Memo5

Thomas Solley STSH 4980-01 Senior Thesis Costelloe-Kuehn 9/3/2014

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__ Memo5 -- Project Definition Nested Research Questions __ Excerpt from Framing section of wiki; "This is the memo when you commit to a project area! The memo selects from those on your "project hopping" memo, and refines your project definition. See the  ."


 * 1) include Memo5.h

This looks very oddly familiar... Maybe because the Project Definition and Project Hopping memos use the same criteria? Concerns;

--> About "transhumanism and controversy over ethics" As you can see, I'm rather uncertain of where to take this "interest," when there are so many possible avenues....
 * Lacking a question set
 * General media has misunderstanding of topic? Unsure.
 * Historicity of transhumanism? Still not generating a "research question" though.
 * Controversial issues? Seems to stem from the Singularity... The Matrix, abuse of power, dictatorships, corporate hacking & control of consumers (DXHR), ...
 * "Boil down what transhumanism means in a way that people understand" -- still not a research question, unless...
 * Is transhumanism ultimately good for our society?
 * "Conceptions about limitations, will tech free us or provide more restrictions"
 * Fear of the unknown; will technological "freedom" bring only further degradation of society? (Wall-E, sci-fi...)
 * Are organic-synthetic hybrids ("cyborgs" and prosthetics) the next stage of evolution?
 * What are the ethical concerns surrounding human augmentation? (DXHR, loss of "humanity," loss of "free will," ME series)...
 * Comparing the world of today with the world of video games; how far are we from "Utopia"?
 * A bit cheesy...
 * These may be interesting titles, but not sure if work as Research Questions...
 * "Limit def of transhumanism? Seeking to augment the human experience, etc."
 * A technology? (Project Glass is a popular one)
 * Consider the Warrior Web system? Unsure if this helps though -- I'd see that as more of a discussion on exoskeletons in general, and not really getting into the "meat and bones" of the ethical concerns raised by technological advancement (in popular media)(See above)
 * Discuss human augmentation, in general?
 * Organic (chemicals)(organ transfers)(muscular implants)
 * Mechanical (exoskeletons)(prostheitcs)
 * Status of technology today versus popular media [establish a healthy gap]
 * Concerns over "human replacement"
 * How does one decide what makes a new technology a "wave of the future" [bright future, leader, savior][vs. demented, corrupt, twisted, unethical, dark, dangerous] or a "shadow of corruption"?
 * Cloning...
 * SW:RC (Karen Traviss)
 * How do we treat clones?
 * Rights of Clones...
 * ..... this is a side-track...
 * Use of resources; what is "most efficient"?
 * Does use of augmented soldiers justify conflict?
 * Do robots instead?
 * Does use of "not fully organic" / "regular" soldiers have a "greater impact" on social psyche than use of cyborgs/androids?
 * Concerns of "de-humanizing war," making war easier... Corruption of this system.... Easier to justify loss of "lives" or "resources" [retraction of humanitarian rights of cyborgs],
 * Would we see a similar "lack of humanity" towards fighting as happened in the Vietnam War?

Over lunch I was thinking on this subject, and came up with the following thoughts;
 * EDIT*;

- Who gets to decide if the rapid advancement of technology -- in biology, breeding, terraforming, macroscience and materials science -- is good or bad? Ambitious or arrogant? Wisdom or greed? Who chooses? --> Technology has let us do what Nature would have taken milennia, in decades... --> For centuries we have adapted organically to our environments -- Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection, Evolution -- but now, technology makes it possible to surpass this. Should there be a new "law"? --> Does technology inherently allow "equality"? Inherent human herd instincts... **--> Are our pre- homo sapien habits no longer needed, and if so -- what is? For the current stage, or the next...?

- Thought: "Technology is the ultimate expression of the inner self. It is our passions, our dominance, our assertions of identity and control of our environment." --> "Our technology reflects who we are, and where we wish to be" --> Seeking a profound claim, a la Morpheuf, "The Matrix"; "It is the mental projection of your digital self"

- How does one define if something has "surpassed evolution"? (In context of if technology has inherently done this throught the existence of mankind) --> Assumption made that the "intended plan" of Nature is known, and that Humans have not only accomplished stages in that plan "faster than intended," but have "added" in "new" stages that were not "originally included," or perhaps even "skipped" stages... --> Assumption that cyborgs are the "next stage"? Or, at least the ultimate merging of our technology to ourselves... The ultimate "enhancement"?