Super-human intelligence. Stronger, fitter bodies. Greater emotional and moral well-being. Brains merging with computers. The end of ageing. Life expectancy extending beyond 200 years. This is what some human beings will look like at the end of the 21st century.
It’s not just a science fiction dream (or nightmare). A galaxy of leading scientists and engineers, backed by billions of dollars of investment capital, are dedicated to making this vision come true. The Tesla and Space X boss Elon Musk, Geoff Bezos founder of Amazon, and Google founder Larry Page are just three of those who are investing heavily in the human enhancement field. Given their track record so far in making unlikely things come true, it would be a mistake to dismiss their efforts out of hand.
The dream of making better humans goes along with a growing distaste and even contempt for our current human condition. We are pathetic, ludicrous, laughable bipeds, ‘ape-brained meat sacks’, hopelessly equipped to cope with the complexities of 21st-century life. The only hope for humankind is to upgrade the hardware.
