No, humans will never achieve interstellar travel

This is a pretty interesting article at Observer.com, opinionated, pointing out a few technological advances in our future (the next century) that will prevent humans from ever achieving interstellar travel. A good read and probably pretty accurate predictions.

Provided that we continue (a) existing and (b) advancing in technology, by the middle of this century, we will have access to our entire genome, nano-technology (or at the very least, micro-robotics) and AI. Those technologies, if we try really hard to extrapolate their logical course, mean that at some point in the next few centuries, there will be no more homo sapiens.

No, humans will never achieve interstellar travel

The author of the article states that some call him a pessimist for writing his opinion that we won't last long enough as humans, while others call him an optimist... because they want to achieve this kind of technology that basically wipes out the human species as we know it. I'm one of those with the pessimist view. I'd hate to see us evolve this way. What say you ATS?

a reply to: Rezlooper


Most people like to think about future innovations in tech and IT. They stop thinking when it comes to the future of how humans will evolve into a more advanced state. That state will mix with tech and IT, but it doesn't mean that the spark of human existence is going to wink out due to those augments.

a reply to: Rezlooper

I'm all for it. Bring on the Homo-Superior.

(S+F for the great link!)

a reply to: Rezlooper

Sounds like this guy has given up. Why can't we have both options?

Interstellar travel only possible in pure energy form, as a photons with information. When you reach your destination you can build outer shell with materials that are present and suitable on that planet. Information and energy is relevant, you can create the mass.

originally posted by: lostbook
a reply to: Rezlooper

Sounds like this guy has given up. Why can't we have both options?

I think it's like Ozzyman said, we wouldn't be homo-sapiens anymore, we'd be homo-superiors if we start removing negative traits and designing ourselves. He does point out in the article that we'd have both... some museum humans left over to look at.

a reply to: Rezlooper

Interesting read here...I think we will get there...but not how we think and not in this form.

Whatever we will be by then, how-ever we move atoms around...I think by then...we won't be referring to it as "interstellar" or even "interdimensional".

I really believe it will be with future assistance from other worlds, and by a method of dematerializing and re-assembling our atoms elsewhere as a form of long distance "travel"...just like on Star Trek.

But we are eons and millenia away from that....thanks!

Best

utter rubbish

1. Its very likely humans have already achieved interstellar travel if you believe Ben Rich Lockheed CEO:
"We now have the technology to take ET home"
2. Flying saucers, that fact they are here proves superluminal capability. I've seen them I know they exist.
3. Roswell happened in 1947. How long has it taken to reverse engineer the technology?

The article is written with no knowledge of any of these facts, just ignorant assumptions.

a reply to: Rezlooper

Sooo.... He's basically saying that humans will achieve trans-human and then post-human status before we achieve interstellar travel, so we will no longer be technically human by the time we can do this. Well, he's probably right.

This does seem like an argument based entirely upon semantics, which means that it's not much of an argument at all.

Personally, because I am a being that has inhabited a frail and failing body since before my first breath, (the only reason I am here is sheer force of will), I am all for these genetic, nano-tech and AI solutions. Bring it on. It's just one more transition and I would rather have that one than grinding, painful, chronic, ugly and humiliating health failure until I die.

Maybe then, I could channel all of that energy eaten up by sheer survival and forge out and search the stars. It sounds awesome to me.

a reply to: Rezlooper

I'm a dude. Like a male ape dude thing.
I'm also some consciousness thing..

But please no more...

maybe they can leave all the Humans on earth and all the "digitized gods" can leave and evolve in any way they want in very quick and unpredictable ways.

I like my hands and stuff.. At the same time I am a little embarrassed being a human.. I guess the analogy is I talked to the snake..

I bet the consciousness part of me can traverse the stars already.

it's a little funny watching my fingers press these keys connected to this wire going into your computer connecting to your eyes...

too late we're no longer apes...

a reply to: Rezlooper

I'm actually in agreement with this. I'm of the opinion that humans will never leave the planet and that we will be sending drones out to explore and harvest the universe for resources. We may build spaceports that orbit the planet for us to live in though.

a reply to: Rezlooper

I'll admit I wasn't around at the time, so I can only repeat what I have been told.

It seems I remember some guy, at about the turn of the twentieth century say that everything worth inventing had already been invented. I think this was just before the car, telephone, electric lights, and a few more kind of useful things came along.

I have heard a lot of people say that "if God wanted us to fly, he would have given us wings". Well, they seem to forget about the small fact that they can drive at 70 mph but God didn't give them wheels.

My point is that as people create more and more inventions and innovations, they always seem to adapt them to their own means of progressive survival. I can't imagine someone building a device which could bring about the end of mankind without building in some kind of shut down in order to at least save themselves.

If nothing else, someone would likely just "unplug' the thing anyway.

As it say in the article.. its just a thought he had..
just a random thought by a nerd with no background that helps him to conclude anything scientific.. he just be dreaming
Anyone guess I guess is as good

a reply to: Rezlooper

Interesting thread, i will get round to reading that article, but would like to say a few things first.

According to my research, we have FTL travel already (!)
This is a result of both secret reseach since the '20's and back-engineered (captured?) ET tech.

However, if the question is "will we as humans travel to the stars" then that's a whole new ball game.

The trend towards AI and Transhumanism is a very dangerous path to take, in the 80's they said AI was impossible because it needed too much memory & processor speed etc. Well that's here already, and is about to take another giant leap forward with Nanotech.
Another thing they overlooked back then were the new generation of programmers, using smart algorithms that replace 1000 lines of code, so yes AI is looking more possible every day but it will have to have strict controls in place to prevent 'terminator' scenario's and the possibility of misuse by other humans.

These are the real threats.

We will of course 'evolve' in our own time, it's a mistake to think that messing with our genes & using implants will accelerate that or make us super-human. Icke says that the idea is to make us all sub-human, well for once i agree with him LOL

TPTB will never let us evolve, they will try to hold us back using our own love of technology to control us.

Yes, the Uberman would be awesome, but I don't see evolution taking us there anytime soon and the human species is to stubborn to die out, we also enjoy sex to much to let that happen.

Would be cool if all the humans died out though... Although I think we're like cockroaches and rats, we like to screw and we like a hole to crawl into at night. That's why we've gotten this far - also cooperation has helped...

Anyway, it would be nice if humans died out, but honestly, I don't see it happening soon.
I say we should listen to that Zarathustra guy and lay down good foundations for intellectual evolution.
Doubt that that's gonna happen as well.

Here's to the crappy human race

a reply to: playswithmachines

Also, quantum computing. I don't think genuine A.I will be possible without it.

originally posted by: GreenGunther
a reply to: playswithmachines

Also, quantum computing. I don't think genuine A.I will be possible without it.

Yea. Human thought is just too complex for it to be distilled down into simple either/or solutions.

I almost think we are in a de-evolution phase in our culture, trading creature comfort and animal pleasure for learning, morals, and that quality that excites the mind to excel.

a reply to: tinymind

My point is that as people create more and more inventions and innovations, they always seem to adapt them to their own means of progressive survival. I can't imagine someone building a device which could bring about the end of mankind without building in some kind of shut down in order to at least save themselves. If nothing else, someone would likely just "unplug' the thing anyway.

Haha, as an inventor i have literally been confronted with that kind of problem, and yes there's always a safety mechanism there....only if i wanted to i could bypass it & vape a small town.
There lies the danger in sharing that kind of tech, better to bury it.......

a reply to: GreenGunther

Yes i agree, having read most of Asimov's books it is clear that we are going to have to re-think how we react with each other and with 'intelligent' machines.
The 3 laws of his are a good example, in his bio he states that he was just trying to think up how many stories he could come up with, centered on just those 3 laws.
If you know his books you will know that the pitfalls are many & vary from robots being mildy annoying, overprotective servants to there being an all-out war between us & them.
It depends on how much you rely on the tech i guess, look at that Tesla car accident, guy is driving way too fast reading apps & thinks everything is ok because the car drives itself.
Just as no human is 100% perfect, nor is any machine. Despite our ever increasing reliance on this tech, we would be fools to trust it implicity, and we should as least be able to do without it should the need arise.