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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Humanity’s purpose with new technology

We’re approaching a time when things that were once impossible or outlandish will be commonplace.

Last week, it was reported that a man had 75 percent of his skull replaced with a 3-D printed replica. That triumph is exciting on its own, but imagine what it tells us about the future.

Imagine walking into a hospital years from now and being able to print out a new knee or shin on demand, good as new.

Tissues of certain organs, like kidneys, can already be grown in a lab from stem cells. Imagine a future in which we could swap out our old, decaying organs for fresh ones.

Imagine something a little more exotic. Imagine losing an arm or a leg and then sprouting a new one like a starfish.

It sounds crazy, but many scientists are working to make regeneration a reality.

In fact, several people have regenerated portions of their fingers. One man, a hobby shop worker, lost his fingertip to a model airplane propeller. Using a special powder, he was able to regenerate the finger, the nail and even the fingerprint all with full sensation.

Now imagine the more distant future.

We can already replace many of our original body parts with new ones when the old ones are damaged. Would it be unrealistic to think humans will one day replace already-working organic parts with new and improved ones?

Maybe people will swap out their old eyes for new ones that can see farther or toss out their old legs for new ones that can run faster. Maybe we’ll all replace our stomachs and intestines with solar panels and wires. No need to eat when you can power your body with the energy of the sun, right?

Transhuman thinkers say we’re going to enter this strange, new era very soon. Ray Kurzweil, a leading figure in futurism, predicts we’ll have crossed a major threshold to the transhuman era by 2045.

This threshold, called the Singularity, will mark a point when our technology will be able to outthink us.

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Should a future with artificial intelligence be feared? Movies like the “Terminator” series depict a future of warfare with machines. Kurzweil says, rather than being separate from the machines, we will be one with them. Our bodies and minds will literally merge with our technology.

Technologies interfacing the mind directly with machines already exist. Several paralysis victims who have had robotic arms attached to their brains are able to control the arms and perform simple tasks using brainpower alone.

In 20 or 30 years, we may be controlling many things with brainpower. Bank transactions, video games, social networking and more would all be done through our minds in a virtual reality.

Instead of imagining the future 30 years from now, imagine the future 100 years from now.

It might sound silly in 2013, but the time is fast approaching when humanity will be very, very powerful. Science, engineering and medicine are paving the way for a prosperous future.

What will we be like when we have so much power?

I think nearly everything will have to change. First, though, I think we’re going to need to adjust our thinking on who we are as a species. I think we should find some common causes to work on together.

Should we expand into the universe? Should we create beautiful art together?

What should we do?

Take some time over the next few years to come up with some answers to that question. The Singularity is still a ways away, but we should be ready for it by at least coming up with some reasons to use the power of the gods with discretion and wisdom.

Brandon Lee Gagne is an anthropology senior at UF. His column runs on Fridays. You can contact him via opinions@alligator.org.

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