From: Erik Aronesty (erik@zoneedit.com)
Date: Fri Dec 19 2003 - 16:42:31 MST
: Is immortality desirable?
I desire it for myself. Although I can see some social challenges arising from an immortal society, I would not seek to restrict or block others from that which I personally desire. The process of "preventing immortality" seems, to me, to be more cruel than any side effect of an immortal humanity.
: feasible? probable? inevitable?
I would like to bring up the distinction between "emortality and immortality". I got this from the book "Fountain of Youth", which I highly reccomend to anyone interested in this area. Emortality is "living forever barring some unforseen accident or occurance". Immortality is "living forever". Emortalisty is feasable within our lifetime. Immortality is, well, a goal that you will never reach, but that you can always strive for.
If we focused on this issue, and made the technology open and available, and accidental or violent deaths do not increase, it will be possible for healthy individuals who are alive in 2035 and can afford to own a home to live to 1000 years.
At that time, all war will be called "terrorism", and there will be one unified government which is generally perceived as benign by most people. True transhumanism will be available only to the military and to outlaws.
Space will be colonized, as was America, by transhumanist outlaws.
: What are the costs and benefits?
It's more fun than sitting around and waiting for the sun to swallow the Earth.
: What are the best ways to approach it?
Imagine you've been giveb a job. You have to tranquelize a wounded grizzly bear, put it in a restraint, and take it in for treatment. How would I approach that task?
: Which groups are headed in the right direction?
Gaean/bio-transhumanists at transhumanism.org and betterhumans.com. The Center for Cognitive Liberty. Landmark Education.
: Which groups do we oppose?
Anyone who would seek to keep science solely in the hands of the military/industrial complex. For example the Bush administration promotes stem-cell research in corporations, but has banned it from universities.
The last thing we need is a class-war in the area of longevity where a wealthy few get to play God with peoples lives. Humanity might not survive a socialist revolution in the age of bio-warfare.
Even if it takes a little longer, these resources must be made available with open, published research as opposed to closed and secretive patents on our very lives.
Then again, if you had to choose an operating system to run you life, where "crashing" is death, which would you choose: Linux or Microsoft?
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