In this post I discuss three related concepts that often are discussed jointly: (i) transhumanism; (ii) the singularity; and (iii) artificial general intelligence (AGI).
The theoretical issues on transhumanism seem to be simpler if you assume that the feasible modifications aren't genetic but are chosen by adults. As experience has already shown, if a pill or injection can improve performance in some direction (or just provide a desired experience), lots of people will take it, even if there are adverse side effects. And if there were a pill that reliably raised intelligence, I'd take it. But there isn't.
This raises one of the big problems with all of this discussion. It's about hypotheticals that aren't happening, at least not obviously. Recent AI is impressive, but partly by contrast with the stagnation/deterioration/ensh*ttification of existing tech, most notably Google.
The theoretical issues on transhumanism seem to be simpler if you assume that the feasible modifications aren't genetic but are chosen by adults. As experience has already shown, if a pill or injection can improve performance in some direction (or just provide a desired experience), lots of people will take it, even if there are adverse side effects. And if there were a pill that reliably raised intelligence, I'd take it. But there isn't.
This raises one of the big problems with all of this discussion. It's about hypotheticals that aren't happening, at least not obviously. Recent AI is impressive, but partly by contrast with the stagnation/deterioration/ensh*ttification of existing tech, most notably Google.
Agreed