Transhumanism: A Function of Hybrid Nanomaterials?
Columbia Science Review, Vol. 10, Issue 2 (Spring 2014), pp. 6-8
6 Pages Posted: 6 Jun 2014
Date Written: June 4, 2014
Abstract
When science fiction speaks of cyborgs, it brings attention to the fact that technology has already begun to transcend the human scale. Within the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics exists the concept of a technological ‘singularity,’ a robot surpassing human mental and emotional capabilities. This notion is also closely related to intellectual movements such as ‘transhumanism’ or ‘Humanity,’ dedicated to improving the human condition through technological advances by perfecting human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities, exceeding even ‘human enhancement.’ Never before has knowledge exploded at a pace even remotely comparable to the last two decades, although even shorter periods come to mind. Leaps of innovation, both in substance and relative celerity, increased to such an extent that all future technology will invariably be governed by some variant of Moore’s Law. It is axiomatic that any variant of Moore’s Law will outpace the capacities of biological evolution as we know it.
One of the critical transcendental border crossings into these visions is in material sciences. Specifically notable is the creation of hybrid nanomaterials, both in a sense of hybrid organic-inorganic materials as well as functional hybrids. If a merger of man and artifice were to materialize, compatibility needs to start at the molecular level, that is, at the scale of nanotechnology. When organic-inorganic interfaces of suitable qualities are created, mankind will have a future not limited by evolutionary biology. Instead, limitations will be sidestepped through physical, intellectual, psychological and spiritual union with our own creations.
Keywords: transhumanism, Humanity, human enhancement, technological singularity, hybrid nanomaterials, organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials, functional hybrids, nanoparticles, nanotechnology, endohedral fullerene, nano-onion, nanohorn, polymer nanocomposite, nanobud, nanotube, fullerene
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