Life and intelligence must never stagnate; it must re-order, transform and transcend its limits in an unlimited progressive process. Our goal is the exuberant and dynamic continuation of this unlimited process... - Max More
People are so tuned in to the near term that they aren't thinking in terms of decades. Yet, over the long run, we have a chance of fundamentally changing humanity. Many people sense this, but don't want to think about it because the change is too profound. - Daniel Hillis
On any world the wind eventually wears away the stone, because the stone can only crumble; the wind can change. -Spock
But while change is painful, it's necessary too. Without it, without turbulence and decay and unity in variety, there's no rebirth, and life stagnates and dies. We fear change, but perhaps we should fear lack of change more, because the ultimate lack of change is death. It's change itself that brings meaning and richness to life. - Gregory J. E. Rawlins
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by Andres, on June 26 2007:
When I stated that U+ >= H+, I mean that the evolutionary potential of an intelligent universe (U) is not limited but could well be subject to human evolution.
by Andres, on January 14 2008:
Depotmaster asks: "Why did you include the word Evolution in the title?"
My answer: "Because Technological Progress as means of Human enhancement is the real engine of current Human evolution."
Depotmaster comments: "I wouldn't say that. Technological progress is effectively just cultural change. Evolution assures the groups of people with the greatest success to spawn. That would be: Mexicans, Indish, Arabs... So evolution is the wrong word. It should't be used for civil society. Its proven that utilitarianism is more pragmatic while social Darwinism failed."
My Response: "From the most general perspective, evolution is usually the long internal process which changes structural properties of its carrier system.
In this sense, we may observe that a system transforms itself in another one, over time.
Technological change will increasingly play a role in the way in which life and intelligence will continue to adapt. Technological change will both impact and transform Human Evolution."
ActiveStorage asks: "why dont we work on our biotechnologies instead? and use biological "upgrades" for ourselves? let robots be robots. evolution is something only nature can really do. we (human beings) are too stupid to be in charge of evolution process. plus CNN sucks. wake up"
My reponse: "Evolving our biology to keep pace with technological evolution is an alternative. If you're creative, you're welcome to explore this path. Many certainly will. :)
Incorporating advancements in converging fields, however, will likely be a more powerful combination.
ActiveStorage, I humbly disagree with you when you say that evolution is something only nature can do. This is why:
Nature lacked intelligence for billions of years, and yet it produced some of the finest combinations in our universe via trial an error. This, my friend, includes you.
Who are we to judge our own capacity to play a part in this process when we ourselves are a by product of this universal process?
We are both emergent and intricately involved with Nature. Our very existence and our creations could be seen as the Universe itself exploring new forms of extropy.
While Nature lacked intelligence for billions of years, it has been achieving new forms of Intelligence with an ever accelerating pace and for the surprise of many still clinging to pre-renaissance and non-scientific ideas, this has been happening even before the Dawn of Man.
How did all of this happen on a single planet? From a very general sense, the answer is simple:
.h) Biology emerges from the Universe's chemical trial and error
.h+) Intelligence emerges from biology's trial and error.
.h++) Technology emerges from Intelligence's trial and error.
.h+++) Super Intelligence emerges from Technological trial and error.
On and on, hopefully, you get the picture.
Through Evolution, cosmological, biological, technological or otherwise, our Universe is expanding and extending its ability to contain chaotically ordered forms of energy, producing organizational systems with functional order, vitality, life, experience, with an ever increasing capacity and drive for improvement and growth.
What I'm trying to tell you is that we are not the end result, but are instead by-products of this unlimited, universal process called evolution. We're neither above, below nor separated to one of its most distinguished forms, Nature. We are it. This is it. We're nature experiencing itself. We are a baby Universe, collectively becoming aware of our own existence.
Conscious Intelligence with a drive towards peace and progress is surrounded by insurmountable opportunities. The Universe has found a way to reason about itself, and we are experiencing that new evolutionary step, one which does not seem to have any particular goal or singular point of importance, but one to which we can give value as sentient beings, if we choose to.
Through us, Nature has achieved a new evolutionary step. Intelligent trial and error has a new meaning, "Conscious Evolution".
So if our actions are nature's continuation of trial and error, then we would be incorrect in thinking our transhuman evolution is unnatural.
The intellectual, international and cultural movement of Transhumanism is a world-wide group of like-minded individuals that aware of change. If you want to know more, search for the World Transhumanist Association.
Where we go from here is entirely up to us, because if we choose to, the Universe will no longer be driven by chance, but by choice.
May we choose our path humbly, wisely and peacefully towards the coming equivalent of a Technological Cambrian Explosion.
May our ride into the future be wild and full of adventure :)
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