spoken word

 

What is H+ in a nutshell?

 

 

 Yes I admit it: I'm an Hpluser! Or should that be
Transhumanist, Extropian or Singularitarian? I'm
undecided. What I do know is that the broad
H+ movement encapsulates for me a deep
concern to bring about a positive bright version
of a future I can identify with. The movement
also predicts that those bright futures are not the
usual 10 or 20 years off. They are beginning now
and it is vital to publicly communicate and plan
for the changes they will bring to our society.

I'm in my early 30's, so for me the future was
'2001 - A Space Odyssey,' and the back of
cereal packets where we lived in underwater
pods and farmed fish. Although I'm quite glad I didn't
turn out to be a fish farmer, I am more bothered that I don't
own a hover car and that I can't rely on my faithful robot helper.
It did still seem that progress was being made but this was
2004 - it should have been here already! As I began to read
more, and quickly found people like Vernor Vinge, Nick Bostrom
and later Ray Kurzweil, I understood that futurism had not failed
the misty-eyed Rice Crispies fan. On the contrary, it had slowly
advanced, gathering itself to stun the 31 year old muesli muncher
I had become with visions far beyond the cereal clichés of my youth.

  

 

 

It seems we are on the upward curve of an exciting merger of technologies that will bring greater benefits to our lives as each year goes by. Many of the early advances will be medical, but all will have an impact on our society. For example, if you’re a woman, you may choose to ignore the ticking biological clock. You might for instance consider having your child in your early 60's with a body and mind that will still be healthy and vital. Personally I'd like to see the end to cancer and diseases that blight society and then on the flip side enjoy the enhancements in culture and entertainment. Immersive films anyone? As the pace increases, these technologies promise to end and reverse aging, tackle global hunger, reverse environmental damage and could very well lead to human and artificial intelligences pushing beyond what we consider fixed limits today.

 

 

I find myself in a young movement led by scientists and philosophers. The version of the future they see can be a shock to the system for even the most broad minded of us. They need mediators, communicators and artists, not just to flesh out their ideas, but also to colour them with our own views and strategies. A multiplicity of problems need attention in this ground swell of future thinking, but I'm happy to be a member of a movement who sees humanity starting to break through current knowledge and biological barriers and cares about the direction of that progress.

 

NEXT PAGE whats coming and how accurate are these predictions?

 

Links to other pages on the net that
explain H+ and transhumanism.
H+ values by Nick Bostrom
Transhumanist wiki

 

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