On being human…more or less

We are all enriched when we are pushed outside of our comfort zone or envelope of security. At least most of us would agree with that statement –  I think. I work with colleagues who push me on many levels, and I’m confident that my professional growth at this stage of my career has been greatly enhanced by their drive and dedication to life learning.

Recently my colleague Todd Nilson of Social Syntax, JobCamp, talentline411 to name a few of his career brands, sent me a brief email with a link to an essay in The New Atlantis. As “A Journal of Technology and Society”, the Atlantis has a big playing field on which to explore many complex, and often controversial, topics that previous generations of even the most forward-looking members of our race couldn’t have hoped to scratch. The essay, The Case for Enhancing People, authored by Ronald Bailey and drawn from a recent symposium – Science, Virtue and the Future of Humanity, certainly challenged me with its equal measures of philosophy, bioethics and rapid technology advances, leaving me both enthralled with man’s progress and a bit queezy at some of the prospective determinations portended by the same. Unforced images of 1984, Hitler Youth rallies and a dash of Minority Report for good measure rattled in my head as I tried to weigh the arguments and counter-arguments pitting the absolute value of all progress against the seemingly outarmed cry for tbe beauty and uniqueness of the individual, warts and all. And of course, the historic and evolving discussions related to the presence, complexity and experience of disability were a constant stream in my head as I read. 

The essay is really a point-counterpoint that references some of the common arguments for and against prospective advances in fields like bioengineering, nanotechnology and DNA screening – advances that are already beginning to have an impact for some on extending life, restoring strength and, yes, in some cases enhancing the traditional human condition beyond what was possible even a decade or two ago. The author makes some compelling arguments for advances, current and future, by noting that our lot is certainly in a much more enviable position today than we were  just a century ago - owing in large part to the unceasing march of technological advance and its influence on critical fields such as medicine, agriculture, commerce and education.

I would be one of the last to argue that overriding point, having personally benefited from advances in spinal surgery, the evolution in wheelchair design that has taken advantage of the availability and integrity of advanced materials like carbon fiber and titanium, and the life-saving skills of advanced care teams in medicine. Further, like many of us around the world, I benefit daily through access to the internet and endless opportunities to gain knowledge that just a few short years ago would have required sitting in a classroom, or dozens of classrooms - and for next to no cost! It is truly astounding to ponder how different our world is from that of our parents, let alone our grandparents or great-grandparents. And it would be pointless to argue against the indelible influence of technological advance that has bestowed these fundamentally life-changing products, processes and systems on our culture.

So why did I experience such discomfort in reading The Case for Enhancing People? Without overanalyzing my emotional response to it, I think my reservations are less around encouraging – indeed lauding – the ongoing advances in all of these complex fields of inquiry, and more around two fundamental concerns. The first is socio-economic in nature, the other very human.

Accessing Advances in Evolving Technologies

The author dismisses arguments that, should we prove able to extend lifespan well beyond a century, we may experience a lack of drive or meaning for our existence at some point in our longer lives, with so much more time on our hands. Opponents of this march toward near immortality argue that the historic sense of mid-life and end of life might be rendered effectively meaningless, leaving many in a long-term malaise, or worse, a hedonistic drive virtually unimpeded by reflections of death and legacy. Bailey makes arguments implying that former generations were seemingly no more virtuous than current notwithstanding their modest lifespans.

The greater concern for me would be access to such evolving technologies. Whatever the core reasons behind the disparity in access to quality healthcare services and technologically advanced care, the fact remains that there are health care deserts – just as there are nutrition deserts - both in our nation and globally, and if the aspiration of enhancing the human condition collectively is at the heart of futurists’ drive, our systems and resources associated with the application of such developments will be at the heart of their successful integration. Try as I might to shake it, I can’t help but envision a world where these evolutionary technologies are applied to a very distinct segment of the human population in a highly discriminatory fashion.

In a World without flaws…

Of equal concern for me is the discussion of what makes us human. Myriad great advances or works in art, science, literature, architecture, social sciences, and even technology itself through the ages have been discovered, created, advanced or augmented by “unenhanced” humans. In fact, many of the great minds through the ages, upon critique, would be characterized as living with a disability – learning, physical, behavioral or other. For an interesting peek at the famous, and infamous, humans with disabilities through the ages visit Disabled World. Is it not possible that there’s some deeper significance to the complex variety of brain chemistry, behavioral distinctions, physical or sensory heterogeneity and, yes, longevity that continues to inform and advance our society generation to generation? Should we not at least harness and value these even as we aspire to improve and “better” ourselves?

While I believe the drive to continue to further the human condition and experience,  to reduce pain and suffering, and to explore how we can collectively grow in mind, body and spirit is vital to humanity, I fervently hope that we don’t lose that which makes us human in the process.

…”Let me put it this way, Mr. Amor. The 9000 series is the most reliable computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error.” – HAL 9000, 2001, A Space Odyssey