Don't Fear the Future: Democratic Transhumanism and Empowerment through Technology James J. Hughes...
-
Upload
alfred-richards -
Category
Documents
-
view
222 -
download
2
Transcript of Don't Fear the Future: Democratic Transhumanism and Empowerment through Technology James J. Hughes...
Don't Fear the Future: Democratic Transhumanism and Empowerment through Technology
James J. Hughes Ph.D.
Executive Director, Institute for Ethics and Emerging TechnologiesLecturer, Public Policy Studies, Trinity College, Hartford CT
February 18, 2010 - Tunxis Community College, Farmington CT
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
The Enlightenment
Origins of secularism, secular humanism and modern bioethics in 17th and 18th century
Descartes, Locke, Pascal, Bayle, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, Condorcet, Rousseau
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Principles of the Enlightenment
1. Autonomy of reason from faith and authority
2. Human perfectibility and social progress
3. Empirical optimism: sapere aude!
4. Legitimacy of government based on free association
5. Tolerance of diversity, freedom of thought
6. Ethical universalism – beyond nationalism, racism, sexism
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
20th Century Politics
Progressives
Conservatives
Conservatives Progressives
Populists
Libertarians New Right
Social Democrats
Cultural Politics
Economic Politics
Populists
Libertarians New Right
Social Democrats
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Emerging Technologies
Tech that will radically change the human brain:PsychopharmacologyGenetic engineeringNanotechnologyArtificial intelligenceCognitive science
The accelerating convergence of all these“for improving human performance”
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Human Enhancement
Curing disabilitiesHealthLongevity Intelligence Emotional controlHeightened sensesSpiritual experience
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Biopolitical Battlefronts
Who is a citizen with a right to life?: abortion, stem cells, great ape rights, brain death, chimeras
Control of Reproduction: contraception, abortion, fertility treatments, genetic testing, germline gene therapies, cloning
Fixing Disabilities to “Human Enhancement”: cochlear implants, prosthetics, eye and brain chips, gene therapies, cosmetic procedures
Extending Life: from treatments for aging-related diseases, to anti-aging drugs and therapies
Control of the Brain: Ritalin and Prozac, psychoactive drugs, brain chips
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
21st Century Politics
Economic Politics
Biopolitics
Progressive
Conservative
Progressive Conservative Cultural Politics
Bioconservatism
Transhumanism
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
From Bioethics to Biopolitics
Public health and universal insurance
Access to contraception
Rights to refuse treatment, confinement
Roe v. Wade Stem cells
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
BioConservatives
Religious Right
CS Lewis The Abolition of Man
Deep Ecologists, Romantic Luddites
Aldous Huxley Brave New World
Jeremy Rifkin Algeny
Left-wing/Feminist Critics of Biotech Gena Corea The Mother Machine
Center for Genetics and Society
Pro-Disability Extremists Not Dead Yet
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
2002-3: BioPolitical Landmark
Leon Kass appointed Chair of President’s Council on Bioethics
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future (2002)
Greg Stock’s Redesigning Humans (2002)
Christian Right’s Manifesto on Biotechnology and Human
Dignity (2002)
Vatican’s "Human Persons Created in the Image of God“ (2002)
Bill McKibben Enough (2003)
PCB’s Beyond Therapy (2003)
Leon Kass
Chair, President’s
Council on
Bioethics
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Christian Right BioCon Network
Millions of dollars poured into “conservative bioethics”
Center for Bioethics and Culture (Jennifer Lahl, Nigel Cameron, Prison Ministries, etc.)
Trinity International University/Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity
Discovery Institute (Wesley J. Smith)
Ethics & Public Policy Center’s BAD (Eric Cohen, New Atlantis)
American Enterprise Institute (Leon Kass, J.Q. Wilson)
National Catholic Bioethics Center (John Haas)
Hudson Institute (Michael Fumento)
Progressive Pushback
Progressive Bioethics Network Caplan, McGee, Charo, et al. Women’s Bioethics Network Appigniani Bioethics Center Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies Center for American Progress
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
What is Transhumanism?
An intellectual and cultural movement that affirms
the possibility and desirability of transcending the limitations of the human body through applied reason
especially by using technology to
eliminate aging and enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
“Trans-humanism” and “Transhuman-ism”
Julian Huxley first director of UNESCO "Transhumanism“ "the human species can transcend itself."
“FM-2030” (FM Esfandiary) popularized term “transhuman” in the 1970s
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Growing H+ Movement
humanityplus.org
30 chapters, 6000 members
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Diversity of Transhumanists
From March 2005 survey of transhumanists
Religion
Religious or spiritual
Secular, atheist
Other/DK
Atheist, Agnostic, Secular humanist 63%
Spiritual, Buddhist, Protestant, Religious
humanist, Catholic, Pagan, Unitarian-
Universalist, Hindu etc.
25%
Other 13%
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Technoprogressivism
Core Ideas: Equality and solidarity, as well as
liberty
Tech needs regulation and universal access
“Technoprogressives” Institute for Ethics & Emerging
Technologies ieet.org
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Biopolitical Coalitions
H+ Coalition BioCon Coalition
A-TechnoprogressivesB-Libertarian transhumanists
Economic Politics
Biopolitics
Progressive
Conservative
C
A
Progressive Conservative
B
D
Cultural Politics
Bioconservatism
Transhumanism
C-Left bioconservativesD-Right bioconservatives
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Transhumanists BioConservativesPersonhood, cyborg citizenship
Human-Racism (or Deep ecology)
Humanism, reason, individual liberty, progress
Sacred taboos, “the natural”, yuck factor, romanticism
Risks are manageable Risks are unknowable; Punishment for hubris inevitable; Tech should be banned
Central Biopolitical Disputes
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Beyond Human-racism…
Human-racism = Humanness as basis of rights-bearing
Humans have souls or crypto-spiritual “human dignity”
Fetus to cremation
Embryonic citizens?
Boundaries of Humanness Animal-Human:
Chimeras & “uplifted” animals
Perinatal: Totipotent cells and artificial wombs
Perideath: Brain repair Machine-Human: AGI & neuro-prosthetics Human-Posthuman: ?
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Human Nature and the Embryo
"The uniqueness of human nature is at stake. Human dignity is indivisible…every human being is possessed of an equal dignity…at every stage of life…"
James Dobson
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Five Moral Intuitions
Liberals:Harm/careFairness/reciprocity
ConservativesIngroup loyaltyRespect for authorityPurity/sanctity
JonathanHaidt
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
In-betweens are Dirty
Purity and DangerWhy aren’t pigs
kosher?Cloven hoofs but
don’t chew cud
Mary Douglas
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Rights Based on Racial Identity?
Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights (UNESCO, 1998)
“The human genome underlies the fundamental unity of all members of the human family, as well as the recognition of their inherent dignity and diversity.” Sorry – no rights!
Is hairlessness one of the human traits necessary for citizenship?
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Inevitability of Race War?
"The posthuman will come to see us (the garden variety human) as an inferior subspecies without human rights to be enslaved or slaughtered preemptively. It is this potential for genocide based on genetic difference, that I have termed "genetic genocide," that makes species-altering genetic engineering a potential weapon of mass destruction." (Annas, 2001)
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Enhancement a Crime Against Humanity?
George Annas & Lori Andrews: make human enhancement “a crime against humanity”
Senator Kelly: "Are mutants dangerous? We license people to drive."(X-Men) Dr. Grey: "But not to live."
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Violent Defenders of Human Nature
“Human nature has in the past put certain limits on the development of societies. But … technology is developing ways of modifying human beings…. Getting rid of industrial society … will remove the capacity of … control over human nature" - the “Unabomber Manifesto”
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
…to Personhood
Persons: “conscious beings, aware of themselves, with intents and purposes over time”
You can be human and not persons: fetus, braindead
You can be a person and not human: great apes, AI, posthumans
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
H+ = Radical Human Rights
Personhood, not race, gender or species, defines citizenship
Citizens have a right to control own bodies, brains & reproduction
Goal of governance should be to help each person fulfill her potential John Locke
1632-1704
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Technological Self-Determination
The right to know how safe and effective technologies are
The right to use technology to control our own bodies and minds
The right of equal access to technological empowerment
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Why Human Enhancement?
Status Quo Bias Would it be better to
have….Shorter lives?More disabilities?Less intelligence?Less memory?Less happiness?
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Legitimate Risk Concerns: Safety, Efficacy, Equity
Ensure technology is safe and effective
Make tech accessible to all
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Yuck Factor Stops Critical Thinking
Bioconservative risk estimates are grounded in yuck factor so that tech bans seem only logical policy
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Secure the “Longevity Dividend”
A “Manhattan project” to slow aging
Aubrey de Grey Jay Olshansky
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Pursue Universal Access
Defend & expand universal health care
Expand access in the developing worldAnti-retroviral drugs
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Tech is not the problem Greed, racism, inequality,
patriarchy, authoritarianism,
ignorance and superstition
are the problems
Technology only opens new
ways to pursue virtue, reason,
democracy, equality, and liberty
The Crossbow was invented to oppress peasants. But it became the perfect tool for knocking knights off horses.
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
For more information
Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologiesieet.org