In the near future, we could transcend biology. This is what experts such as Ray Kurzweil, Engineering Director of Google, believe could happen in the next few decades.
AI will soon see exponential growth in power. Ray Kurzweil calls this exponential growth the Singularity, when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, and grows at an exponential rate. The only way humans would potentially be able to keep up would be to transcend biology and become High Men.
Our brains would have to merge with machines and be contained in the Cloud, allowing us to also progress at an exponential rate.
What would this mean for humanity and for the planet?
As humans we are currently limited by physical limitations – our brains are slower than computers, our bodies are, relatively speaking, quite fragile. Transcending biology would solve these problems.
As uploads, our minds would be in the Cloud, and be able to leverage redundancy and expandability.
We could still navigate the physical world as either telepresence robots connected to the Cloud, or as nanobot swarms, without worrying about our bodies being destroyed, or about biological illnesses.
How would the environment benefit?
Humans consume a lot of resources – from agriculture to mining, to depleting forests, the planet really takes a hit to allow us to survive and grow as a species. If we transcended biology, we could minimize the amount of resources we needed to survive. A lot of functions could be centralized, without sacrificing autonomy. (Each individual would still have a unique Mind File, but use shared resources to run whole brain emulations allowing the Mind Files to form a continuation of the person in his or her previous biological form.
Humanity could also leave the confines of Earth far more easily, not needing an environment suitable for our current biological bodies to live in.
Is it really possible?
There’s a lot of skepticism and a lot of technological hurdles to overcome. But if it turns out to be possible, it could take humanity to the next level.
