Blog post 8: transhumanism and biotechnologies

    "The future is now thanks to science!" Pokémon XY episode one told me that years ago and today I can say the same.

    Ray Kurzweil may have sounded like a prophet a century ago, but he was so far off. He believed there'd be only 20,000 years of progress in the twenty-first century.

    Transhumanism asserts that some biotechnologies threaten "natural" human life.
    biotechnologies intended to enhance human health, reproductive capacity, longevity, cognitive ability, and/or athletic ability via genetic modification, but some biotechnologies are problematic and in need of governmental bans and regulations. 

    Libertarians have observed that governments that claim to pursue the greater good tend to embrace policies that preserve/advance the interests of those who now benefit from existing biotechnologies. 

    This implies the usage of biotechnologies to be locked behind government control and taught to professional doctors with limited information to the general public with the state the news is currently.

    The implications could also resurface the idea of human test subjects beyond the ethical spectrum. There are always risks with new technology. Death is inevitable and even the pillow I sleep on can be used to kill me via suffocation. 

    I find the possibilities of saving life worthwhile in terms of mishaps. To me it is not the idea of transhumanism but what can be possible by a single individual. How much damage one person could spread with transhumanism is my worry. What comes from transhumanism and our creativity, comes a world of possibilities. 

    Longer life can lead to a search for immortality. Improving the human mind could help with mental illnesses and disabilities. Money will be wasted and gained a new opportunity, another race this time not to space but towards transhumanism will come about weather for fortune, love, power, and knowledge.

blog 9

 I learned that in Asia Go is a very popular game. The positive is that small manual tasks can be done with ai so humans can work to create and or learn more. consequences will widen the economic gap. women work the most jobs ai would take over. Most Americans don't have a cushion for economic loss. Studies show you won't get higher than your parents in America told by this documentary. Automation can be good but you must be considerate by how you distribute that wealth. Ai exasperates the social gap. Ai can tell what ads for you to see. the world will adapt for you but the world will not have the same goal. social media is using us. capitalism is taking everything that can be sold- from land to private human experience with the new ai to make fabrications of predictions to human behavior.  behavioral prediction is taking out the uncertainty in life. because technologies made things better then it will always be good and facebook and google have cashed in. cues in online environment changes real world environment without our awareness. Having public confidence in safe regulations makes the product better.

blog post 5

 I learned about the radio from a fellow classmate.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_kNFgwBai6Pl_3-chLD4bfXZgn1Lep2h8POQaYn71bY/edit?usp=sharing 

    Concept of the radio was Heinrich Hertz from detecting and producing sound waves. The concept was later turned into reality with the first speaking broadcast on December 24th 1906 when Fessenden is the first to cast his voice and accompany violin music across the sea for sailors to hear as he played charismas music. It is in the following year the audio and vacuum tube are developed with the intent to amplify the sounds from radio. 

    Because of the radio the presidential election results could be heard in real time along with the presidents such as FDR did from 1933 to 1944 with his "Fireside Chats" which gathered families to the radio. Historic events such as pearl harbor to classic programs such as Annie all where told through the radio. 

    I find myself appreciating technology and the work put behind such endeavors greatly. What used to be a letter that took who knows how long to send to my parents now can be done in a simple text. I can call and hear their voice or see them in real time with features such as Zoom or FaceTime. The radio was a precursor to such marvels we use daily. Things of the past can teach many things to the present era and radio has taught me the value of modern devices.