"We Will Alter Human Evolution Within 20 Years"

Sounding much like God himself the US National Science Foundation and Commerce Department have released a report that looks more like a science fiction show.

But I think they are really serious about it.

US report foretells of brave new world

A draft government report says we will alter human evolution within 20 years by combining what we know of nanotechnology, biotechnology, IT and cognitive sciences. The 405-page report sponsored by the US National Science Foundation and Commerce Department, Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance, calls for a broad-based research program to improve human performance leading to telepathy, machine-to-human communication, amplified personal sensory devices and enhanced intellectual capacity.

People may download their consciousnesses into computers or other bodies even on the other side of the solar system, or participate in a giant "hive mind", a network of intelligences connected through ultra-fast communications networks. "With knowledge no longer encapsulated in individuals, the distinction between individuals and the entirety of humanity would blur," the report says. "Think Vulcan mind-meld. We would perhaps become more of a hive mind - an enormous, single, intelligent entity."

Continued....

In order to have a hive mind most of us would need to become sterile thoughtless workers.

Ok so 20 years till the greys take over. There the hive mind, and we are the free mind.... this article is damn scary if they really want humans to go down this road....mindless drones for the masters to control....nasty.

Good find Archangel

futurology is an interesting field indeed. but the thing is, the predictions are usually quite optimistic. i won't deny anything of this, because that kind of stuff is bound to happen some day. some day we will be able to download our consciousness into a computer, for example.

20 years they say. well thats quite quick in my opinion. the last time i read an article that talked about consciousnesses being downloaded into a harddrive, its said it could be possible around the year 2050. but now it says 20 years

we also have problems like religions and underdeveloped countries that will slow us down dramatically. also, many people like us (ATS readers) would embrace this sort of hi-tech stuff right away. but the "ordinary people" who dont care about science or space or whatsoever, i dont think they'd be too interested in this.

what i'd say is that this might be possible but not really in 20 years. i think its gonna take some 50-100 if not more years to accomplish this.

unless the scientists know something that i dont (im referring to aliens). maybe the aliens are helping us to advance, which could make all this possible in just 20 years.

to be able to live forever, a fascinating idea in my opinion. it would change our lives completely. or maybe we are going to build some sort of networks like the matrix x D. this would solve the overpopulation problem : )

however, i think they're never gonna get enough funding to make it happen so fast.

[edit on 15-2-2006 by systemlord_]

Leon Kass the former head of the US Bioethics Council will stop at nothing to see this kind of technology stopped. You see the reason being is that when these technologies start becoming available we will start to no longer need the government for many things. Wanna increase your intellect by several orders of magnitude? Well according to the Neo-Luddite Left if we start down that road we will breed superior humans with superior ambitions there is no middle ground with them as they seem to hate all technology equally. According to the Evangelical Right it will degrade what it means to be Human as any attempt to tamper in "gods" design is seen as a sin.

This type of technology at least in the US will most likely be reserved for the Elite and while the Hive mind type of stuff will be reserved for the military. You don't want to have an entire population in a hive mind as some malicious hacker could in effect take control of an entire population. You think Zombie Networks are a hazard well just think of the types of chaos that could ensue should we become more "borg-like". I doubt it will happen though and if they try to enforce it upon us there would be a bloody revolt.

This technology IS coming and sooner rather then later. Already we are all pretty much FyBorgs(beings who use Technology as an extension of their natural body) and eventually Cyborgs will be common place. We already have such people amoung us today as technically speaking all people with Pacemakers or Insulin implants are Cyborgs. It's not necessarily a bad thing but it WILL be abused by certain countries. Will the abuse happen world wide? I doubt it. IF you want multi-spectral artificial eyes that will most likely not be prohibited, but if you want anything like Intellect or Memory enhancers then alot of small minded people will be against it regardless of the overall cost to Society. If you want stuff that actually enhances your abilities to function in the real world then you'll probably have to go to Singapore or Japan as those two countries seem to be the least leery about things of this nature.

Just looking at the first two posts in this thread I'm already seeing people jump to the conclusion that we'll become just like the borg and that the worst possible scenario WILL happen. What's the point in having a society full of mindless zombies when we'll just be able to create a slave race of sentient AI soon.

Add in Molecular Nanotechnology, Ultra Efficient appliance designed by AI and a distributed power grid and we will not have much need for a Government anymore will we? Well at least not in the modern sense we will not. Trying to predict how society will react to these types of technologies is perilous at best and even I am probably wrong about some of my assumptions. Want a piece of advice? Get involved in the actual creation of these technologies so that way you'll have more control on how it's developed and can also blow the whistle should you discover any shenanigans.

I see no problem in speeding up our evolution. Be it biological or technological. Personally, I hope they do have this technology out before it's time for me to die. Get myself uploaded to the new conscious net, explore the galaxy, get away from the idiotic moron's on this planet! Dream come true. All's good

A hive mind huh? Everyone seems to expect the worste but what if it turns out to be something great? What if we take our combined knowledge and figure out some of the great questions of the universe? Would it not be safe to think that it could in turn not make us a dead zombie race but rather make each and every one of us umpteen times more intelligent. Not just in the logical way but make us all more creative? Allow people to laugh easier? Let music and poetry fill your soul? If this were to work and to be accepted I don't think as a society we would jump at anything less. I would like to see idividualism within the collective, choose at what you share.

Do you know how careful we have to be to do this? This is extremely risky. Anything that has to do with androids, cyborgs, superhumans, etc., I worry. We could easily...very easily be taken over by these things. I think eventually technology will destroy us. It will be our downfall. We will stride so much for perfection...but lose it all in the end.

There are so many damn risks with future studies like nanotechnology, implants, etc., we take them for granted. What humanity has to do is to use these technologies in beneficial ways, and plan very carefully what they can do. We may not even do these things, as it almost seems out of reach, but we'll just have to wait and see.

But... most people are already in a hive mind...

I don't know. I like it. I'm not much for body modification, but I have friends who are. And they would be first in line to get an implanted nanofactory that grows replacement parts when they get cut off.

Go Go Gadget Nanoplasty!

And let's hope these implants aren't used in supersoldiers. Imagine that. A large army of genetically altered humans versus humans. Would it be a war, or would it exist on the streets? Think about it. If your freind got some kind of strength upgrade, does that make him better? Think of how society would separate even more. Instead of the upper class...you have the genetically altered upper class. Or if someone couldn't afford an implant, but you could...are you better? And eventually, would genetically altered humans rule or no? That is a question humanity must answer for itself, and a question we have to come to


[edit on 15-2-2006 by Amschel Rothschild]

[edit on 15-2-2006 by Amschel Rothschild]

Remember what happened when primates began to pick up sticks?

It doesn't alter evolution. It becomes it. Evolution is our progressions. If we progress with nanotechnology, the was the direction of our evolution. One constant motion. AAC

It doesn't alter evolution. It becomes it. Evolution is our progressions. If we progress with nanotechnology, the was the direction of our evolution. One constant motion. AAC

Nooo...

Evolution is a natural progression. Nanotechnology would not be natural progression. We would be altering human evolution unaturally.

Sorry to nitpick

Technically, nanotech is evolution. Universe forms planet. Planet forms life. Life forms tech. Tech forms life. Life kills tech.

Okay maybe not so sure on that last one.

Point being, locally we are the ultimate stage in the evolution of our entire universe, not just life on Earth. What we create to inject into the very definition of humanity, and life itself, is the very essence of evolution.

No, nanotech is altering the course of a species natural evolution. Nor is the human species the ultimate stage of evolution in the entire universe. The human species is the most developed on this planet would be the correct thing to say, but you have no idea what's outside this planet. There could be other forms of life much better then the human species.

Without using nanotech to alter the course of human evolution, we would eventually change and evolve overtime into a different form. Unless we are at our most efficient form. Which I don't think we are because the human species is still changing a little.

Nanotech would be a forced alteration on the course of a natural evolutionary path.

I'd rather be a 100% pure natural human being than have all of that nanotechnology or biotech flowing through my veins.

And furthermore I don't actually enjoy the idea of uploading my consciousness to a harddrive somewher either.... And furthermore science doesn't even understand consciousness fully yet. They can't even give a definitive answer if it resides in the brain or not. There's no common consensus.

Aaannnd furthermore, if the holographic theory is correct, we humans are all of that already which they assume us to become after all that technology will be implemented in "20 years". We are already a "hive mind" and telepathy is already possible. It is possible to capture the feelings, thoughts, attitudes and skill of every human being by (while in altered consciousness) imagining yourself stepping into that person and "becoming" them, which I personally have done before.

Originally posted by Amschel Rothschild
And let's hope these implants aren't used in supersoldiers. Imagine that. A large army of genetically altered humans versus humans. Would it be a war, or would it exist on the streets? Think about it. If your freind got some kind of strength upgrade, does that make him better? Think of how society would separate even more. Instead of the upper class...you have the genetically altered upper class. Or if someone couldn't afford an implant, but you could...are you better? And eventually, would genetically altered humans rule or no? That is a question humanity must answer for itself, and a question we have to come to


[edit on 15-2-2006 by Amschel Rothschild]

[edit on 15-2-2006 by Amschel Rothschild]

Conversely what if Humanity relegates Augmented Humans to second class citizens like in XMen? Conflict could erupt in some countries would it erupt into a World War? I dunno.

Guys,
U gotta be jokin! All this stuff in 20 years? Christ! We haven't even produced a drug to combat the common cold as yet!!. So what are we talking about? Oh yes. If the Zetans are kind enough for a technology transfer, then its possible!!

[edit on 16-2-2006 by mikesingh]

Originally posted by mikesingh
Guys,
U gotta be jokin! All this stuff in 20 years? Christ! We haven't even prduced a drug to combat the common cold as yet!!. So what are we talking about? Oh yes. If the Zetans are kind enough for a technology transfer, then its possible!!

Technological progress is speeding up exponentially and there have been many breakthrough recently that you're probably not aware of. Here I'll list a few.

Monkey Brain Rewires To Use Robotic Arm

Mighty Mice Regrow Organs

Can computers be creative?

This is just a small sample of the recent breakthrough. 20 years in presant day science is quite a long time.

Also there is an inhaler that you take when you come down with the first symptoms of a cold and it nips it in the bud 90 % of the time. I forget the brand name of it though

[edit on 16-2-2006 by sardion2000]

It is possible to capture the feelings, thoughts, attitudes

It's called empathy. You can do the same thing reading a book or watching a movie too. Even animal's can sense how your feeling and act accordingly.

and skill of every human being by (while in altered consciousness) imagining yourself stepping into that person and "becoming" them, which I personally have done before.

Never heard of this before ... Elaborate? What skill set's have you picked up in this manner?