A dystopian outlook on Transhumanism

[gL.edu] This article gathers contributions by Samuel Michl, developed within the context of the Conceptual clarifications about "Utopias and the Information Society", under the supervisión of J.M. Díaz Nafría.

Introduction

In January 2024, a paralyzed individual became the first human to receive a brain chip from the company Neuralink. This groundbreaking device allows interactions with digital devices solely through thought. Just five years ago, such a concept seemed entirely alien and improbable. And with this initial human trial appearing to be a success, it is only a matter of time before these devices become more prevalent and advanced. This technological innovation shines a spotlight on the philosophical belief of Transhumanism, which centers on augmenting and enhancing the human body and way of life through the application of current or advanced technology.

This article will not delve into the fundamentals of the transhumanist philosophy, as an excellent article about transhumanism already exists on GlossaLab. Instead, I will analyze the transhumanist beliefs and demonstrate how these can corrupt utopian ideals, ultimately paving the way for a cyber-dystopia. Following this, I will offer a brief exploration of how a transhumanist philosophy could also result in a utopic world.

Dystopian Realities of Transhumanism

Body Augmentation and the Boundaries of Human Nature

"If we start transforming ourselves into something superior, what rights will these enhanced creatures claim, and what rights will they possess when compared to those left behind." (Fukuyama, 2004, p. 42) This is an excerpt from the magazine "Foreign Policy" and to be more precise a quote from one of the biggest transhumanist critics Francis Fukuyama and said quote also portrays one of the biggest fears most people have when they think of body augmentation. Other philosophers share an opinions similar to Nick Bostrom's belief, from his article "In Defense of Posthuman Dignity", where he postulates that enhanced and non-enhanced individuals could peacefully coexist in a society. He argues that this is realistic because, even right now, people with vastly differing mental and physical abilities live together harmoniously.

The far more interesting part of Fukuyama's article, however, is the sentence right after the quote: "If some move ahead, can anyone afford not to follow?" (Fukuyama, 2004, p.42) I want to examine this sentence through a capitalist lens, especially in the context of the job market. One can easily imagine that for greed-driven, profit-seeking companies, it would be far more lucrative to hire a factory worker who, for example, never gets tired or can lift 10 heavy crates all on his own. Or a programmer with a built-in microchip, akin to Neuralink but far more advanced, allowing him to write code more quickly and efficiently than a non-augmented programmer.

Such an environment would likely make biological enhancements almost a requirement for competing in a competitive high-paying job market. This could lead to many people being forced to undergo body enhancements, even though they might not be 100% comfortable with doing so. Those who resist might be unfairly disadvantaged and suffer financial consequences. A valid argument against this thesis would be that governments could outlaw hiring based on physical or mental enhancements, but even today the effectiveness of these anti-discrimination laws is still controversial. This is proven through the non-existent success of the laws which try to eliminate the gender wage gap, since it still exists today. An even more drastic comparison could be drawn with the findings of the European Disability Forum, which show that disabled individuals are still heavily prejudiced against in the hiring process. This underlines the point that even though governments try to intervene and stop discriminatory hiring practices, their solution is not always a 100% fool proof. These two arguments show that if sophisticated cybernetics became a reality, a strong case can be made that there could be a huge push towards augmentation when confronted with the alternative of a less reliable income.

However the consequences of a transhumanist society go beyond mere physical alterations. As C.S. Lewis writes in "The Abolition of Man":

"At the moment, then, of Man's victory over Nature, we find the whole human race subjected to some individual men, and those individuals subjected to that in themselves which is purely `natural'—to their irrational impulses. Nature, untrammelled by values, rules the Conditioners and, through them, all humanity. Man's conquest of Nature turns out, in the moment of its consummation, to be Nature's conquest of Man." (Lewis, 1947, p. 42f.)

This passage highlights another critical issue that arises when transhumanism and technologies like Neuralink are pushed to their extremes. What happens if certain emotions such as anger, jealousy, or frustration are deemed illogical and are eliminated by a brain chip to improve efficiency or to seemingly increase the quality of life? Who can even decide whether certain emotions are a hinderance, and on what basis? Furthermore, what would the loss of these emotions mean for the complexity of the human experience and identity? C.S. Lewis postulates that no individual can logically deem certain feelings as hindering or not worth experiencing as they themselves are still governed by their own nature, biases, and subjective worldview, which in return influence their decisions. While certain emotions, if allowed to roam free, can be destructive, determining which emotions fall under that category and at what intensity presents an almost practically impossible challenge. This suggests that the perceived progress of transhumanism—aiming to transcend human nature—is, at least when trying to control or "improve" the human psyche, might in the end, be a farce. We would still be controlled by the very nature we sought to overcome, as those shaped by their own subjective perspectives would now impose their perceived "perfect" or "optimal" set of emotions on everyone else.

Another interesting point is raised by the political scientist Francis Fukuyama. He suggests that every negative trait is inherently tied to a positive one, such as how jealousy is deeply connected with the ability to love. Fukuyama further argues that "[m]odifying any [...] key characteristics inevitably entails modifying a complex, interlinked package of traits".(Fukuyama, 2004, p.43) This hints at the possibility that tampering with even a single emotion could create a ripple effect with far-reaching repercussions for the entire human psyche—for example, limiting individuality or drastically impacting decision-making.

This aligns with Yuval Noah Harari's postulations about a transhumanist society, where every facet of human life has been understood and optimized. Harari warns that such optimization could lead to the loss of individuality for the sake of achieving an "optimal" and "perfect" way of life devoid of mistakes. This is reminiscent of the cybernetically enhanced hivemind race, "the Borgs", from Star Trek. Whose sole objective is to strive for the unachievable goal of perfection and who left behind any trace of uniqueness in pursuit of said objective, mirroring the potential consequences of transhumanism when it is pushed to its extreme. This mirrors the corrupted ideal of "perfect thinking" where the drive to always act logically and optimally gets pushed to the extreme and leaves no room for individuality or creativity.

Transhumanism, Inequality, and the Perfect Social Order

At the start of the first chapter, I mentioned Bostrom's opinion that it would be rather unlikely for humanity to be split into two races: the enhanced and the unenhanced. However, what was not addressed is that the already significant gap between the rich and the poor could widen to unimaginable lengths. Even now, there is a huge disparity in access to technology across different social and economic backgrounds, exemplified by the digital divide. This divide already poses a great challenge to the concept of true social equality. Now, imagine if the technology in question were no longer just a faster smartphone or a better internet connection, but instead a more resilient immune system, an enhanced brain, or a generally superior body. How much worse would these disparities become, and would there even be an incentive to bridge such a gap? This is the very question that Yuval Noah Harari poses in his book "Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow": Would society "[i]nvest in fixing the problems of hundreds of millions of poor, or in upgrading a few million rich?" (Harari, 2016, p. 203)

He postulates that "the age of the masses may be over, and with it the age of mass medicine" (Harari, 2016, p. 203), suggesting that the focus could shift towards further enhancing the already healthy social elite who can afford expensive treatments. His reasoning is rooted in the observation that fewer people are needed for many tasks as technological advancements progress. Occupations such as taxi driver, stock trader, lawyer, or even doctor could, in the future, be replaced or significantly streamlined by sophisticated algorithms—a trend already visible in our information society right now. Companies are restructuring to prioritize AI, like large language models and are training employees to depend increasingly on these algorithms and technologies. Additionally, more and more corporations are investing in humanoid robot technology to automate steps in their production processes. For instance, Tesla is developing a humanoid robot called Optimus, which is projected to be operational in their factories by next year. Extending this trajectory with a dystopian view in mind, it does not seem far-fetched to suggest that Yuval Noah Harari's warning that the "era of the masses" could end with the near-complete replacement of most menial tasks traditionally performed by the broad majority of people.

In such a scenario, the social elites might even decide that it would be more beneficial to consolidating their resources and enhancements within a smaller group of posthumans, who could, in theory, drive innovation and push technological progress far more efficiently to unprecedented levels, further widening the gap between the elite and the rest of society.

In a world where competition increasingly revolves around technological superiority, it may prove more advantageous to invest in a limited, hyper-advanced subset of the population. In such a scenario, the wealthy upper classes might plausibly shift their focus toward enhancing themselves rather than addressing broader societal needs. To borrow the words of Harari, "[i]n order to compete with [Country A], [Country B] might need a handful of upgraded superhumans far more than millions of healthy ordinary workers".(Harari, 2016, p. 281)

This dystopian societal structure bears similarities to the caste-based system in Aldous Huxley’s "Brave New World". However, instead of the "World State," with its corrupted version of perfect social order dividing its subjects into four distinct castes to maintain peace and stability, a transhumanist society dominated by augmented elites establishes a different, yet equally corrupted, social order. In this new order, society would be split into two groups: the poor vast majority, who reap only minimal benefits from the technological advancements surrounding them, and the cybernetically enhanced posthuman elite, who pursue relentless scientific progress solely for the sake of progress itself.

Utopic possibilities of a transhumanist society

"Any death prior to the heat death of the universe is premature if your life is good."(Bostrom, 2020)

This quote evokes one of the most compelling utopic visions associated with a transhumanist future: the possibility of being free from diseases, anatomical flaws, signs of aging, and achieving everlasting youth. With the aid of transhumanism and scientific advancements, such a man-made fountain of youth might become a reality. No one would ever be burdened by sickness and no life would be cut short prematurely. It is difficult to imagine how such a perfectly functioning body could have negative consequences for humanity, provided this technology is distributed equitably and remains focused on alleviating common afflictions rather than attempting to perfect every minute detail of the human body.

Another utopic vision that applies to transhumanism is the concept of perfect wisdom or an all-knowing, enhanced mind. In the previous chapter, I mentioned why tampering with human consciousness is unwise, but what I suggest here is that one does not try to manipulate the inner mechanisms of the mind itself but rather expand it's storage capacity and available information. Imagine a perfectly structured data repository akin to Paul Otlet's and Henri La Fontaine's Mundaneum directly connected to the brain itself. With advancing technology, humans might be able to instantly acquire or "download" all available knowledge, and newly discovered information could be efficiently transmitted and shared, if desired. This could create an even stronger and more multi connected dynamic web of information sharing than is currently possible. The major advantage that such an enhancement has, over for example, a smartphone lies in the instantaneousness and integration of knowledge. When discussing an unfamiliar topic or seeking to understand new ideas, you would no longer need to first take out smartphone or computer, then find a credible source, read the article, comprehend it and memorize it. Instead, the information would already exist within your mind and your brain can directly work with it and form new ideas or discuss said topic with another individual without the delay of manual research.

Such a cybernetic enhancement presents another significant benefit. There would no longer be a need to spend countless hours studying laws, vocabulary, or formulas. Once information has been perceived it could instantly be retained and saved. A counter-comparison can be drawn here with "Funes the Memorious" by Jorge Luis Borges, in which a man, after a fall from a horse that leaves him paralyzed, acquires a photographic memory and loses the ability to forget. As a result, he becomes miserable. The key difference between Ireneo Funes and an enhanced individual would be that Funes' photographic memory was caused by an accident and is permanent. In contrast, an enhanced individual would gain such abilities through technology. Crucially, this technology could be designed to be switched on and off at will, mitigating the problem of the mind becoming "like a garbage heap" (Borges, 1942) that indiscriminately absorbs all information at all times.

Of course, there is always the threat that some enhancements could have far-reaching consequences for society, as stated in the chapter above, that cannot be predicted or that fundamentally alter human nature. Some may still be convinced that transhumanism is necessary for achieving a future utopia, like the one described in Bostrom's "Letter from Utopia" (Bostrom, 2020). However, there is a philosophical framework related to transhumanism, known as "weak transhumanism", that seeks to address or mitigate these concerns about transhumanism. Said framework revolves around allowing and encouraging enhancements but in a controlled and calculated manner. Cybernetic or gene engineering techniques that would radically influence and change humans are not permitted—at least not initially. The only kind of enhancements that are allowed to take place are so-called moderate enhancements. These are the ones where the "values, identity, and relative moral status" (Brennan, 2023, p.4) of the altered individuals are preserved, as well as their physiology and mind are not changed too drastically. After each stage, the impact of these enhancements is evaluated, and only after a new norm has been established and society has acclimated to the changes can a new moderate enhancement take place. This process is guided by a lengthy democratic discussion to determine if the next proposed enhancement is appropriate or too radical. These steps, combined with a strong government that ensures all citizens benefit from this new technology, regardless of their income, are, in my opinion, the only real way a transhumanist society could flourish, even against all the odds mentioned in this paper.

Conclusion

Even with this last positive outlook one must not forget the dangers that lie within a potential transhumanist future. Cybernetics and bio engineering have the capability to majorly improve the quality of living either by greatly extending the average life expectancy or by alleviating tedious tasks and having the potential to push knowledge sharing and cultivation to new heights. However, this topic needs to be addressed with great care, patience and restraint.

I strongly agree with Fukuyama’s and C.S. Lewis's statements about the nature of the human psyche. And given said unpredictability of emotions and their complex connections, coupled with Lewis’s assertions that an optimally chosen set of emotions is unattainable, I believe that any attempt to "play God" by manipulating them would likely lead to a dystopian society devoid of Individuality. Such a society would not only be disturbingly uniform but also marked by a gap between rich and poor that is not only larger than ever, not just based on financial means, but also manifesting, with the wealthy becoming posthumans, leaving the rest behind. The remaining population would then be practically forced to enhance themselves with the leftover technology to better compete for the few jobs that have not yet been automated.

As Bostrom writes in his "Letter from Utopia": "Yet fools will build fools’ paradises. I recommend you go easy on your paradise-engineering until you have the wisdom to do it right."(Bostrom, 2020) This is a valuable insight: these dystopic futures should not discourage someone from all transhumanist believes and unequivocally condemn all forms of enhancement to the human body. Rather, they should serve as a stern warning to proceed with caution and to embrace a thoughtful, measured approach, as outlined in the framework of "Weak Transhumanism", to ensure that the pursuit of technological advancement does not lead to unintended and harmful consequences, and to ultimately still "find a way to make [the utopic future] real"(Bostrom, 2020).