Transhumanism is a philosophical movement that argues in favor of technologically mediated transformation of humans. Some transhumanists claim that radical human enhancement could one day create new posthuman species. Two prominent paths could lead toward posthumans. Organic posthumanism maintains the essential role of the biological in posthumans. Exorganic posthumanism reasons for synthetic, electronic and digital qualities of future posthuman beings. This article is dedicated to the examination of the exorganic road to posthumans. Brain-computer interface technologies enable direct interaction between the mind and the virtual, therefore it is typically claimed that this technology could generate exorganic posthuman adaptations. It is argued, that current brain-computer interface technologies are under similar conceptual and ethical ambiguity, as some technologies for organic posthumanism. Brain-computer technologies are consequently tools, which are neutral regarding the posthumanism goal.
Posthumanism and transhumanism are philosophies that envision possible relations between humans and posthumans. Critical versions of posthumanism and transhumanism examine the idea of potential threats involved in human–posthuman interactions (i.e., species extinction, species domination, AI takeover) and propose precautionary measures against these threats by elaborating protocols for the prosocial use of technology. Critics of these philosophies usually argue against the reality of the threats or dispute the feasibility of the proposed measures. We take this debate back to its modern roots. The play that gave the world the term “robot” (R.U.R.: Rossum’s Universal Robots) is nowadays remembered mostly as a particular instance of an absurd apocalyptic vision about the doom of the human species through technology. However, we demonstrate that Karel Čapek assumed that a negative interpretation of human–posthuman interactions emerges mainly from the human inability to think clearly about extinction, spirituality, and technology. We propose that the conflictual interpretation of human–posthuman interactions can be overcome by embracing Čapek’s religiously and philosophically-inspired theory of altruism remediated by technology. We argue that this reinterpretation of altruism may strengthen the case for a more positive outlook on human–posthuman interactions.
In the play R. U. R. Karel Čapek envisioned a futuristic society where robots not only take all our jobs, but also all our human vices and virtues. Th e downfall of humankind is in the end symbolized by the love of and between robots. Love and reproduction are, therefore, one of the main themes of the whole plot of R. U. R. People create robots. Robots create more robots. Robots destruct people. But what if robots could create more humans? Th is article is focused on the topic of robotic creation of humans. Th e main line of reasoning is dedicated to the analysis of the near future possibility of autonomous artifi cial human embryo selection. Current studies show, that AI -assisted pattern recognition provides space for dramatic progress in the eff ectivity of grading of the viability of embryos. Th e combination of this technology with other anticipated technologies could one day create prospects for a full robotic reproduction of humans. Th e article presents some arguments for and against the idea that humans could or should one day become robotic babies.
Transhumanistická koncepcia lásky obecne predpokladá, že by sme mali romantickú lásku transformovať prostredníctvom súčasných možností vedy a techniky. Zástancovia transhumanistickej koncepcie lásky zvyčajne tvrdia, že správna technologická transformácia biologických základov lásky môže vyriešiť niektoré naše súčasné problémy s láskou. Proponenti transhumanistickej koncepcie lásky sa preto zvyčajne domnievajú, že korektná realizácia ich návrhu by taktiež viedla k vylepšeniu romantickej lásky. Hlavný zámer tejto štúdie spočíva v kritickej analýze niektorých filozofických a konceptuálnych nedostatkov, ktoré sú spojené s predstavou, že je vhodné aby pokročilé technológie transformovali lásku. Prvá časť štúdie je venovaná deskripcii filozofie transhumanistickej koncepcie lásky. Druhá časť štúdie je zameraná na analýzu predpokladov transhumanistickej koncepcie lásky. Tretia časť článku je sústredená na problémy prípadného zneužitia transhumanistickej lásky. V poslednej časti štúdie sa pokúsim ukázať, že aj korektná realizácia transhumanistickej lásky môže viesť k dôsledkom, ktoré sú problematické z hľadiska filozofických domnienok o výhodách transhumanistickej lásky.
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