RUN HOMO SAPIENS, THE CYBORG IS (JUST) BEHIND YOU!

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Or how the « science of discrimination » is about to make us switch from the era of the bio-living to that of the post-human, all in an approving silence both fatalistic and frantic… 

We were starting to get seriously bored in this era where the future doesn’t taste like much except for the crimson carbon with neoliberal sauce, where everything produced by humans (including themselves) seems to be crossed out with the mention GAME OVER. 

Well, that’s just it. Nature (human?) is well made. There is something new. An alter-religion that will give a post-new-age breath to our ornaments. Except that this time, it’s all about « perfecting humanity » by « tearing ourselves away from it ». The time has come to extract ourselves, to blossom, to overcome this deplorable biological alienation. Thus, to save humanity and the planet, the only way out would be to deeply and definitively modify its nature, hardware and software included. 

Code name: Transhumanism. Nothing to do with the Gay Pride. Welcome to the « post-humans », half-humans half-machines! Adjacent to the symbols ♂ and ♀ , a little newcomer arrives in the family: H+. A new genre, or rather a new genre, determined to relegate the ancestors to the rank of degenerates. 

IS KAIROS SINKING INTO SCIENCE FICTION AND CONSPIRACY? 

Not so simple. This subject would deserve little attention if it were limited to the rantings of a handful of penniless techno-prophets. This is not the case, on the contrary. Voted by the United States in 2003, this $300 billion priority program aims to improve the physical and mental characteristics of human beings. In other words, humans work hard at their obsolescence. This new Eldorado, as many States and companies have since understood, is probably the most important strategic issue of the moment.(1)

Pursuing the objective of boosting the convergence of 4 technologies, called small BANG (Bits, Atoms, Neurons, Genes) or NBIC (nano-bio-info-cogno), it would have made it possible in a few years to deconstruct the organization of the living in elementary bricks, to explain its functioning and to imagine its reconception, at a scale where the inert one does not distinguish any more from the living. 

If this program is not a priori exclusively transhumanist, the great architects of H+ are far from being strangers to the powerful lobbying that led to its vote by Congress. It’s all in the wording: it’s not a question of strengthening the ability to repair, but rather of « improving, increasing » the human being. A kind of upgrade, in short. They are well rooted in the political (neoliberals and libertarians), scientific and industrial (NASA, ARPANET, GOOGLE…) circles that shape consent and the perception of reality. Google, moreover, recently recruited Ray Kurzweil, the « pope » of transhumanism, as chief engineer to make the search engine the first artificial intelligence in history. 

The movement has since 2008(2) its transhumanist university, nicely called the « Singularity University(3) », whose campus has taken up residence in the heart of Silicon Valley, a stone’s throw from the web giants … on the very grounds of the Nasa Research Park. This campus ostensibly aims to train the elite of tomorrow’s world. Without counter power or public debate. How can we not draw a parallel with the famous Chicago School, which under the aegis of Milton Friedman and with the support of American government agencies, formed and installed the neoliberal elite in country after country, counter-revolution after counter-revolution? 

NBIC, TRANSHUMANISTS AND BIO-CONSERVATIVES 

The great convergence of NBIC technologies is a reality that is imposed on the entire techno-scientific community. Facing the transhumanists, the « bio-conservatives » defend a restorative science and not a quest for improvement or hybrid « augmentation » without safeguards… although the border between the two is, to say the least, tenuous and is becoming more and more tenuous. 

However, both sides agree on the revolution of life to come in the short term. A major break in history, allowing more and more humans to modify matter as they please. The surgeon Laurent Alexandre (bio-conservative), president of DNAVision (a DNA sequencing company), graduate of Political Science, HEC and ENA, co-founder of Doctissimo, announces the beginning of the democratization of the « tinkering with life » for 2015 and the surge of a series of technological tsunamis in the next 30 years. In a TED conference(4) of 2012, he challenges the « ultimate taboo of death ». The point he makes is pretty relentless: life expectancy has risen from 25 years in 1750 to over 80 years today. « When we age one year, we are only 9 months closer to our death » he announces. This logically raises the question: « How far can this decline in death go? » Four scenarios: the first is the fatalistic scenario, which would see life expectancy decline, due to environmental problems, GMOs etc… The second is that of a halt in technological progress which would have reached its limits. The third scenario is that of a steady increase in life expectancy to reach 120 or 130 years. 

And then there is the fourth scenario: « that of the technological explosion, leading to a very rapid increase in our life expectancy by the 21st century. » To follow his complete talk, the reference of his conference is available at the bottom of the page or type « TED Laurent Alexandre » on… Google. To summarize, what he explains is that if until recently, analyzing, understanding and manipulating our biological functioning was considered an insurmountable task, the technological revolution underway is changing that. Thus, death, old age and disease would be opposed by a combat medicine. « Yesterday’s science fiction [deviendrait] medicine reality » in the short term: organ repair, modeling and modification of DNA, repair and reprogramming of our cells, creation of entire artificial organs, nano-motors, nano-sensors, nano-implants, cell/machine interfacing etc… 

In computing, the milestone of one billion billion operations per second will be passed in 2018. It doubles every 18 months, in accordance with Moore’s law(5) which dates back to 1965. This collossal capacity would allow, according to Alexandre, what was unimaginable a short time ago: to understand and model the living. « Our 100 trillion cells per individual are small factories with biological machine tools at the nanometer scale. But the revolution in progress [permettrait] precisely to intervene at this scale. »

And the rate at which science is advancing proves him right. In 1990, the scientific consensus was that it would take several centuries to sequence a genome. In 2003, it was done. In 13 years, we have gone from a cost of $3 billion to do this… to $1,000. This cost is reduced by half every 5 months. There is a good chance that a large part of humanity (those who can afford it) will walk around tomorrow with their DNA sequencing on their USB key (unless all genomes are stored on the cloud(6) ).

This sequencing would thus open the door to personalized medical practice guided by our genetic particularities. Artificial hearts and larynxes are already being implanted, as are cochlear implants to treat deafness. We start talking about implanting the first artificial retinas. In 2012, the first international congress of nano-medicine was held. Between now and 2020, Laurent Alexandre announces a series of technological waves that would « allow » democratizing access to this new medicine. 

He concludes his TED talk with the conviction that « some of you in this room will live for 1,000 years.

Is Laurent Alexandre a technoprophet? The future will tell. 

For transhumanists, the issue is not only to repair, to engage a medical revolution. The « augmentation » of human capacities, its « cyborgization » is necessary: the time of the bio is over, make way for the living 2.0. Ultimately, the goal is to « merge the individual with technology to cope with the wave of information that will soon overwhelm him, otherwise he will no longer be able to remain competitive. 

As in any movement, there are the softs, the convinced and the excessive. On the soft side, for example, the French Association of Transhumanism (AFT) proposes technoprogressism: a social transhumanism that tries, among other things, to solve the questions of inequality raised by the advancement of technology. For the hardcore, on the other hand, multiplied strength, DNA tampering, longevity of 1000 years, telepathy and other cell-machine interfaces are not enough. This is just the appetizer. If for the whole of the transhumanists, the ideological basis seems shared and the idea of a post-human acquired, the most radical think indeed that it will be possible to duplicate our brains in computers. Kurzweil (the head of the Artificial Intelligence project at Google mentioned above) thinks that this will be the case in 2020. He also kept the brain of his deceased father for this purpose. A thesis (a fantasy?) recently challenged by Paul Zachary Myers, a renowned biologist from the University of Minnesota, specialized in developmental genetics. While the latter is not happy with Kurzweil’s theoretical foundation(7), he specifies that he is not hostile to the idea that the brain is a kind of computer, and that we will one day be able to artificially reproduce its functions. 

A SCIENCE OF DISCRIMINATION 

The underlying project goes beyond techno-science. This is a political-philosophical concept, a dogma that could be described as techno-neoliberal or techno-libertarian. In an increasingly competitive world, it is up to each of us to stay in the race, by making the most of our psycho-physiological capital and our performance. 

What about those who will oppose it, who will not consent to it? What about those who would like to but who will not be financially able to take this evolutionary train? What is the relationship between the « organic » and the « augmented »: won’t the latter send those of the first category back to their choice when they suffer from a disease that is costly for the community and ask to be taken care of? How will the power be organized? What will the new oligarchies look like? What consequences for the most radical mystics? 

There are fundamental questions here… which are already partly answered. If we look closely, if we put into perspective the human reality of the late 1980’s and that of today, don’t we already have a foot in this world of the future? 

Move or stay on the sidelines. Choose between post-human and disabled, degenerate. A thesis developed in « Welcome to Gattaca(8) », although the film is not about « transhumanism » or NBIC but about genetic selection. And that in the film, the choice is not possible: either you are the result of a genetic selection, or not. That makes all the difference. The discrimination that is coming is clearly based more on the means available and on a philosophical-marketing choice than on a physiological heritage. 

I wonder: what would be my choice in such a world? If it is possible for me to enjoy my loved ones for many years to come, if the survival of a loved one suffering from a seemingly incurable disease depends on this choice. If it becomes so « normal », socially accepted to increase my height, what will be my choice? What impact on the economic, social, mystical, the look of the other… I won’t venture to make value judgments. The debate is elsewhere, much more incisive and complex. 

Most of us are already addicted to smartphones, apps and other GPS that participate in the increase of performance, although these attributes are for the moment external, « medieval ». A recent study stated that a large majority of consumers agree to let online operators collect their habits, movements, opinions (etc…) in order to receive personalized services in return. This is in fact already the case with Facebook, to which a good part of humanity confides on a daily basis… Amazon claims to be able to know you well enough to anticipate your next purchase(9). As such, the majority are already connected to the machine… and want more. This is the age of the cloud. After all, who will be the first to learn that you are worried about getting cancer? Your best friend or Google? 

You can feel it coming. We are prepared for it, almost already consenting. Lifestyles are becoming more homogenized. It becomes necessary for many to tend towards an « ideal » physical appearance, manufactured. This is evidenced by the normalization of cosmetic surgery. There is only one step to go from aesthetic to functional. 

OBSOLETE DISCUSSIONS

Whatever the degree of reality of the NBIC revolution, it seems to be a given that we are on the verge of moving from the time when humans had to deal with nature to the time when they can adapt nature to their desires. 

What is at work is thus about to generate more than a colossal turning point in the history of life. It is a fundamental break that pops like a champagne cork all the debates that occupy the editorial offices: environment, overpopulation, discrimination, work and distribution of wealth, financing of social and pension funds, governance. 

And yet, this revolution, although well underway, is taking place in a deafening silence. Not a word or almost not a word in the press, in the so-called intellectual circles, and even less from politicians, whose speeches are most of the time reduced to what can put them back in the saddle during the next elections. There is therefore less a presumption of conspiracy here than a politics of the tip of one’s nose, while in the background we are witnessing the victorious spread of the post-neo-liberal current of thought on a planetary scale. 

If it is desirable to advance in the knowledge of living organisms, and whatever the extent of this revolution, the stakes inherent in the way it will be conducted are cosmic. Given the way governance is practiced today, i.e., on the terrain of the consumer rather than on that of politics or the debate of ideas, there is reason to be concerned. As a precautionary principle. And even if you are wrong. 

Techno-prophetism, fantasy, or clairvoyance? Everything here is a matter of belief or conviction. The reality is probably somewhere in between. We will know soon… 

Alexandre Ribadière

♂ until further notice 

TO GO FURTHER

DOCUMENTARIES
A world without humans ( 96mn )
http://youtu.be/zSa3yNB0SI0

Transhumanism and the man of tomorrow ( 60mn )
http://youtu.be/s1341NL7RdY

TRANSHUMANIST SITES
www.transhumanism.org
www.transhumanistes.com

Notes et références
  1. Le soutien public aux nanotechnologies, tous pays confondus, représentait 3,5 milliards d’euros en 2003. Il croît au rythme de 40% par an, si bien que l’on a parfois utilisé les expressions de «tsunami», ou de « déferlante ». En 2006, l’investissement des Etats-Unis est estimé à 1,775 milliard de dollars, celui de l’ensemble des pays d’Asie ( Japon, Corée, Chine, Taiwan, Inde) à 1,650 milliard de dollars, contre 530 millions d’euros pour l’Union européenne. Source : www.cairn.info
  2. www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/researchpark/partners/academic/ singularity_university.html
  3. singularityu.org
  4. www.youtube.com/watch ?v=KGD-7M7iYzs
  5. fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loi_de_Moore
  6. Le cloud computing, littéralement informatique dans les nuages, désigne l’utilisation de serveurs distants (en général accessibles par Internet ) pour traiter ou stocker l’information.
  7. rue89.nouvelobs.com/2014/05/09
  8. fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bienvenue_%C3%A0_Gattaca
  9. ww.huffingtonpost.fr/2014/01/20/

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