Writer Alison E. Berman makes a solid debut with her post at 
Singularity Hub today. In her analysis of Ray Kurzweil’s recent musings, Alison poses the question “Are You a Thinking Thing? Why Debating Machine Consciousness Matters.”
Specifically, Berman posits:
Continue reading I think therefore….I may be a machine? Or not?
In our age of constantly evolving jargon, terms like Transhumanism can quickly get bogged down in a mire of biases and ignorance.
Is TH some kind of weird cult? Does it involve sexual reassignment surgery? Are Transhumans like zombies? Is it the Anti-Christ? It’s the Anti-Christ isn’t it? Even my spellchecker is ignorant and red-lines the word.
Fortunately, the good folks at WhatIsTransHumanism.org have developed a comprehensive FAQ about the movement that the TransHumaniac highly recommends.
It is almost guaranteed that the FAQ will be met with scorn or mild distaste by some factions of Transhumanism; but it seems to capture the general gist of what it means to be a Transhumanist (and no, funny hats and secret handshakes are not required).
Personally, I attach most readily to this philosophical framework of TH:
The study of the ramifications, promises, and potential dangers of technologies that will enable us to overcome fundamental human limitations, and the related study of the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies.
What do you think?
The FAQ is also available as an eBook:
Jason Reagan (@JasonPReagan) is the creator of TransHumaniac, a newbie futurist, tech writer, communications specialist and optimist. He also blogs for DroneLife.com (@DroneLife).
Hang around the Transhumanist movement long enough and the term “The Singularity” will surely pop up in conversation. Not to be confused with the astrophysical singularity (for example, the Penrose-Hawking Singularity Theorems), the Singularity within the TH movement is bandied about at conferences, on podcasts and in numerous forums — in some cases becoming synonymous with Transhumanism itself.
Since the TH movement and other science-based philosophies continue to grow and can reasonably be expected to replace more traditional ways of thinking in the days ahead, it would be a helpful exercise in precision of language to explain how Transhumanism intersects and meshes with the notion of The Singularity.
Continue reading Transhumanism and The Singularity: What’s the Diff?
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