Don't Fear the Future: Democratic Transhumanism and Empowerment through Technology James J. Hughes Ph.D. Executive Director, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies Lecturer, Public Policy Studies, Trinity College, Hartford CT [email protected]February 18, 2010 - Tunxis Community College, Farmington CT
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Don't Fear the Future: Democratic Transhumanism and Empowerment through Technology James J. Hughes Ph.D. Executive Director, Institute for Ethics and Emerging.
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Don't Fear the Future: Democratic Transhumanism and Empowerment through Technology
James J. Hughes Ph.D.
Executive Director, Institute for Ethics and Emerging TechnologiesLecturer, Public Policy Studies, Trinity College, Hartford CT
Copyright Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies 2010
Biopolitical Battlefronts
Who is a citizen with a right to life?: abortion, stem cells, great ape rights, brain death, chimeras
Control of Reproduction: contraception, abortion, fertility treatments, genetic testing, germline gene therapies, cloning
Fixing Disabilities to “Human Enhancement”: cochlear implants, prosthetics, eye and brain chips, gene therapies, cosmetic procedures
Extending Life: from treatments for aging-related diseases, to anti-aging drugs and therapies
Control of the Brain: Ritalin and Prozac, psychoactive drugs, brain chips
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21st Century Politics
Economic Politics
Biopolitics
Progressive
Conservative
Progressive Conservative Cultural Politics
Bioconservatism
Transhumanism
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From Bioethics to Biopolitics
Public health and universal insurance
Access to contraception
Rights to refuse treatment, confinement
Roe v. Wade Stem cells
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BioConservatives
Religious Right
CS Lewis The Abolition of Man
Deep Ecologists, Romantic Luddites
Aldous Huxley Brave New World
Jeremy Rifkin Algeny
Left-wing/Feminist Critics of Biotech Gena Corea The Mother Machine
Center for Genetics and Society
Pro-Disability Extremists Not Dead Yet
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2002-3: BioPolitical Landmark
Leon Kass appointed Chair of President’s Council on Bioethics
Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future (2002)
Greg Stock’s Redesigning Humans (2002)
Christian Right’s Manifesto on Biotechnology and Human
Dignity (2002)
Vatican’s "Human Persons Created in the Image of God“ (2002)
Bill McKibben Enough (2003)
PCB’s Beyond Therapy (2003)
Leon Kass
Chair, President’s
Council on
Bioethics
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Christian Right BioCon Network
Millions of dollars poured into “conservative bioethics”
Center for Bioethics and Culture (Jennifer Lahl, Nigel Cameron, Prison Ministries, etc.)
Trinity International University/Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity
Discovery Institute (Wesley J. Smith)
Ethics & Public Policy Center’s BAD (Eric Cohen, New Atlantis)
American Enterprise Institute (Leon Kass, J.Q. Wilson)
National Catholic Bioethics Center (John Haas)
Hudson Institute (Michael Fumento)
Progressive Pushback
Progressive Bioethics Network Caplan, McGee, Charo, et al. Women’s Bioethics Network Appigniani Bioethics Center Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies Center for American Progress
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What is Transhumanism?
An intellectual and cultural movement that affirms
the possibility and desirability of transcending the limitations of the human body through applied reason
especially by using technology to
eliminate aging and enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.
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“Trans-humanism” and “Transhuman-ism”
Julian Huxley first director of UNESCO "Transhumanism“ "the human species can transcend itself."
“FM-2030” (FM Esfandiary) popularized term “transhuman” in the 1970s
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Growing H+ Movement
humanityplus.org
30 chapters, 6000 members
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Diversity of Transhumanists
From March 2005 survey of transhumanists
Religion
Religious or spiritual
Secular, atheist
Other/DK
Atheist, Agnostic, Secular humanist 63%
Spiritual, Buddhist, Protestant, Religious
humanist, Catholic, Pagan, Unitarian-
Universalist, Hindu etc.
25%
Other 13%
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Technoprogressivism
Core Ideas: Equality and solidarity, as well as
liberty
Tech needs regulation and universal access
“Technoprogressives” Institute for Ethics & Emerging
Technologies ieet.org
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Biopolitical Coalitions
H+ Coalition BioCon Coalition
A-TechnoprogressivesB-Libertarian transhumanists
Economic Politics
Biopolitics
Progressive
Conservative
C
A
Progressive Conservative
B
D
Cultural Politics
Bioconservatism
Transhumanism
C-Left bioconservativesD-Right bioconservatives
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Human Nature and the Embryo
"The uniqueness of human nature is at stake. Human dignity is indivisible…every human being is possessed of an equal dignity…at every stage of life…"
James Dobson
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Five Moral Intuitions
Liberals:Harm/careFairness/reciprocity
ConservativesIngroup loyaltyRespect for authorityPurity/sanctity
JonathanHaidt
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In-betweens are Dirty
Purity and DangerWhy aren’t pigs
kosher?Cloven hoofs but
don’t chew cud
Mary Douglas
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Uncanny Valley
Masahiro Mori’s robots
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Race-Mixing Panic
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Rights Based on Racial Identity?
Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights (UNESCO, 1998)
“The human genome underlies the fundamental unity of all members of the human family, as well as the recognition of their inherent dignity and diversity.” Sorry – no rights!
Is hairlessness one of the human traits necessary for citizenship?
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“They” Want Your Jobs
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Inevitability of Race War?
"The posthuman will come to see us (the garden variety human) as an inferior subspecies without human rights to be enslaved or slaughtered preemptively. It is this potential for genocide based on genetic difference, that I have termed "genetic genocide," that makes species-altering genetic engineering a potential weapon of mass destruction." (Annas, 2001)
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Enhancement a Crime Against Humanity?
George Annas & Lori Andrews: make human enhancement “a crime against humanity”
Senator Kelly: "Are mutants dangerous? We license people to drive."(X-Men) Dr. Grey: "But not to live."
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Violent Defenders of Human Nature
“Human nature has in the past put certain limits on the development of societies. But … technology is developing ways of modifying human beings…. Getting rid of industrial society … will remove the capacity of … control over human nature" - the “Unabomber Manifesto”
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…to Personhood
Persons: “conscious beings, aware of themselves, with intents and purposes over time”
You can be human and not persons: fetus, braindead
You can be a person and not human: great apes, AI, posthumans
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H+ = Radical Human Rights
Personhood, not race, gender or species, defines citizenship
Citizens have a right to control own bodies, brains & reproduction
Goal of governance should be to help each person fulfill her potential John Locke
1632-1704
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Technological Self-Determination
The right to know how safe and effective technologies are
The right to use technology to control our own bodies and minds
The right of equal access to technological empowerment
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