"Transcendence" and the transhumanist quest
There is a fascinating (and quietly frightening) article on the Daily Telegraph website at the moment that looks at the quest to " greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities. That means everything from bionic limbs to uploading our entire brains on to memory sticks and carrying them around with us as back-up." Upon reading the article I was immediately struck by the similarities with the plot of the new Wally Pfister/Johnny Depp movie, "Transcendence". The trailer mentions the idea of what transhumanists call a "singularity", that moment when technology driven by AI (Artificial Intelligence) will start to replicate itself and develop its own evolutionary process taking it beyond the horizon of maximum human intelligence; a moment beyond which the future of humanity becomes totally unpredictable. This concept is simultaneously fascinating and terrifying, as can be seen in the success of AI-driven sci-fi film, tv and...