Here Be Dragons: Science, Technology and the Future of Humanity

Description

There is a widely held conception that progress in science and technology is our salvation, and the more of it, the better. This, however, is an oversimplified and even dangerous attitude. While the future will certainly offer huge changes due to such progress, it is far from certain that all of these changes will be for the better. The unprecedented rate of technological development that the 20th century witnessed has made our lives today vastly different from those in 1900. No slowdown is in sight, and the 21st century will most likely see even more revolutionary changes than the 20th, due to advances in science, technology and medicine. Particular areas where extraordinary and perhaps disruptive advances can be expected include biotechnology, nanotechnology, and machine intelligence. We may also look forward various ways to enhance human cognitive and other abilities using, e.g., pharmaceuticals, genetic engineering or machine-brain interfaces - perhaps to the extent of changing human nature beyond what we currently think of as human, and into a posthuman era. The potential benefits of all these technologies are enormous, but so are the risks, including the possibility of human extinction. This book is a passionate plea for doing our best to map the territories ahead of us, and for acting with foresight, so as to maximize our chances of reaping the benefits of the new technologies while avoiding the dangers. Title_PagesScience_Technology_and_the_Future_of_Humanity Preface Science_for_good_and_science_for_bad Our_planet_and_its_biosphere Engineering_better_humans Computer_revolution Going_nano What_is_science The_fallacious_Doomsday_Argument Doomsday_nevertheless Space_colonization_and_the_Fermi_Paradox What_do_we_want_and_what_should_we_do References Index