28 - Transhumanism and War
Thu, Apr 25
Today we will turn to particular futuristic technologies and consider their impact. Transhumanism is the social and philosophical movement devoted to promoting the research and development of robust human-enhancement technologies. We will look at transhumanist technologies through two lenses, first through war and the creation of a "super-soldier" and next, on Tuesday, we will consider whether the ultra-rich should live forever.
Today's slides can be found here.
Read This:
Via Perusall:
- More Than Human? The Ethics of Biologically Enhancing Soldiers | The Atlantic
- The myth and reality of the super soldier | BBC
- Meet Altos Labs, Silicon Valley's latest wild bet on living forever | MIT Technology Review
Do This:
As we prepare for class consider the following questions:
- Are there good circumstances for human enhancement?
- What are the differences between biomedical treatment and enhancement?
- What are the rights of individual soldiers? of the governments fighting wars?