Fernando Alcoforado*
This article aims to demonstrate the extreme need to create more biologically evolved human beings with the use of science and technology to make them defy the limits imposed by nature and survive as a species today and in the future. It is necessary to make the formation of super-men and super-women that can be achieved through the use of science and technology (biotechnology, nanotechnology and neurotechnology) to increase the cognitive capacity and overcome the physical and psychological limitations of beings humans. This situation can be achieved through transhumanism, which is a philosophy that aims to eradicate in any way the suffering caused by diseases, aging or even the death of human beings, as well as reaching the maximum potential in terms of human development.
With transhumanism, what is sought is to make human beings capable of transforming themselves with the use of science and technology to acquire skills so greatly expanded from the natural condition, in order to deserve the post-human label, leaving in the background biological evolution. While classical humanism believes only in education and culture as transformers of the human being, transhumanism considers that this is not enough. Human evolution has to rely on science and technology. This means that science and technology should intervene to exercise control over human evolution in order to make it a directed and planned evolution. This evolution would be not only biological, but also technological.
The idea of increasing the capacity of the human body through science and technology is as old as humanity itself. From the moment when humans created tools and learned to use fire and promoted scientific and technological advances over time, humanity has been overcoming its biological limitations. Evolution has given humanity more sophisticated intelligence than any animal on the planet that has enabled human beings to use it to, with the knowledge of science and technology acquired, overcome their biological limitations. As an example of the use of science and technology in this direction, we have the genetic manipulation of the human species that is possible with the creation in the laboratory of new genes that can modify the genetic code to be able, for example, to block the replication of viruses, making our cells immune to attack. This would be the way to protect humans from future pandemics such as the new Coronavirus. The modification of the human genome would gradually increase until finally transforming the human being into a new biological species.
Another example of the use of science and technology to overcome the biological limitations of human beings is the use of artificial intelligence linked to computing that can transfer the contents of our mind (with memories of the past and traits of our personality) to a hard drive, method known as mind uploading. As computer technologies advance alongside biotechnology, there is an increasing convergence between the two in the form of neural interfaces that in the future may open the door to connect the human mind directly to Artificial Intelligence, in order to facilitate greater learning, mental transfer and overcome neurological conditions. This is the idea of transhumanism, a theory that believes that the use of science and technology can not only overcome the biological limitations of the human species, but also help to create a new category of evolved human beings even with the conquest of immortality.
There has long been a human obsession with prolonging life and even overcoming death, that is, conquering immortality. Overcoming death is one of the purposes of transhumanism. In the past, man sought to overcome death through religions. In the contemporary era, there is a belief that it is possible to overcome death with the use of science and technology. The belief that, if it is not possible to overcome death,it would be possible to prolong life, is based on the fact that man’s life expectancy evolved from 30 years in 1500, 37 years in 1800, 45 years in 1900, 46.5 years in 1950 and 80 years in 2012. The conquest of a longer existence in the 20th century resulted from the improvement of sanitary conditions in cities and the creation of public health services. In addition, science has discovered vaccines and antibiotics that have made it possible to prevent disease and control epidemics. The increase in educational and income levels also contributed to improve the quality of life and further extend longevity in the third or – perhaps we can say – fourth age.
The year 2045 will mark the beginning of an era in which medicine can offer humanity the chance to live for a time never before seen in history. Organs that are not working can be exchanged for better ones created especially for us. Parts of the heart, lung and even the brain can be replaced. Tiny computer circuits will be implanted in the body to control chemical reactions that take place inside cells. We will be just steps away from immortality. This is the prediction of a group of scientists known to occupy the forefront of research that permeates topics such as computer science, biology and biotechnology. Among them are George Church, professor at Harvard University in the United States, Aubrey de Gray the gerontologist and biomedical specialist in anti-aging and engineer Raymond Kurzweil, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). They are the leaders of a kind of new philosophy, called Singularity.
In medicine, the heralds of immortality claim that it is nothing more than a real consequence of an ongoing revolution that is already triggering an increase in unprecedented speed in increasing human life expectancy. Considering the speed of innovation, a person born in 2050 will have a 95% chance of living a thousand years, according to Aubrey de Gray. At the moment, the aforementioned group of scientists is involved in the growth of the University of Singularity, already installed in Silicon Valley, in the United States. Making an analogy with single-celled bacteria that have lived for millions of years without aging, members of the University of the Singularity say that our germ cells, like eggs and sperm, can also live indefinitely which they claim to believe in the greatest extension of human life.
The certainty of this group of researchers in the success of their research is based on the advances already achieved and those that are sure to come. In the opinion of these researchers, based on the resources we currently have, a child born today will be able to live at least until the age of 150. One of the fields in which advances have been most notable is that of stem cells. In the field of cardiology, experiments with 16 patients with heart failure, all of them had part of the heart tissue regenerated with stem cells taken from the organ itself. The replacement of diseased organs by healthy ones is another reason cited by scientists to justify the belief in a spectacularly long life. Trachea, bladder, urethra and blood vessels have already been created and implanted in humans. And there are experiences of implanting more organs, including the heart and liver.
One of the most important factors associated with a human’s lifetime is his genetics. Your DNA points out what your average life will be and can also bring about changes that predispose you to disease. For this reason, much of the effort is concentrated on inventing resources that interfere with each person’s genetic material. Avoiding the possible damage that food can cause to DNA is also a support point for science that seeks immortality. According to the principal representative of the University of the Singularity, the engineer Raymond Kurzweil, a calorie restricted diet, with only the nutrients necessary for life, can lead us to live much longer. These are just examples of the instruments currently available to push the human race beyond the limits of longevity.
Another researcher dedicated to the study of human longevity is Lawrence Alexander, a surgeon, urologist and neurogeneticist who announced that the sequencing of the genome will allow us to arrive at personalized medicine, guided by our genetic characteristics that, through modeling performed with increasingly powerful computers, we can understand the human body. According to Lawrence Alexander, progress will develop in three waves. First, with medical electronics that can now, through brain implants, treat Parkinson’s disease, treat depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Then comes the wave of bioengineering that studies and develops instruments essential to the maintenance of life, such as sphygmomanometers, hemodialysis, infusion pumps, blood pumps, artificial lungs, defibrillators, neonatal incubators, etc. and finally, nanomedicine, medicine on a microscopic scale. From 2020, we can expect decades of extra life. It is possible, according to Lawrence Alexander, to reach a life expectancy that we cannot imagine today.
English biogerontologist Aubrey de Gray linked to the University of the Singularity is convinced that aging is a biological process that can be perfectly controlled, in the same way that science has already managed to fight many diseases that were once considered incurable. De Gray, who has a degree in computer science, but has become one of the world’s leading theorists on human longevity compared the human body to a car. With periodic and adequate maintenance – fix a defect here, put a lubricant there, replace an old part there – you can significantly increase the life of a car. Although the human body is much more complex than a car, De Gray believes that it is possible to do the same, regularly combating the processes that lead to the aging and death of cells.
There are not many defenders of De Grey’s fanciful predictions in the scientific community. The prevailing opinion is that, despite all the technology, there should be no significant advances in human longevity in the near future. On the subject, scientists gathered in a panel promoted a few years ago by Scientific American magazine gave no reason for much optimism: considering all the impending achievements, such as gene therapy and the possibility of replacing almost all natural organs, and even hibernation life expectancy on the planet will reach 140 years at most in 2500. The future will tell who is right.
How to make the human being significantly improve in a matter of decades, or even a few years? The answer is transhumanism, a movement determined to use revolutionary technologies to transform humanity into something superior. A transhuman being is someone who has taken this step and updated his body in a way that not only corrects a deficient part to behave as commonly expected, but that replaces something that works perfectly well to do something more than is biologically possible. Transhumanism is possible because of something known as neuroplasticity, that is, the ability of neurons in our brain to make new connections and reconfigure their network in response to new stimuli, information, trauma or dysfunction. Examples include learning new skills, remembering information, people or events, making complex movements with our bodies without consciously thinking about it.
Some authors believe that humanity would already be transhuman, because the progress of medicine in recent centuries has significantly altered the human species. However, it did not take place consciously and, therefore, transhumanist. The year 1990 is seen as a year of “fundamental change” in human existence by the transhuman community, with the first study of gene therapy, projected babies, as well as the mind-expanding World Wide Web, all appearing that year. It is important to take into account that the changes undergone by human beings through transhumanism would have consequences that would influence all areas of knowledge. It is not just science and technology that must deal with the improvement of human beings. There needs to be an ethical and philosophical approach to address this possibility. Transhumanist thinkers are already studying the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations, as well as the ethics of using such technologies.
Transhumanism must contribute, not only in the sense of eradicating any form of suffering caused by disease, aging or even death, but, above all, reaching the maximum potential in terms of human development for humanity to survive the internal threats existing on the planet Earth, but also, to the threats coming from outer space and the need to make space travel in search of its survival as a species in the Universe in which we live. Transhumanism associated with artificial superintelligence are the resources that would make it possible to enable humanity to achieve these goals.
The internal threats to planet Earth to the survival of humanity concern diseases, pandemics such as the current deadly Coronavirus pandemic and others that may arise in the future, earthquakes and the catastrophic climate change that may occur from the middle of the 21st century demand scientific advances and technological to overcome them, among other measures. External threats to the survival of humanity concern the collision of asteroids on the planet Earth, the widening distance between the Moon and Earth that can result in catastrophic climate changes, the existence of orphaned planets wandering in outer space that may collide with Earth, the explosion of supernovae that can release deadly gamma radiation to life on Earth, the collision of the Andromeda Galaxy with the Milky Way Galaxy that can displace Earth from its favorable location for life in the solar system, the death of the Sun and the end of the Universe in that we live that demand scientific and technological advances to overcome them. Transhumanism would have to provide human beings with the capacity to survive these internal threats to planet Earth and external threats coming from outer space with scientific and technological advances that make it possible to protect them.
The collision of large asteroids on the planet Earth can be prevented with the use of powerful rockets capable of hitting them and diverting them from their route, the widening distance between the Moon and Earth must be monitored to adopt measures to mitigate its impact on life on planet Earth and establishing escape plans for humanity to space colonies built in the solar system on Mars, Titan (moon of Saturn), Callisto (moon of Jupiter) and the dwarf planet Pluto, the collision of orphaned planets with Earth requires its monitoring to determine its approach to Earth and to establish plans for the escape of humanity to space colonies built in the solar system, the supernova explosion requires its monitoring for when it occurs to establish plans for the escape of humanity to space colonies built in the solar system, the collision of the Andromeda Galaxy with the Milky Way Galaxy that can displace Earth from its favorable location for life in the solar system requires its monitoring with the establishment of escape plans for a planet located in another nearby galaxy, the death of the Sun requires its monitoring with the establishment of escape plans of humanity for a planet located in a system close to the solar system and, the end of the Universe requires studies that identify the existence of parallel universes and how to access them.
Humanity needs to be prepared to acquire sufficient biological capacity through transhumanism with the use of scientific and technological resources to live outside the Earth and make space travel within the solar system, to reach another habitable planet that orbits another star close to the solar system and, also, seek a way out to a parallel universe before the end of our Universe occurs. The ability of human beings to defy the limits imposed by nature is absolutely necessary to ensure their survival as a species today and in the future. Immediate and future threats will not be successfully addressed without the advancement of science and technology that is the passport to humanity’s survival.
However, there is a great risk that, under the current conditions, malicious governments use science and technology to serve their evil interests. One of the specters that surrounds the discussions of the transhuman movement concerns the eugenics process associated with the crimes committed by the Nazi regime that sought to suppress the weakest. It is also known that in the Nazi regime there was widespread use of drugs like Pervitin among the military, of all ranks, to alleviate fatigue, to have a sense of euphoric invincibility and a considerable increase in their performance. Transhumanism, unlike Nazism, represents a humanist version of eugenics, focused on the individual improvement of each human being. Its defenders have a radical view of human rights, where each citizen is an autonomous being who belongs only to himself and must decide for himself what modifications his brain, DNA and body must undergo.
To prevent malicious government officials from using science and technology to serve their evil interests, there must be control and regulation. For that, it is necessary that philosophers, jurists and scientists work together to avoid that science and technology are not used for evil. Therefore, instead of banning the use of science and technology for the benefit of human beings, it is better that it be properly regulated. It is necessary to incorporate the Principle of the Common Good in all scientific and technological projects aimed at increasing the cognitive, physical and psychological capacity of human beings. Science and technology must be developed for the common good of humanity. The Principle of the Common Good in all projects of transhumanism in the world will only be possible to put into practice with the existence of democratic governments in each country and a democratic world government without which humanity can be at the mercy of evil-intentioned rulers. It is necessary, therefore, that there be democratic governments in each country in the world and a global democratic government that makes sure that these objectives are achieved.
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* Fernando Alcoforado, 80, awarded the medal of Engineering Merit of the CONFEA / CREA System, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional Development by the University of Barcelona, university professor and consultant in the areas of strategic planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is author of the books Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova (Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado. Universidade de Barcelona,http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of the Economic and Social Development- The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe Planetária (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011), Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012), Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2015), As Grandes Revoluções Científicas, Econômicas e Sociais que Mudaram o Mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2016), A Invenção de um novo Brasil (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2017), Esquerda x Direita e a sua convergência (Associação Baiana de Imprensa, Salvador, 2018, em co-autoria) and Como inventar o futuro para mudar o mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2019).
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