Columnist Mark O'Connell takes a critical look at transhumanism, the belief that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations with the help of science and technology. Using futurist Ray Kurzweil's theories on the technological singularity--the merger of man with machine--as a launching point, O'Connell crisscrosses the United States in search of the philosophers, scientists, researchers, venture capitalists and opportunists attempting to arrest aging and create a "more efficient, more powerful, more useful" version of humanity.
In Scottsdale, Ariz., he investigates the feasibility of reanimating cryogenically frozen brains in new bodies, equating such efforts to a "Hail Mary pass into the end zone of the future." He questions Randal Koene's attempts to code human consciousness into machines, and finds hilarity in the awkward creations of cyborg technologists in Pomona, Calif., who hope to impress upon the Department of Defense the benefits of employing automatons in war. O'Connell even hits the campaign trail--in a Wanderlodge painted to look like an oversized coffin--with Zoltan Istvan, the transhumanist presidential candidate who wants to draw attention to the cause.
This reliance on technology to correct human limitations fails to impress naysayers like Elon Musk, who worries about the risks and ethics regarding superhuman-level artificial intelligence, and sees AI as "our greatest existential threat." O'Connell acknowledges and addresses their concerns, while also highlighting the similarities between transhumanism and Gnosticism--both believe in the redemption of humanity through the liberation of the body. The irony of transhumanism as a replacement for religion is not lost on O'Connell, whose insights are profound and introspective, but told with humor and healthy doses of skepticism and wonder. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant