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Latest podcast  Series  2024 Tr

TRANSHUMANISM

The Origins of Evil series has now ended a series on Transhumanism has begun: 

Summaries

S2 Ep97

Transhumanism divides into moderate Transhumanism which believes in an enhanced human condition, and radical Transhumanism which envisages a profound alteration of our bodies and minds, even to the extent of abandoning our biological inheritance and becoming a designed new species. Both visions envisage accelerating technological change. But humans are not in charge of their technologies, rather technology itself is in the driving seat. While the record so far of a highly improved human condition looks good, for example increased life span, as well as impressive increases in GDP and the standard of living, on closer inspection the contemporary situation looks fraught with difficulty and the world economy could well be at an inflection point. Thus, the moderate Transhumanism project would be stalled, even endangered. However, as further episodes will argue this does not apply to radical Transhumanism which  is set to proceed regardless of economic conditions.

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S2 Ep98 

Transhumanism believes in a transition of Homo sapiens into a trans-human and even post-biological state made possible by accelerating technological progress, for example Artificial General Intelligence. The recent emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs) not only push the boundaries of AI but may also play their part in the Transhumanist enterprise. In reply to the question what are the dangers of such technologies to human consciousness, Gemini, one of the well known LLMs, gave a very frank and disturbing reply. All is revealed in the episode!

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S2 Ep99

Two of the most important movers of history are the interacting variables of technology and ideas.

Modern Business Civilization has already profoundly altered us. For example, it over-emphasizes the functions associated with the left hemisphere and has entered into a left-brain runaway scenario which is accelerating with AI. By this imbalance, the overemphasising of the left hemisphere, we risk losing touch with our humanity, our natural creativity, and our connection to the natural world.

 

Artificial intelligence is a projection of part of the human mind especially that part focussed on reason and logic, and it appears destined to take over the human mind and body entirely – at least of some elite humans, for billions of us are surplus to requirements.

 

At root since most of mankind have given up the idea of a soul, then we are left at the mercy of fierce but empty ideologies that tell us that really we are a just a code, another piece of information.

Fascinated by wealth and infatuated with power,we complete the Faustian bargain that was struck at the beginning of Business Civilization – we forfeit our soul for power, wealth and knowledge.

 

S2 Ep100

This considers the speed, extent and dangers of the AI technological revolution. The dreams of radical TH depend on this transformation.

AI is not just another tool but a technology that empowers systems to think, learn, and act intelligently. It is much vaunted as a potential saviour of humanity but the opposite might well be the case. Various authors are quoted such as Bill Joy, Nick Bostram, Stephen Hawking all of whom are worried that “AI could spell the end of the human race”.

 

Recent books are summarised: Nouriel Roubini’s Megathreats and Mustafa Suleyman’s The Coming Wave. They are largely in agreement that when technological progress is intelligent as well as self-replicating, when AI, which with robotics, and automation can do everything better than humans, then it is highly likely that most people lose their jobs, their incomes, and their dignity while a super-elite make an alliance with this new intelligence. Very soon AI will leave human intelligence behind – after which we are redundant. AI is now being applied in every industry that has data. There will be Mass Job Displacement and Widening Inequality. There are immense malfunction dangers of automated war system linjed and AI, digital arms race, and AI controlled nuclear technologies. The dangers to the modern state and especially democracies are profound.

 

This is not just a new machine age, it’s a replacement of intelligence. Modern technologies and AI not only enslave they can also destroy us if we continue with our unawareness.

 

S2 Ep101

The recent “International scientific report on the safety of advanced AI” was examined: It focussed on Chatbots and Large Language models (LLMs). There was some overlap with our previous authors as to the potential benefits and negatives that, aide from potentail considerable benefits, that even this limited form of AI (LLMs and the like) can pose severe risks to individual and public safety. 3 categories are outlined:

 

1. malicious use risks

2. risks from malfunctions and loss of control

3. Systemic risks- e.g. large unemployment impacts, privacy risks and environmental effects:

 

However unsurprisingly, there is no complete agreement across the board from such a large panel of experts. Also the AI community, don’t actual “know” how the inner algorithms of the LLMs actually work. Neither is there any clarity about the future development of these models

 

AI is the application of intelligence to intelligence. It is increasingly autonomous and is the beginning of an economic transformation of the economy at greater speed and intensity that ever before in our history.

 

However, in the face of potentially the greatest technological change in the history of humanity bringing with it some of the gravest dangers we can face, regulation is notably absent.

 

Neither can I avoid the impression that the human race is stumbling into something it barely understands.

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S2 Ep102 From the Luciferian to the Satanic

The archetypal roots of Transhumanism are explored. The Book of Genesis presents this in symbolic and mythical form: humans are caught in a dilemma between staying in the garden of unconsciousness or making a bid for freedom from nature and the unconscious though the awakening of self awareness and pursuit of knowledge. In doing this we become aware of death and are destined to attempt to overcome this trauma by seeking the tree of everlasting life – to become as gods. This is the metaphysical background to transhumanism which in its radical form wishes to move at least some humans to a post-biological state that overcomes ageing and death. However the history of utopias – and Transhumanism is definitely one - is that they have a dystopian underside. This can be even be presented metaphysically as a movement from the Luciferian to the Satanic. There is a Faustian pact at the origins of business civilization and the pursuit of Artificial Intelligence and the movement to Transhumanism are its consequences. The myth of Dr Faustus is explored.

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