singular_me
5th August 2016, 09:40 AM
we are at crossroads, either we deal with knowledge and use it to allow superhumans to seeds the cosmos with Life (they cannot stay on earth) or they become archonic and will terminate all human species, end result of parasitic darwinism and the normalization of slavery
we do not need to be eradicated, if we truly understand what the respect for Life entails.
==================================
http://www.activistpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/synthetic-dna.jpg
august 5
By Nicholas West
The very nature of any arms race is a study in one-upmanship that is presumed to be necessitated by that which came before. A perfect current example is the global drone arms race, where nearly every country is now acquiring technology that is assumed to be, at the very least, a protective measure against other countries which might develop offensive capability that threaten their nation. In the background is an international ethical debate about “killer robots” that has yet to be resolved, at least according to the United Nations. Nevertheless, development still continues unilaterally without pause as ethicists and average citizens alike are left scrambling to get ahead of a quickening curve.
Also developing at warp speed is a scientific race focused on genetics that is raising the old concerns about eugenics, as well as entirely new debates that, as yet, have only appeared in science fiction such as Gattaca. That film, for those who are unfamiliar, is the story of a future society where a centralized genetic and biometric database not only catalogues individual traits, but is used to identify those who are genetically superior, thus creating a fundamental divide in society between the “valids” and “the in-valids.”
Perhaps most poignantly, this is still carried out within a legal structure that has declared discrimination to be illegal. Regardless, such identification of genetic “disorders” has become irresistibly pragmatic to society, leading to the next step where parents who have the means can make the conscious decision to design their children for maximum abilities and longevity. The film was certainly ahead of its time when released in 1997, and could not be more relevant today......
So, here we are. Is China attempting to lead a race toward superiority through genetics? Are they responding to where they believe the U.S. already has headed? Is either country obligated to loosen any ethical restrictions that they may have had, especially if not doing so would leave their citizens destined to be part of a permanent world underclass or would severely compromise their national defense? Is this debate proof that we need a stronger international health organization that will place an outright ban on this technology?
Depending upon your answers to the above questions, you might find it troubling or reassuring to know that just today it was announced that the U.S. National Institutes of Health would “lift a ban on research funds for part-human, part-animal embryos.” Emphasis added…
The National Institutes of Health is proposing a new policy to permit scientists to get federal money to make embryos, known as chimeras, under certain carefully monitored conditions.
The NIH imposed a moratorium on funding these experiments in September because they could raise ethical concerns.
One issue is that scientists might inadvertently create animals that have partly human brains, endowing them with some semblance of human consciousness or human thinking abilities. Another is that they could develop into animals with human sperm and eggs and breed, producing human embryos or fetuses inside animals or hybrid creatures.
….
But critics denounced the decision. “Science fiction writers might have imagined worlds like this — like The Island of Dr. Moreau, Brave New World, Frankenstein,“ says Stuart Newman, a biologist at New York Medical College. “There have been speculations. But now they’re becoming more real. And I think that we just can’t say that since it’s possible then let’s do it.”
And the race is on…
The future of genetic enhancement is not in the West
By G. Owen Schaefer, National University of Singapore
Would you want to alter your future children’s genes to make them smarter, stronger or better-looking? As the state of the science brings prospects like these closer to reality, an international debate has been raging over the ethics of enhancing human capacities with biotechnologies such as so-called smart pills, brain implants and gene editing. This discussion has only intensified in the past year with the advent of the CRISPR-cas9 gene editing tool, which raises the specter of tinkering with our DNA to improve traits like intelligence, athleticism and even moral reasoning.
So are we on the brink of a brave new world of genetically enhanced humanity? Perhaps. And there’s an interesting wrinkle: It’s reasonable to believe that any seismic shift toward genetic enhancement will not be centered in Western countries like the U.S. or the U.K., where many modern technologies are pioneered. Instead, genetic enhancement is more likely to emerge out of China.
Attitudes toward enhancement
Numerous surveys among Western populations have found significant opposition to many forms of human enhancement. For example, a recent Pew study of 4,726 Americans found that most would not want to use a brain chip to improve their memory, and a plurality view such interventions as morally unacceptable...............
http://www.activistpost.com/2016/08/creating-superhumans-next-arms-race.html
we do not need to be eradicated, if we truly understand what the respect for Life entails.
==================================
http://www.activistpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/synthetic-dna.jpg
august 5
By Nicholas West
The very nature of any arms race is a study in one-upmanship that is presumed to be necessitated by that which came before. A perfect current example is the global drone arms race, where nearly every country is now acquiring technology that is assumed to be, at the very least, a protective measure against other countries which might develop offensive capability that threaten their nation. In the background is an international ethical debate about “killer robots” that has yet to be resolved, at least according to the United Nations. Nevertheless, development still continues unilaterally without pause as ethicists and average citizens alike are left scrambling to get ahead of a quickening curve.
Also developing at warp speed is a scientific race focused on genetics that is raising the old concerns about eugenics, as well as entirely new debates that, as yet, have only appeared in science fiction such as Gattaca. That film, for those who are unfamiliar, is the story of a future society where a centralized genetic and biometric database not only catalogues individual traits, but is used to identify those who are genetically superior, thus creating a fundamental divide in society between the “valids” and “the in-valids.”
Perhaps most poignantly, this is still carried out within a legal structure that has declared discrimination to be illegal. Regardless, such identification of genetic “disorders” has become irresistibly pragmatic to society, leading to the next step where parents who have the means can make the conscious decision to design their children for maximum abilities and longevity. The film was certainly ahead of its time when released in 1997, and could not be more relevant today......
So, here we are. Is China attempting to lead a race toward superiority through genetics? Are they responding to where they believe the U.S. already has headed? Is either country obligated to loosen any ethical restrictions that they may have had, especially if not doing so would leave their citizens destined to be part of a permanent world underclass or would severely compromise their national defense? Is this debate proof that we need a stronger international health organization that will place an outright ban on this technology?
Depending upon your answers to the above questions, you might find it troubling or reassuring to know that just today it was announced that the U.S. National Institutes of Health would “lift a ban on research funds for part-human, part-animal embryos.” Emphasis added…
The National Institutes of Health is proposing a new policy to permit scientists to get federal money to make embryos, known as chimeras, under certain carefully monitored conditions.
The NIH imposed a moratorium on funding these experiments in September because they could raise ethical concerns.
One issue is that scientists might inadvertently create animals that have partly human brains, endowing them with some semblance of human consciousness or human thinking abilities. Another is that they could develop into animals with human sperm and eggs and breed, producing human embryos or fetuses inside animals or hybrid creatures.
….
But critics denounced the decision. “Science fiction writers might have imagined worlds like this — like The Island of Dr. Moreau, Brave New World, Frankenstein,“ says Stuart Newman, a biologist at New York Medical College. “There have been speculations. But now they’re becoming more real. And I think that we just can’t say that since it’s possible then let’s do it.”
And the race is on…
The future of genetic enhancement is not in the West
By G. Owen Schaefer, National University of Singapore
Would you want to alter your future children’s genes to make them smarter, stronger or better-looking? As the state of the science brings prospects like these closer to reality, an international debate has been raging over the ethics of enhancing human capacities with biotechnologies such as so-called smart pills, brain implants and gene editing. This discussion has only intensified in the past year with the advent of the CRISPR-cas9 gene editing tool, which raises the specter of tinkering with our DNA to improve traits like intelligence, athleticism and even moral reasoning.
So are we on the brink of a brave new world of genetically enhanced humanity? Perhaps. And there’s an interesting wrinkle: It’s reasonable to believe that any seismic shift toward genetic enhancement will not be centered in Western countries like the U.S. or the U.K., where many modern technologies are pioneered. Instead, genetic enhancement is more likely to emerge out of China.
Attitudes toward enhancement
Numerous surveys among Western populations have found significant opposition to many forms of human enhancement. For example, a recent Pew study of 4,726 Americans found that most would not want to use a brain chip to improve their memory, and a plurality view such interventions as morally unacceptable...............
http://www.activistpost.com/2016/08/creating-superhumans-next-arms-race.html