Filed in archive Society & Ethics by george elvin on January 19, 2007

James Hughes at Cyborg Democracy speculates:

Perhaps our descendents will use nanotechnology to turn whole planets into intelligent, living stuff, each atom a processor in a planet-sized mind, conscious of the fall of every sparrow and capable of preserving the memories of every life. In such a world our personal identities could continue for billions of years.

Just as our Paleolithic ancestors could not have anticipated our great cities, our arts and machines, or our spiritual traditions, so we cannot now imagine the grandeur of the accomplishments of our posthuman descendents.

Meanwhile, back on this planet, the hands of the world's Doomsday Clock were moved 2 minutes ahead yesterday to just 5 minutes from the end of civilization.

"The dangers posed by climate change are nearly as dire as those posed by nuclear weapons," said the report. "Over the next three to four decades climate change could cause irremediable harm to the habitats upon which human societies depend for survival." (hat tip on the Hughes quote to Nanowerk.)

Related Entries:

Distributor doubts nanotech to blame for Magic Nano recall - 12 April 2006
Are investors scared of nano? - 16 August 2006
Links to academic nanotechnology labs - 21 August 2006
Iranians locked out of nanotech meeting - 10 September 2006
Nanotech transhumanist debate heats up - 20 January 2007

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Permalink: Looking too far ahead?

Tags: nanotechnology nanotech nano cyborg democracy doomsday clock transhumanism 2007 looking+ahead

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Response from: Planetdrugsdirect (05/14/07 2:24pm)

You're right George, we cannot anticipate what our descendants will create, but we must make sure they have a healthy world to start with. Just like Sen. Biden said: "We need to change the way we think and talk about global warming; What is at stake here is more than the environmental health of the planet. Climate change is a new and very different national security challenge. If it continues at the current rate, it will cause shifts in fundamental building blocks of economic, social and political systems around the world."