicine which could possibly be adopted by the military to the development of the atomic bomb. I really don't see the analogue. It's just blatant fear mongering against useful technologies. All technology can potentially be abused, if you get creative enough, and honestly, the weird ideals of humans evolving past themselves and never experiencing death that transhumanists talk about would be a pipe dream even if the technology they dream of actually existed, so I'm not worried. It is not blatant fear mongering. It is genuine concern over a really bad idea. I don't think their vision will happen overnight, but I think it could very well be a reality. Just to give you an idea: We're not even remotely close to defying death. We can't even deal properly with cancer yet, and there are other things which will just step into the gap once we do. As for transferring consciousness out of the body and into a machine... have you worked with robotics or servers before? You'd die in a week or at best a couple years in a machine body that resembles what we have now. It would be a definite downgrade. And that doesn't even take into account the fact that we can barely comprehend how the human brain and consciousness are connected. We don't even have solid evidence that consciousness can be reduced to brain activity. Lol I'm not concerned about transferring consciousness to a computer. What I am concerned about is splicing humans with non-human dna and cybernetic implants. Those are not distant things. I'm not so sure of that point either. In part because, people in 1800 knew about bombs. They knew you could make big ones. They might have scoffed at the scale, sure, but they could at least conceive of bombs. I cannot for the life of me conceive of human consciousness being transferred outside the body. It's never been done, and there isn't even a theoretical mechanism to accomplish it. I can make the same rebuttal. We know about genetic engineering and cybernetic body parts right now. A lot of the vegetables sold in grocery stores are genetically modified. We would just scoff at the scale of their use in the future (kind of like you are doing now :P ) Like I said before, making computer software that mimics your thought processes (that's basically what it would be) is not the biggest issue. I don't care about that. What I care about is the genetic engineering and cybernetic modification that has the potential to dehumanize future generations. I think the thing we need to worry about in the near future is eugenics. The new emerging technology surrounding genetic manipulation to ease or eliminate disease and illness from people is amesome!! But it could bring with it some undesired effects...like genetic discrimination or gene superiority. Agreed, I'm with you 100% on eugenics. I am by no means saying that genetics can solve medical issues. But humanity will most likely end up using this stuff for a lot more than medicine. What would you do if genetic modification became a fad at tattoo parlors, where you could have a small percent of animal dna incorporated into your body for a new look? Think about that and prepare to get really creeped out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfink Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) I can make the same rebuttal. We know about genetic engineering and cybernetic body parts right now. A lot of the vegetables sold in grocery stores are genetically modified. We would just scoff at the scale of their use in the future (kind of like you are doing now :P ) Like I said before, making computer software that mimics your thought processes (that's basically what it would be) is not the biggest issue. I don't care about that. What I care about is the genetic engineering and cybernetic modification that has the potential to dehumanize future generations. Tell me how it dehumanizes us. Genetic manipulation of corn doesn't make it not be corn. Cybernetic prosthesis LITERALLY already exists. I could get you examples of robotic hands and legs which have been made and which read and respond to the human nervous system. I have also seen projects in which digital cameras have been interfaced directly into the ocular nerve to replace sight in blind people. Cochlear implants are even more common and have been in use for decades. The users of such devices are not any less human because of it. If you haven't read about the Ship of Theseus problem, I would suggest you review it and then decide if modification of the human body can make us less human. If you find that it can, then I need you to define exactly how and at what point that modification changes us into inhuman creatures. Edited June 9, 2014 by arfink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossCuT Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) Agreed, I'm with you 100% on eugenics. I am by no means saying that genetics can solve medical issues. But humanity will most likely end up using this stuff for a lot more than medicine. What would you do if genetic modification became a fad at tattoo parlors, where you could have a small percent of animal dna incorporated into your body for a new look? Think about that and prepare to get really creeped out. Honestly, Im not as afraid of people wanting to look like cheetahs if they so chose to, but more in the sense that while we discover the technology to tap into genetic modification for honest, medical purposes, people will likely exploit it and start saying X, Y, Z genes are superior. If you dont have them you are lesser. I dont want to build a future society where if a person does not have a particular set of genes, they are discriminated against. Now will this happen? Maybe, maybe not. Should we halt scientific discovery out of fear of an unknown future? I dont think so. Should we be mindful, of course! Edited June 9, 2014 by CrossCuT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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