ТЕХНОЛОГІЧНА СИНГУЛЯРНІСТЬ: ПЕРЕВАГИ, ПРОБЛЕМИ, ПРОГНОЗИ

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ТЕХНОЛОГІЧНА СИНГУЛЯРНІСТЬ: ПЕРЕВАГИ, ПРОБЛЕМИ, ПРОГНОЗИ

Journal Title: Гуманітарний часопис - Year 2016, Vol 1, Issue 2

Abstract

Lazareva Marina TECHNOLOGICAL SINGULARITY: BENEFITS, CHALLENGES, FORECASTS The widespread implementation of technologies and their significant advantage over human imperfections provoke the individual use of them for his own improvement: from inconspicuous external gadgets to powerful cyber prosthesis. At the same time, the popular culture promotes technological modification of human body as the way to superpowers, as the method for discovering secrets of the Universe and dealing with aging, suffering and death. According to the scientists' forecasts in the next decades we will encounter the merging of technological and human in the one biomechanical organism, that will accommodate human creativeness and mechanical infallibility. According to the forecasts of futurists, the development of computer technologies and researches in the field of artificial intelligence will reach the level where they won’t only surpass human intellectually, but will also be as sensitive as people are. Meanwhile, such practices as genetic engineering, technoeugenics, molecular nanotechnologies, cryonics, cyborgization and biomechatronics are able not only to provide us with qualitative medicine, destroy most of the diseases and rehabilitate the human body, but also have the potential to make a person immortal. Such kind of prognosis encourages us to think about what will happen to those of us who will have no desire to embed memory cards in the brain and download knowledge into the head with the help of various devices. In this regard, transhumanism supporters notice that this situation is not new, because even today financially secure citizens have access to better education, employment, apartments, earn more money and have more opportunities to fulfill their desires and aspirations. With technological upgrade only the dimension of social inequality will change, but not the problem itself. That is why we should not make attempts to stop the process of human techno-improvement, but we have to do everything possible to eradicate the problem of inequality, to redistribute income, to give more opportunities of getting qualitative education, to overcome the social stratification etc. In this context, the technological singularity provides quite positive predictions: if humanity uses technologies correctly and guides science development in the right direction, we will soon be able to restore the environment, to feed the starving part of the world's population, to clean water and air, to save millions of lives and so on. With the help of technologies and latest instruments, the level of individual creativeness will significantly increase and the new planes for discoveries will open for humanity. Despite all the mentioned advantages, the technological singularity is often criticized. One of the challenges on the way to human mechanical self-improvement is the boundary, transition of which means the loss of identity and transformation of internal Self. It is important to determine to what extent we are able to modify our bodies without changing the essence of ourselves, and where is that point where others will not accept the equality of our rights. Will we be able to talk about personal individuality and identity, if the ones are programmed at the genetic level, or prudently loaded in the ultra-modern cyborg? Yet, the transcendence of the human body will inevitably affect the spiritual side, and in this regard we cannot be sure that human identity will not become a product of mass industry. If we begin to program human beings even before their birth, store and reproduce the DNA, clone our dead beloved ones, our beliefs about human nature will be completely altered – evolution will become manageable. In conclusion, the development of human society at this stage cannot be stopped or slowed down with the moral stereotypes, since the ones are rapidly losing their effect and demonstrate the limitations in comparison with the advances of modern technologies. Accordingly, nowadays one of the most important problems is the exploration of the new ethics and broad discussion of the posthumanism goals. We need to be aware that consumerist way of life will lead our society to collapse. That is why the humanity's aim should be usage of technological singularity in favor of our planet: mechanized elements must be used for resuming biological processes, and the technologies must integrate into our body without absorbing spirituality.

Authors and Affiliations

Марина Лазарева

Keywords

Ключові слова: технологічна сингулярність трансгуманізм штучний інтелект біомехатроніка кіборгізація техноєвгеніка. Keywords: technological singularity transhumanism artificial intelligence biomechatronics cyborgization techno-eugenics.

EP ID EP565886
DOI -
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