I first thought to add this post under "(All I want for Christmas is) FREEDOM".. but in effect.. this is more (disturbing) than just about taking away of our freedoms.. this is about taking away of humanity.. So I tried to post it under TRANSHUMANISM in my Forum, but for some reason I could not get it published as a Forum post.. (for some reason I now seem unable to post anything in my Forum... tbc) - So here it is as a new Blog post, which I will endeavour to translate into Dutch in the next couple of days:
We have arrived.. At least here in the UK.. Well, we've probably been here for a long time, possibly since 2012 or even earlier.. But now it is in the public domain..:
GuidanceHuman Augmentation – The Dawn of a New Paradigm A think-piece designed to set the foundation for more detailed research and development on human augmentation.
From:Ministry of DefencePublished13 May 2021
Documents
Human Augmentation – The Dawn of a New Paradigm Strategic Implications Project
PDF, 5.35MB, 110 pages
This has been placed in the public domain for one reason: because they are ready to implement this & make it official & legal and 'to prepare us (the public)' for this (unavoidable) next step..
The term 'Transhumanism' features twice in this 110 page document: on pages 58 en 85.
Cyborg is also mentioned a few times on page 51 (inclusive of the Oxford Dictionary definition):
"Human augmentation may require humans and cyborgs to be legally distinguished in the future"
This will be a huge shock for many I guess.
I would like to refer to the following pages and passages in this document - WARNING: THE PASSAGES ON ETHICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS (pages 45-54) ARE PARTICULARLY DISTURBING, FAVOURING PROSPERITY, OBLIGATIONS AND NATIONAL INTEREST OVER SAFETY AND HUMANITY..
Pages 12 & 13:
"Human augmentation is not just tomorrow's business, there are short-term and long-term opportunities that require engagement today."
"We cannot wait for the ethics of human augmentation to be decided for us, ...
The ethical implications are significant but not insurmountable; ..
Ethical perspectives on human augmentation will change and this could happen quickly.
There may be a moral obligation to augment people, particularly in cases where it promotes well-being or protects us from novel threats. It could be argued that treatments involving novel vaccination processes and gene and cell therapies are examples of human augmentation already in the pipeline."
"The need to use human augmentation may ultimately be dictated by national interest..."
"The reliance on personal data to enable human augmentation will pose significant data security and privacy challenges. The frameworks to secure this data will have to be both national and international in nature, ensuring that is easily shared and used for common good, but also well protected..."
...
"Human augmentation threats. Cultural and ethical considerations will inform the extent to which opportunities are seized, but human augmentation threats will be forced upon us irrespective of our own normative standpoint. We must understand and address such threats or otherwise risk creating a strategic vulnerability. Threats will emanate from states, terrorist groups, criminals, lone actors, or even malpractice in legitimate activities. Protecting ourselves will demand a level of scientific, ethical and legal proficiency that outmatches the adversary..."
...
"Today's rehabilitation tools: tomorrow's enhancements - physical and mental rehabilitation may, in the near term, prove to be the front line of human augmentation in Defence. Advanced prosthetics to rehabilitate wounded personnel represent the cutting edge of robotics and the latest neurostimulation devices and pharmaceuticals have been used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder..."
Page 23:
"Human augmentation is inevitable because:
we have already developed technologies and there is no going back; ????????
there are threats and opportunities that we should address; ??????
and there is a growing demand from society." ????????????????????????????????
Pages 26/27:
"Collection and analytics....
The future of wearables
Current or emerging technology in this field includes: increasingly accurate heart rate monitoring; earrings that measure body temperature and pulse; shoes that generate their own power to sense bodyweight and movement; contact leses that analyse tears to predict your emotional state and project information; clothes that sense your physiology and give you small directional taps on your shoulders to provide screen-free Global Positioning System (GPS); and 'smart buttons' in clothes that collectively understand your habits and inform other linked technologies - from car tot coffee machine - to optimise your life. Wearables to monitor chronic health conditions such as diabetes are a notable growth area and may even develop towards closed-loop systems that measure and treat symptoms in the future.
Sleep..
...
Personalised nutrition"
Pages 29-33:
"Genetic engineering..
..refers to modification of reproductive cells (germline engineering)...
Creating genetically modified humans has been widely considered unacceptable for many years and is formally prohibited in over 40 countries, but there are signs that his stance is being challenged by the advent of new technologies. For example, the development in 2012 of a technique clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) provides a set of 'molecular scissors' that are cheaper, faster and more accurate than previous methods of genetic editing."
So.. because creating GM humans is now cheaper, faster and more accurate, it may (no longer) be considered (un)acceptable????????????????????????????????????????
"Brain (neural) interfaces
External brain interfaces
Internal brain interfaces
Pharmaceuticals..."
Page 42:
" ...
Of the four core human augmentation technologies, genetic engineering shows the greatest potential. Although a controversial technology it is entering a period of rapid development.
Safer methods such as CRISPR are beginning to change the ethical standpoint on genetic engineering.
...
Much development is affected by public attitudes, corporate liability and what is classified as legitimate research. Changes in these factors will have significant influence on the pace of future development."
Pagina's 45-48: Ethical considerations
"Morality
There are universal aspects of morality that underpin the basic functioning of all societies but their interpretation varies. The idea of helping your family and group, respecting others' possessions and returning favours are deep-rooted altruistic tenets that helped our ancestors form successful social groups. These concepts are sill the foundation today's ethics. But behind these tenets are a myriad of local factors and interpretation, hence concepts of morality vary across cultures. Attitudes towards human augmentation could, therefore, vary significantly between and within nations. Nations that form alliances on defence and security issues may, therefore, be deeply divide on their stance towards human augmentation.
Perspectives
Perspectives can change quickly and will affect the rate of human augmentation development and acceptance. ...
The information revolution - from print press to tweet - is also accelerating the speed and scale of moral change as different behaviours and attitudes become normalised through exposure. We must be careful to distinguish genuine from fake information as, for example, the view that fifth generation (5G) cellular networks somehow are responsible for the spread of COVID-19; this has been believed by many impressionable people. the impact of legislative changes on moral beliefs is also important, with some evidence suggesting the changes to morality are often caused by legislative changes. Defence, however, cannot wait for ethics to change before engaging with human augmentation, we must be in the conversation from the outset to inform the debate and understand how ethical views are evolving.
...
Safety
...
Obligations
There may be a moral obligation to augment humans in cases where it promotes well-being. Foetuses are already screened for an array of diseases - and, in the future, technology may be able to quantify the child's chances of developing cancer or having low intelligence. If the technology existed to change these outcomes, would society be obliged to use it? ...
..., but recent advances in technology mean that actions can have almost immediate global consequences. Our moral tendencies to look after our kin and immediate future may no longer be fit for the modern, interconnected world.
National interest
The imperative to use human augmentation may ultimately not be dictated by any explicit ethical argument, but by national interest. Countries may need to develop human augmentation or risk surrendering influence, prosperity and security to those who do. This possibility is encapsulated by investment in artificial intelligence companies, with annual investments worth US $1 trillion by 2030.29 Similarly , enormous funds are being invested in gene editing by countries with citizens who are more accepting of the technology. Countries that invest in artificial intelligence and gene editing now are likely to reap significant returns. Public opinion, particularly in democracies, will be a major influence on a country's willingness to embrace human augmentation but neither public opinion nor ethicists are likely to decide the future of human augmentation. Instead, it is likely to be decided by governments based on the national interests in terms of prosperity, safety and security."
29 Forbes, (2020), 'Why The Race For AI Dominance Is More Global Than You Think.'
Pages 51-54: Legal considerations
"Human rights
Human rights and property law are examples of legal fields which may need to adapt as technologies become integrated with, rather than merely used by, people. People have legal rights and machines do not, but human augmentation will make it increasingly difficult to adopt this binary approach as machines are integrated with our bodies - potentially at a molecular level. An example is the discussion about possibilities that humans may become cyborgs in the future.30 The term has many mythical, metaphorical and technical connotations, but it reflects the idea that humans no longer merely use machines - we increasingly depend on them for our most human-like activities.31
...
30 Cyborg is defined as a fictional or hypothetical person whose physical abilities are extended beyond human limitations by mechanical elements built into the body. Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 12th Edition.
31 Wittes, B. and Chong, J., (2014) Brooking.edu, "Our Cyborg Future: Law and Policy Implications".
...
Legal evolution
...
Law is not immutable, so what is permitted or prohibited today might not be in the future. Existing law can evolve and new law be created in response to changes in societal values and technological developments. However, the creation or amendment of law tends to happen slowly, and the law usually lags some way behind technology. Those involved in developing or procuring military human augmentation capabilities should engage early and frequently with relevant legal experts."
Page 62:
"...
Without careful management, unequal access to human augmentation will amplify existing societal divides.
...
Human augmentation will lead to major changes in health and social care with notable improvements in preventative health care likely.
In the future, anyone with the right knowledge and tools could indulge in DIY human augmentation, including modifying their own DNA. Balancing the rights of the individual with protecting society will be a complex dilemma for regulators.
...
Society will become more diverse as people use human augmentation to express their individuality.
Human augmentation will lead to new forms of crime that will require law enforcers to develop new capabilities."
Page 99: "Synthetic biology
Synthetic biology could be used to rapidly develop new treatments and vaccines. It could also be used for producing biological weapons such as designer viruses and diseases. Designer viruses and diseases could be designed so that they are highly volatile and mutative, making it very difficult to produce effective countermeasures, or extremely personalised to target specific groups of people, possibly even individuals.
Symbiotic organisms such as those that live in the gut have a profound effect on the host's health. It is plausible that genetically engineered organisms could be introduced into the gut to enhance health and/or performance and to treat disease. For example, it is thought that the anti-diabetes drug metformin (which has also been studied for its possible anti-ageing effects) may act through its interaction with the microbes in the human gut.
..."
Page 100:
"...
Life extension
...
Interventions include... boosting the immune system and developing senolytic drugs, (drugs that remove aged cells).117 Methods to reduce genetic damage, and improved mitochondrial function are also likely to be developed. It is probable that many, of not all, of these methods will need to be applied in combination fo fully remove the effects of ageing. In addition, artificial devices and organs, stem cells and modified tissues are also being explored for regenerative medicine..."
117 Scudellari, M., (2017), Nature, 'To stay young, kill zombie cells."
I also recommend you look at the related content i.e. The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Matt Hancock's speech in Davos..
Bless you all.. stay sane, stay strong, stay united
Share, speak up, stand up, peacefully
See you out there..
With love,
filip
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