Martin Rees: We should take our posthuman future seriously

Edge Foundation`s World Question Center has a very interesting question this year: What have you changed your mind about?. Some of the answers are very interesting and a lot of interesting people are answering. Surprisingly, I have met quite a few of them at Scifoo 2007.

Martin Reese's answer surprised me a lot, even if it should not:

We Should Take the 'Posthuman' Era Seriously

(...)

Human-induced changes are occurring with runaway speed. It's hard to predict a mere century from now, because what will happen depends on us — this is the first century where humans can collectively transform, or even ravage, the entire biosphere. Humanity will soon itself be malleable, to an extent that's qualitatively new in the history of our species.

(...)

We are custodians of a 'posthuman' future — here on Earth and perhaps beyond — that can't just be left to writers of science fiction.

Slowly, H+ is spreading among intellectuals and scientists, slowly we are getting to the point where our views of the future will get more attention and respect.

PS: Speaking about H+, I am running for the board of the WTA, even if I am very doubtful about my chances of winning, there are a lot of excellent candidates. Whether I get to the board or not, I want to contribute to build this future for all of us. I probably will post my candidacy statement once elections are over.

My thesis is going well, soon I hope to post a preliminary model.