Discussion The Future

[Superdeterminist]

"David Pearce is a prominent figure within the transhumanism movement and one of the co-founders of the World Transhumanist Association, currently rebranded and incorporated as Humanity+."

I thought this recent talk of his was interesting and hopeful:

He speaks about "phasing out the biology of suffering" by using the ever-growing power afforded to us by technology. He describes himself as a "soft antinatalist" who believes great care should be taken when bringing new sentience into the world, and that we are obligated to design babies such that their lives won't be miserable due to the wrong set of genes. He forecasts a transhuman/posthuman future where instead of playing the cruel game of pain and pleasure that uncaring nature forced upon us, we engineer a new paradigm where every conscious being only experiences "gradients of wellbeing" and is incapable of suffering ("ensuring nobody's 'hedonic setpoint' ever falls below zero").

What do you think about all this? For me, futurism is really the only thing that gives me any hope or optimism about life anymore. I find the present to just be lacking irredeemably. And I already know the past was in many ways worse for humans (more suffering), so I don't hope to revert back to "the good old days" as some do. I see science/tech as the only enterprise that could ever hope to cure a suicidal brain. Regrettably it hasn't achieved that yet, but I think it's our only hope.

 

[noname223]

For me I doubt that new technologies will fix my brain. I think a complete restart would be necessary. The accomplishments in the last decades were not that great imo. I rather hope for more social security maybe achieved through new technologies and AI. At least one can dream...

 

[Superdeterminist]

For me I doubt that new technologies will fix my brain. I think a complete restart would be necessary. The accomplishments in the last decades were not that great imo. I rather hope for more social security maybe achieved through new technologies and AI. At least one can dream...

I don't think any reasonable cure for depression will be developed in my own lifetime, but I think eventually they'll come up with something. I agree recent accomplishments haven't been that spectacular, they haven't led to any change that can really be felt. It's a painfully slow process involving lots of mini-innovations I think. However, that process is (apparently) accelerating.

 

[motel rooms]

What do you think about all this?

"I've never seen no miracle of science and progress
That didn't go from a blessing to a curse"
-- Sting

I don't really give a shit what happens in the future, I'm 40 & too poor to afford techno-miracles

 

[signifying nothing]

More likely there will be people consigned to virtual hells a la Iain M. Banks' novel Surface Detail.

 

[Superdeterminist]

More likely there will be people consigned to virtual hells a la Iain M. Banks' novel Surface Detail.

God, I hope not. Well, there's definitely no guarantee it will all turn out rosy.

 

[demuic]

I see humanity as too irredeemablely evil and stupid as a collective to do anything that would greatly benefit the majority of humans.

For technology to be used for good a massive upheaval of society would be needed, on every level from structural to cultural, starting with eliminating the profit motive for one.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I think starting with making gene editing available to everyone is a pretty decent way to minimize the suffering caused by genetics.

 

[motel rooms]

there's definitely no guarantee it will all turn out rosy.

It'll definitely stay gray.

 

[avoid_slow_death]

Very interesting from a purely scientific perspective. But ultimately, why? You do realize that everything that is done now or in the past or into the future is ultimately pointless anyways. We exist simply to exist because a biochemical process compels us to. Take that away and reality will stare you straight in the eye and that reality is no actions matter ultimately.

 

[Superdeterminist]

Very interesting from a purely scientific perspective. But ultimately, why? You do realize that everything that is done now or in the past or into the future is ultimately pointless anyways. We exist simply to exist because a biochemical process compels us to. Take that away and reality will stare you straight in the eye and that reality is no actions matter ultimately.

The ultimate pointlessness of the universe seems to bother you a lot. I know that it bothers lots of people, and it does bother me to some extent. But tbh other things like inequality and disease bother me personally a lot more. I can live with having no ultimate purpose, as long as I'm happy. But I haven't been able to be happy. I see that others are happy or at least not wanting to die, so it shows that humans are capable of it.

 

[avoid_slow_death]

The ultimate pointlessness of the universe seems to bother you a lot. I know that it bothers lots of people, and it does bother me to some extent. But tbh other things like inequality and disease bother me personally a lot more. I can live with having no ultimate purpose, as long as I'm happy. But I haven't been able to be happy. I see that others are happy or at least not wanting to die, so it shows that humans are capable of it.

Not that it bothers me, I simply put pieces together through observation of both my life and life in general and came to the truth. Yeah, posting about it a lot, but, that's likely more the vestiges of my emotions leaking through. That will eventually pass as well.