Philosophy 101 Unit 1

This post will summarize some of the main points made by our guests in residence at last night’s session, entitled “The Amplified Individual: Technology, Drugs, and Future Superpowers,” as well as my interpretations, ideas, and whatnot on the subject.

We started by considering where the world is headed in terms of how people will deal with technology in the future.  One of the problems we have (or will soon have, if you don’t already feel this way) is how to handle all the information thrown at us on a daily basis.  When you have hundreds of emails, facebook requests, pages to read for classes, how can you be expected to do it all?

David felt that “ambient devices” could aid in gentle, “human” way, by emitting a certain color light.  For example, rather than having to check the weather report daily, you would know to grab an umbrella on your way out if the light on the door was blue.  In this way, people are getting the information they really wanted (do I need an umbrella?) without having to sift through a complete report on temperature, wind, and precipitation conditions across America.

These external devices would be a first step.  But as the wealth of available information increases, so too do the measures needed to cope with it all.  At some point, implanted devices or drugs could help aid our ability to cope.  These devices have already started out as ways to help people with disabilities or other medical conditions.  For example, the drug designed to help people with narcolepsy, a disorder in which the person randomly and suddenly falls asleep, can be abused to allow a person to go without sleep and improve a sleep deprived person’s performance.  Seemingly, the person would stay awake much longer than a normal human while enjoying a better performance than humans sleeping normally.  These types of drugs would make an academic environment hell for students who refused to take them.  Drug tests required for job applications might be used to see who isn’t taking drugs, as opposed to who is.

Implanting devices, like memory aids, could have a similar course.  They might begin as efforts to help Alzheimer’s patients, and end up completely changing the classroom environment.  Would a classroom even be necessary if information could simply be implanted in our minds?  A simple origin could be a mental calcultor — the rules of math are simple enough.  But where does this lead?

Once implanting devices is a norm, the line between human and robot is blurred.  Surely a person on drugs or with implants is superhuman but how many changes can be made before that superhuman is considered a robot?  Are you human so long as you still have flesh, bone, and a bearing heart, even if you don’t need sleep?  Are you human if you still have desires and urges, like for food, water, and sex?  Are you a robot if emotion no longer matter to you, if you become apathetic about other humans?

What I’m asking is how you define human and humanity.  To me, emotions play a huge role in that.  A human who no longer feels the need for love or sex could be considered a robot, but there are humans alive today who meet that criteria, and clearly they are not robots!

What do you do when being “just human” isn’t good enough anymore?  How far will you go to survive?  Would you give up your humanity?

Some ideas for discussion:

• Define that gray area between human and robot.  At what point is the change?  Or is it more, “He’s 72.3% robot… he’s still human, though.”
• Spectate on other ways we’ll become superhuman in the future and the impact of those changes.