Buzz
Homo sapiens sapiens have had a long and successful tenure as a species bold enough to call ourselves the “wise, wise guys.” However, we are nearing a crossroads where we may eventually have to hand over the reins to another, possibly even something of our own creation. Here are 10 potential contenders.
10. Enhanced Animals
The concept of elevating animal species to human-level intelligence has been around for a long time, with roots in works like H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau. Cordwainer Smith envisioned uplifted animals as an oppressed lower class fighting for their rights, while David Brin’s Uplift series introduced a universe where nearly all sentient beings owed their intellect to patron species, with humans exploring the cosmos alongside intelligent apes and dolphins.
Some theorists, including George Dvorsky, argue that once we have the technological capacity, we have a moral obligation to elevate other species to our level of intelligence. Dvorsky highlights current initiatives, such as granting great apes the legal status of 'personhood,' and claims that the logical progression would be to grant non-human animals the cognitive abilities for self-determination and participation in a society of sentient beings. The human monopoly on sentient thought gives us an unfair advantage over our animal counterparts, and if the means to allow non-humans like apes, dolphins, and elephants to achieve cognitive political participation exist, it is our moral duty to provide it to them.
Others, however, disagree. Alex Knapp contends that the costs, in terms of animal lives, would be too great to justify it. Uplifting a species would require altering its DNA at an embryonic stage, leading to inevitable failures before achieving success. Additionally, there is the challenge of ensuring that a successfully uplifted embryo would be able to develop properly. Such experimentation could be ethically wrong, with the possibility of intelligent animals suffering physical deformities and early death due to human interference. Even if the process were successful, humans would struggle to meet the social and emotional needs of a sapient chimpanzee, bonobo, or parrot. In other words, uplifted animals could become emotionally traumatized by human attempts to raise them.
Some people also fear that certain undesirable traits of specific species, such as the aggression of chimpanzees or the sexual aggression of dolphins, would persist in their intelligent forms. Others suggest that intelligent self-awareness is an ecological niche that can only support a single species, which might explain why the Neanderthals and other human relatives were wiped out and absorbed. The creation of intelligent animals could lead to evolutionary competition for humanity from potentially traumatized beings with mental processes and value systems that we may not even be able to understand.
9. The Borg
Star Trek introduced a cyborg race focused on assimilation, aiming to integrate all sentient species into a unified collective intelligence. While most would argue this is a negative outcome, not everyone is in agreement. Travis James Leland contends that the emotionless, sterile portrayal of the Borg is merely Luddite propaganda, and that the path toward collective intelligence could very well lead to happiness and freedom for individuals within the collective. In fact, one of the reasons we connect through the Internet and social media is to become more connected and unified as a species, which might be a step toward a collective.
Integration with technology and interconnectedness does not erase individuality; instead, it simply makes it easier to connect and express our individuality in a developing global collective consciousness. Some believe the technology to create a 'telepathic noosphere' could be achieved with the tools available today. We already have the capability to transmit video, audio, and motor control data between the brain and the Internet through electrodes, and the bandwidth needed for a hive mind is theoretically possible. The infrastructure supporting modern telecommunications and wireless Internet could be expanded to accommodate neural interfacing, although initially it would be of low fidelity and difficult to use. These potential hive minds are often called 'borganisms,' and some advocate for their creation for social and political reasons.
A hive mind consciousness could offer several advantages, as it would essentially form a superhuman entity capable of accomplishing feats beyond the reach of individual humans. Coordination for large-scale projects would be more streamlined, planning for complex goals would become more efficient, and humanity could develop a deeper understanding of one another.
However, there are significant drawbacks to consider. Along with the existential fear of losing individual identity within the mass consciousness, early-stage hive minds would be vulnerable to viruses and hackers. Concerns also arise regarding who would control the technology: an emergent hive mind from social media differs greatly from a hive mind of soldiers or secret police created by the military-industrial complex. Critics argue that more advanced borganisms would face even greater vulnerabilities, such as susceptibility to harmful memetic infections (requiring individual units to practice strict 'mental hygiene'), as well as the risks of group-think and the challenge of addressing selfishness and social parasitism within the hive.
8. Genetic Castes
Political scientist Francis Fukuyama argues that transhumanism is one of the most dangerous ideas of our time. He sees a fundamental danger in attempts to enhance our basic human nature. He refers to this as 'Factor X,' explaining that it 'cannot be reduced to the possession of moral choice, or reason, or language, or sociability, or sentience, or emotions, or consciousness, or any other quality that has been put forth as a ground for human dignity. It is all those qualities coming together in a human whole that make up Factor X.'
Fukuyama believes that the advent of genetically modified humans would mark the end of the liberal ideal of political equality for all people. Access to genetic modification technology could lead to the rise of genetic castes, further eroding our shared humanity, as the wealthy would have the means to create designer babies with significant advantages over the less genetically privileged. While Fukuyama is a conservative, many on the left share similar concerns. The Center for Genetics and Society, a left-wing bio-Luddite advocacy group formed in the late 1990s, has raised alarms about 'technoeugenics,' warning of a divide between the 'GenRich' and the 'GenPoor.'
Some suggest that the complexity of genetic modification and cultural opposition to experimenting on children would make such a scenario unlikely. Others argue that even if it did occur, it wouldn't necessarily lead to political inequality, as political rights are not determined by physical traits. However, there are still those who contend that parents should have the right to choose advantageous physical and intellectual traits for their children, based on reproductive rights and the natural responsibility of parents to act in the best interest of their offspring. This could include selecting for IQ, height, gender, and even skin color.
The science of designer babies is already present in pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and in vitro fertilization, both of which are widely supported for preventing genetic diseases. Some fear that banning such technology due to concerns about genetic castes could worsen the problem, as the wealthy would still be able to travel to countries without a ban on designer babies.
7. Gray Goo
In 1986, engineer Eric Drexler warned about the potential dangers of nanotechnology staging an insurrection against humanity. While he acknowledged the many promising applications of nanotechnology, such as targeting cancer cells and repairing DNA, he also raised concerns that self-replicating, molecule-sized robots could outcompete natural plants and microorganisms, eventually taking over every ecological niche and consuming all of Earth’s resources. This scenario, known as 'gray goo' or 'global ecophagy,' represented a worst-case vision of unchecked nanotech proliferation.
The alarming predictions sparked responses such as Michael Crichton’s novel Prey and an agitated Prince Charles calling for a 'nanotech summit' at his Gloucestershire estate. Nanotechnologists like Richard Smalley countered the fears by asserting that the 'molecular manufacturing' needed for these self-replicating nanobots was scientifically impossible. For molecular assemblers to manipulate atoms, they would need additional manipulator 'fingers,' but there wouldn’t be enough space at the atomic level. This is referred to as the 'fat fingers' problem. Another issue is the 'sticker fingers' problem, where atoms manipulated by these machines could get stuck to them with no way to release them. Drexler responded by suggesting that Smalley’s dismissal of molecular manipulators was more about minimizing public concern and protecting funding for nanotechnology research.
One proposed solution to the gray goo threat is a countermeasure in the form of 'blue goo'—self-replicating police nanobots designed to neutralize rogue gray goo. These blue goo nanobots would need to be omnipresent, strong, resilient, resistant to gray goo, and fully under human control. However, if the blue goo were to be subverted or overpowered by gray goo, there is the potential for it to end up turning against us as well.
Other factors that could limit the spread of gray goo include its replication capacity, the challenge of widespread distribution, the energy and chemical element requirements, or the need for rare substances such as titanium or diamond to build molecular assemblers. Given that the human body has a scarcity of these rare elements, the goo would unlikely turn against us, though it may eat our smartphones. However, if these safeguards fail, we might face a post-human, post-ecological world dominated by competing nanobot swarms.
6. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is a sub-discipline of computer science focused on creating machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. There are two main types of theoretical AI: narrow, soft, or weak AI, and general, or strong AI. Soft AI is inspired by the human brain, though it does not attempt to replicate it. It’s a data-driven computer intelligence that processes vast amounts of data through algorithms to perform tasks such as playing chess, answering Jeopardy questions, managing reservations, and offering GPS directions. These tasks are carried out using methods that differ from human cognitive patterns.
Strong AI, in contrast, is created to replicate human intelligence in areas such as reasoning, planning, learning, perception, and natural language interactions. Advocates of strong AI aim to reach the singularity—a point when machine intelligence matches or exceeds human intelligence. At that point, technological progress would rapidly accelerate, and humanity would lose the ability to predict or fully understand the future trajectory of civilization.
Entrepreneur Elon Musk has been outspoken about the dangers of artificial intelligence: “In the movie Terminator, they didn’t create A.I. to—they didn’t expect, you know some sort of Terminator-like outcome. It is sort of like the Monty Python thing: Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition. It’s just—you know, but you have to be careful.” Musk isn’t alone in his concerns. Bill Gates has also voiced his worries, and even Stephen Hawking has warned of potential risks: “The primitive forms of artificial intelligence we already have, have proved very useful. But I think the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. Once humans develop artificial intelligence it would take off on its own and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete and would be superseded.”
Many scientists, however, dismiss these fears as exaggerated, believing that the growth of machine intelligence will be complementary to humanity instead of completely replacing it.
5. Wireheads
The concept of a wirehead comes from science fiction, describing an individual who stimulates their brain's pleasure centers through electric current, particularly someone addicted to this behavior. First introduced in Larry Niven's Known Space series in the 1970s, this idea became prevalent in cyberpunk literature. The notion is rooted in experiments from the 1950s, when James Olds implanted electrodes in rats' mesolimbic dopamine pathways. These rats would neglect food and sleep, opting instead to self-administer bursts of pleasure, ultimately dying from starvation. Olds repeated similar experiments with other animals and humans, the latter describing the experience as 'orgasmic.'
Some proponents argue that embracing this technology could alleviate human suffering without causing harm to others or the environment. This vision is embodied by the so-called Abolitionist project, which aims to merge wireheading, designer drugs, and genetic engineering to create an ideal society. However, relying solely on blissful happiness could lead to global extinction, given the historical outcomes, so it would need modification. One example is Thync, a wearable device that adjusts mood and mental states for relaxation or energy—without the addictive side effects of drugs. It operates using transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS), a low-cost method of applying electric current to the brain to enhance intelligence, learning, attention, and memory. It’s also designed to aid with chronic pain, depression, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s, and schizophrenia.
However, some futurists are concerned about another type of mind-altering technology: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. This technology can temporarily disable part of the amygdala responsible for processing fear, offering a sensation akin to the confidence of alcohol intoxication without losing mental clarity. The fear is that tampering with the human brain could lead to a future where people can adjust their moods at will and even turn off their ability to feel fear or empathy when it suits them. These beings, while possibly not genetically identical to modern humans, could develop emotional and social lives that are completely foreign to our own.
4. Infomorphs
In 1991, Charles Platt released The Silicon Mind, a book about the pursuit of immortality through copying human consciousness into computers, creating entities known as 'infomorphs.' In 1996, Russian AI theorist Alexander Chislenko adopted this term to describe a hypothetical entity based on distributed intelligence. These networked intelligences would be able to share knowledge and experiences far more efficiently than we can, leading to profound shifts in the understanding of identity and personality—much like the hive consciousness discussed earlier.
Unbound by physical constraints, these entities would likely find many human ideas strange and irrelevant, perhaps even quaint. The term also refers to the concept of uploading human minds to computers to create backups of the brain. This process involves transferring a person’s mental structure from a biological framework to an electronic or informational one. The benefits of mind uploading include the potential for enhanced economic growth, the ability to reprogram ourselves for higher intelligence or happiness, a reduced environmental footprint, and freedom from the laws of physics and the certainty of personal death.
There are numerous potential issues with mind uploading as a means of transcending human limitations. Some argue that it would be impossible to replicate the complex and unpredictable interactions between brain cells that make up human intelligence. Additionally, we still don’t fully understand how consciousness even comes to exist. There are also ethical dilemmas in developing such a technology. For instance, how could we ever know if it really worked: Can we be certain whether uploaded minds are conscious beings, or just replicas that behave like the original person without possessing a true internal mental state? The risk of infomorphs being exploited or manipulated is also a major concern.
3. Multiple Human Species
Speciation is the process by which new species evolve from a common ancestor. This idea was first explored in fiction by Olaf Stapledon in his 1930 novel Last and First Men, which imagines the emergence and fall of 18 distinct human species over two billion years, culminating in humanity’s migration from Earth to Venus. In a similar vein, Douglas Dixon’s Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future tackles the same idea, where a civilization collapses after 200 years of genetic engineering. Some survivors escape into space, only to return millions of years later and find that humanity has evolved into an array of new forms, most of which are non-sentient.
Should human evolution persist, there’s a possibility that multiple human species could arise over millions of years, although many consider this scenario improbable. A 2009 study by Yale University found that ovulatory characteristics suggest shorter, sturdier women tend to have more children, hinting that natural selection may be favoring these physical traits. Meanwhile, evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller suggests that human evolution could accelerate due to the better sexual selection capabilities of modern society, along with the emergence of genetic engineering.
We’ve previously explored potential future paths for human evolution. Cadell Last, a doctoral student in evolutionary anthropology and a researcher at the Global Brain Institute, posits that we may be on the brink of a significant evolutionary shift, driven by technology, making us a longer-lived species with delayed reproduction and a stronger focus on cultural practices. Speciation into multiple human species seems unlikely, as human society is far too widespread and interconnected. Historically, there has been no evidence of humans being isolated enough for speciation, like the Galapagos scenario.
However, if humanity expands to other planets and star systems, the possibility of new human species evolving to adapt to various environments increases. These future species might not inherit Earth unless they return millions of years later with a fleet. Which, naturally, they would.
2. Cyborgs
The term 'cyborg' was introduced in a 1960 article by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline. In their work, they speculated on ways to enhance unconscious self-regulatory functions through chemical or electronic methods to help humans better survive in varied environmental conditions, with the ultimate aim of improving humanity's ability to explore space. They wrote: “If man in space, in addition to flying his vehicle, must continuously be checking on things and making adjustments merely in order to keep himself alive, he becomes a slave to the machine. The purpose of the Cyborg, as well as his own homeostatic systems, is to provide an organizational system in which such robot-like problems are taken care of automatically and unconsciously, leaving man free to explore, to create, to think, and to feel.”
The term was later applied to medical patients who rely on prosthetics and implants, and it is now commonly used as a metaphor to describe our growing dependence on technology. Modern explorations into practical cybernetics include bionic limbs, devices that connect the nervous system to computers via electrodes, prosthetic eye cameras, and the very literal 'thumb drive.'
In 2015, Professor Yuval Noah Harari from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem predicted that, within 200 years, humans will evolve into godlike cyborgs due to our need to upgrade ourselves. Zoltan Istvan, founder of the Transhumanist Political Party, advocates for substantial government investment in artificial hearts and cranial implants designed to alert health authorities to emergencies and reduce crime rates. Meanwhile, the US military’s DARPA has launched the Biological Technologies Office (BTO) to explore the dynamic intersection of biology and physical sciences. Their goal is to develop technologies for future soldiers, including advanced prosthetics with mind-controlled limbs, neural interfaces, and cybernetic solutions for blood loss and PTSD.
Another DARPA project with potential civilian applications (or nightmarish consequences) is the development of artificial chromosomes. The vision is to create future soldiers who do not need sleep, require minimal sustenance, and possess infrared vision. A term has been proposed for this future union of man and machine: Homo electricus.
1. Transgenic Humans
Transgenic animals are those that have had a foreign gene intentionally inserted into their DNA. This technology has led to creations like glow-in-the-dark mice and genetically modified fish known as Glofish, which glow in luminescent colors. Additionally, it has been explored as a method for potentially reviving the woolly mammoth, and debates continue over the use of transgenic primates for studying human conditions. There is also the possibility of creating transgenic humans, who could inherit genetic advantages from other species.
To create transgenic humans, several steps are involved. A specific transgene would need to be identified and induced to express properly at the right time, then inserted into a human cell cultured in a lab. The nucleus from this transgenic human cell would then be implanted into an enucleated egg cell, which would begin to grow and divide. The developing embryo would then be implanted into a womb to develop further. The required technologies for these procedures already exist, and genes from both humans and non-humans have already been combined through in vitro and stem cell research.
Some argue that the use of transgenes in humans could offer abilities found in nature in other species, such as sonar, enhanced sensory perception, or even the ability to photosynthesize and produce essential nutrients. These potential benefits could outweigh concerns about human dignity, which some argue is tied more to our capacity for reasoning than to our genetic integrity. For instance, genes from chimpanzees could be used to boost muscle efficiency or improve memory and strategic planning capabilities.
However, there are darker implications as well. Some worry about the emergence of “harvest transhumans”—humans intentionally bred and raised for the purpose of being used in medical experiments related to transgenes. Another concern, known as “species anxiety,” has led to laws in Canada and parts of the United States that prohibit the creation of multi-species chimeras. Yet, science continues to progress, and in 100 years, humanity could include individuals with traits from chimps, bats, octopuses, or mice.
