User:Paul Gambone/Transhumanism
Article Evaluation[edit]
Main Resource: Transhumanism
Supporting Resource 1: Existential risk from artificial general intelligence
Supporting Resource 2: Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects research
Supporting Resource 3: Criticism of technology
Supporting Resource 4: Privileged positions of business and science
Lead section: The article starts off strong. Definitions of unfamiliar phrases are provided and is overall well structured and written. The article appropriately introduces the topic of Transhumanism for audiences with varying levels of technological knowledge.
Content: When reviewing the article, it is quickly made clear that the editors of this article have put a lot of effort into it. Each section is similarly structured and provides adequate information for each section.
Tone and Balance: The article is noticeably biased in favor of Transhumanism. The article does not try to directly persuade the reader in support, but there is little to no mentioning of disagreement of transhumanism in almost all sections.
Sources and References: The article links various other Wiki-pages that help overall understanding of Transhumanism. The resources of the article itself are various literary pieces, academic journals, and ideas/words of famous transhumanists.
Organization and Writing quality: Proper writing and structuring is used. There are no grammatical errors or areas that need re-wording.
Images and Media: There are only four images used, however they do not provide any new or outstanding information. The images provide mild visual aide, but the article would be the same with or without them.
Talk discussion page: The Talk discussion page provides no further information and only has sections regarding links and similar Wikipedia functionality discussions. Transhumanism is a former featured article, and is listed as a level-5 vital article, B-Class.
Overall impressions: The Transhumanism article is exceptionally written compared to other Wikipedia articles.
Article Summary: Transhumanism[edit]
Definition - Transhumanism is a philosophical movement the proponents of which advocate the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies able to greatly enhance longevity, mood and cognitive abilities.
The article covers the thought process of how emerging technologies can allow for people to overcome natural limitations of human biology. There are both potential benefits and potential risks with the progression of these technologies. The article covers the history, progression, theories, and ethics of transhumanism as well as detailing the benefits and risks. Transhumanism is described as being a topic previously related to solely science fiction, but with the the technological advancements that we have today it is now becoming a reality. With surgical implantation of devices now being available and with the current study of being able to change DNA of a fetus in order to make the "ideal" human, these theories are no longer a thought of conspirators or of the far fetched imagination.
The objective of transhumanism is to allow for a new futuristic way of life that will further evolve the human race. With genetically modified "ideal" humans, anti-aging technologies, a higher brain functionality; humans can essentially be able to surpass any mental and physical barriers that come natural with being a human.
There are of course, ethical reasoning in opposition to the progression of transhumanism. Like any procedure, there are going to be a large sum of risks that come from having an evasive surgery that will implant unnatural foreign objects and devices into someone. There are risks of infections and side affects like any surgery, however any of these "enhancement" surgeries will have a variety of their own risks and concerns. Especially in consideration to the ones that involve a change in the brain itself, normal neurological surgeries are already one of the top most dangerous procedures to have. Now, add a new device to implant that is supposed to completely rewire the brain to an already highly risky surgery, there are hundreds of things that can go wrong. However, say that these procedures are able to be conducted safely with little to no complications and they manage to become popularized in countries and areas filled with people who have the access to these procedures and the means to pay for them. This would cause for an even larger technological gap between those who are fortunate enough to have access to the latest technologies and those who are not as fortunate. However, this gap would be of greater significance than just smart phones, computers, video game consoles, and any normal electronics that are currently available today. If the body itself was able to be changed in such a way, practically all biological functions of a posthuman (a person who is completely altered due to transhumanistic technology) and that of an unaltered biological human would be incomparable.
Notes[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
Assignment 6[edit]
1. Provide the title of your article
Transhumanism
2. What are the key ideas?
Transhumanism a philosophical movement, they theorize that eventually humans will be transformed into what is called a posthuman. A posthuman is a human that has bypassed any natural limitations or boundaries due to the technology medically added to their body. There is a deep belief that this is the next step in human evolution.
3. What are the main problems addressed/ identified?
Adding artificial intelligence into the brain as well as other "superhuman" abilities will create a divide socially, economically, and politically. There is already a divide with technology, as there are people who do not have the same access and opportunity that the internet provides. This will increase the divide an unmeasurable amount. These devices will cause for those who are already behind with technology to fall further behind. Both nationally and internationally there is sure to be a great disconnection between "the have's and the have-not's."
The affects of having posthumans coexist with natural humans has not yet been identified - there are only predictions. An analogy created to describe the affects this will have on the world is athletes being allowed to use performance enhancing drugs during tournaments. If it became legal for athletes to use performance enhancing drugs, then eventually most players would start using in order to keep up and not fall behind, those who do not will end up losing the game.
4. why your chosen topic was worth undertaking?
The topic of Transhumanism was worth undertaking because this is the direction that technological advancements are going in and will not only affect our society in the United States, but also affect the societies of other nations.
5. what are the technological standpoints?
Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Cognitive Science (NBIC) -These technologies work together to create "more-than-human" people.
6. what are the ethical standpoints?
Unfair human enhancement will create two distinct different "species" of human which will evolutionarily cause for natural humans to become less prevalent. Posthumanism has unknown negative affects on the body and mind. There will be a "loss of human identity" when human evolution goes to the direction of transhumanism. Individuals have the right to their naturally owned body, they should not feel "forced" to add foreign objects with known affects into themselves just to fit in with the competitive world.
7. what are the societal standpoints?
Religious groups are highly opposed to this idea. Will create a divide in society as there will be two "types" of humans. People may decide to go through with this because they feel peer pressured
8. Which audience is influenced by the article?
The article provides both sides of the argument. The reasons Transhumanism should be a technological advancement we all embrace, and on the other hand why everyone should reject these types of intrusive technologies.
Assignment 7[edit]
[Section to be added in "Loss of Human Identity"]
It's hard to conceptualize the loss of human identity today, but that is because we are living in it and experience it at a slower rate. But it is very serious when thinking about it in a larger scale. In the perspective of original human identity, humans are not meant to use so much technology. Humans have not evolved to live in this highly technological environment. Already, with rapid industrialization of society a larger influx of people have been experiencing depression and anxiety at a rate never seen before. It is fair to assume that these cases will only increase overtime. Human identity and the way humans behave evolved for the entire purpose of survival. If survival is no longer a factor, then human identity will be undermined. Everything humans do is either directly or indirectly about survival. When this is stripped away, humans will change their behavior which will signify loss of human identity. There would be almost no need to do anything anymore. We wouldn't need food or water, and perhaps shelter will no longer be a necessity. If humans were able to live their lives with no chance of ever dying or being injured, then really there would be no point in doing anything. Human evolution would be stunted to where we will be stuck at exactly when we all became posthuman.
In "Would You Live Forever (If You Could)?" written by Hillary Rosner, the author had asked her "overeducated" friends what they had felt on the subject of technological immortality. One of her friends had stated, "Death is a part of life. I want to know what dying is like." While this is a subjectively morbid point of view, it perfectly reiterates the topic at hand. If a person cannot die, then what would be the point in getting anything done. They do not age, they cannot be injured, they cannot fall ill, they will simply live in a permanent robotic state. At first, this may seem like an incredible breakthrough in technological advancement. However, what would the long term effects be? It seems like the main motivator for most successful men and women is the fact that one day they will die, and only be remembered for what they have done. With survival no longer being a factor, what advancements would be further made? There would no longer be hospitals or research into the human body, all that work would essentially have been for nothing. The food industry would no longer be necessary and neither would pharmaceutical industries. Millions of jobs will be lost, and everyone would be forced to abruptly change the way the world works. Humans may also fail to find it meaningful or even necessary to continue building relationships with one another. With no means of reproduction or real need for social cohesion, the world may come to a point where all advancements after the posthuman world becomes a reality will come to a halt. The technological advancement of post-humanism will likely become the last advancement made in human history.
Assignment 8[edit]
Paul peer-reviewed Jake's Article
Assignment 9[edit]
I have not received any peer reviews and am making revisions based on the synthesis of your own insights.