In 2007, evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry of the London School of Economics predicted: "The human race will one day split into two separate species -- an attractive, intelligent ruling elite and an underclass of dim-witted, ugly goblin-like creatures." Well, that's us (the second category!) and aren't we looking forward to shoveling dirt and whatever other tasks they put us to when we're all finally clear on where we belong. (America was the country that people flocked to, told that anyone could become a millionnaire, but the party's over now and it's billions you need anyway.) Transhumanism is the term for genetic enhancement, and the elites are the ones who are going to get it, perhaps to surmount the obvious obstacles the rest of us goblins will face -- like nutritionless food, particulate-filled air, chemical-laden water and bodies that groan with toxin overload.
Robots are in full bloom, thanks to fascinating work at DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). We will have robots in our own bodies someday -- calculators and entire encyclopedias in our brains! There will be no further need to Google anything, because Google itself will be accessible in our heads. Just think of what you need to know, and you will know it! Outside the body, an emotion-equipped "robot might be a more effective partner and better 'person' than the humans we have in our immediate lives," says Spanish scientist Lopez Pelaez. Robots can already cook food, fetch things and listen when you are lonely (so could our childhood stuffed animals), and they will soon become part of our lives. Or they will become us ... or we will become them. That's the wonder of nanotechnology -- replicating our smallest functions to combine "hu"-man with "E"-man, creating the ultimate marvels in the "E"-ness of possibility ... E-lites and E-workers. Read more at this link.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 04 January 2009 14:10 |