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The Home of Evolutioneers

Evolution 2.0's Position Paper on How to Wisely and More Safely Use New Technologies like Genetic Engineering, Biotech, Nanotech, Autonomous Artificial Intelligence, New Species Creation, Clones, Cybernetics, Human Chimeras, Ect.

Introduction: (This position paper like everything on this website will evolve as new information comes to light.)

As educators of the new Universe Evolutionary Worldview (and as Evolutioneers,) we have created a position paper for the wise and ethical experimentation with and use of technology particularly new technologies [such as genetic engineering, (biotech,) nanotech, cyberetics, creating autonomous artificial intelligence or artificial life forms (cyborgs, clones, human chimeras,) etc.,] in biological or social systems.

The transcending of human nature is a new kind of freedom, which is only being articulated for the first time here in the 21st century because we now have the actual ability to begin achieving it. This new freedom is freedom from the limitations of past, pre-determined or inborn genetic limitations. Inborn genetic limitations can include everything from genetic defects, to built-in and hardwired emotional responses that are no longer appropriate to today's life conditions and environments to limitations on the cognitive processing abilities of the brain itself.

This new freedom also includes freedom from current physical limitations through mechanical and biological augmentation. Already, it is common today in society for individuals to get artificial hearts, hips, joints, arms and many other mechanical or biological enhancements to help them resolve or enhance current physical conditions or remedy limitations.

Humanity's cognitive and biological human nature is not a static unchanging thing. Human nature initially evolved solely through the mechanics of genetic evolution. Once humanity started creating culture, human nature started evolving quicker because of the values, laws, education and the repetitive practices of cultural evolution. Because of cultural evolution, human nature was civilized and evolved far faster than just the random genetic mutation that pure genetic evolution could ever achieve.

Evolution 2.0 also educates about the new 21st century art-of living skill sets which are the next steps to advance and extend the effectiveness of cultural education to develop, evolve and realize the potentials of human nature. Once the tools of cultural education have taken developing human nature as far as it can go, it is then time to add in the next level tool set for evolving human nature.

In addition to continuing to use the tools and methods of human culture to improve human nature, humanity using proper safeguards now has the opportunity to speed up the evolution of cognitive and biological human nature as never has been done before by also using the new technologies of genetic engineering. Just as cultural evolution has dramatically speeded up the evolution of human nature humanity also now has a new ability to speed up the evolution and development of human nature by wisely using these new technologies...

Humanity as a species also appears not to be an end unto itself when seen from a big picture evolutionary perspective. By looking at the long term evolution of the planet it is clear that humanity as a species has appeared due to the rise (and in many cases the extinction,) of many predecessor species. Therefore it is only logical and reasonable to believe that since 99.9 percent of every species that has ever lived on the planet is now extinct, humanity as a species will also give rise to humanity's evolutionary successors and "children" --- just exactly as humanity's evolutionary predecessors gave rise to it.

One of the possible pathways in giving rise to humanity's successors and "children" would be for humanity to transcend its limiting biology and the current limitations of its mental abilities (what we normally consider humanity's mostly-fixed human nature,) is genetic engineering. There are other ways as well.

Humanity as a species also appears not to be an end unto itself when seen from a big picture evolutionary perspective. By looking at the long term evolution of the planet it is clear that humanity as a species has appeared due to the rise (and in many cases the extinction,) of many predecessor species. Therefore it is only logical and reasonable to believe that since 99.9 percent of every species that has ever lived on the planet is now extinct, humanity as a species will also give rise to humanity's evolutionary successors and "children" --- just exactly as humanity's evolutionary predecessors gave rise to it.

One of the possible pathways in giving rise to humanity's successors and "children" would be for humanity to transcend its limiting biology and the current limitations of its mental abilities (what we normally consider humanity's mostly-fixed human nature,) is genetic engineering. There are other ways as well. (For more information on creating our own successors and "children" see the evolutionary transhumanism information and link at the bottom of this page.)

Our Most Basic Evolution 2.0 Position on New Technologies is That:

We need to remain absolutely open to the fact that either now or at some point in the future these new technologies may possibly become exactly what we critically need either as individuals and humanity for:

a.) some essential aspect of our species' survival or, for

b.) our next stage of biological and/or cultural evolution as a species or, for

c.) releasing our full human potentials or, for

d.) releasing the universe's full evolutionary potentials.

In fact, at some point in humanity's future it is all but inevitable that humanity as a species will eventually transcend its biology and biological limitations in major transhumanistic ways using the new technologies listed in the headline above. (In many ways we are already doing this in many subtle forms already.)

The Fears Surrounding New Technologies:

When one begins to talk about these new technologies it is hard not to immediately call to mind the many books and movies that have warned us of the unanticipated future horrors and consequences of these new technologies once they are released into the world. The "Terminator" movies and the book and movie "The Island of Doctor Moreau" come immediately to mind to name just two members of a whole dystopian literature genre. 

In spite of the many cultural literature or even preemptive religious warnings about these new technologies we ask the reader to keep an open mind while reviewing the rest of this position paper on how, why and under what precise conditions these new technologies should be developed, used and managed.

On Transcending Human Biology:

Another important reason that we may eventually need to transcend biology and the biological limitations of our human forms as they are are now is that they are not well adapted to long distance space travel. And, unless humans are substantially biologically modified it will be artificial intelligence (AI,) robots or other transhuman forms that will be doing most of the deep space, extended time frame exploration for us far into the future.

An earlier mentioned reason that we may want to transcend and help our human biology is that our biological nature and its limitations too often unconsciously condition our ancient emotional and psychological reactions and actions. As evidenced repeatedly by human history, this "ancient enviroments" unconscious biological conditioning results far too often to our individual and collective determent.

There are natural techniques and disciplines for controlling or rising above then unconscious conditioning of our ancient biological nature through things like present tense meditation, de-biasing meditation as well as training in scientific methodology, rational/analytical thinking, systems thinking and dialectical meta-systemic thinking. Unfortunately, few in the history of humanity have attained these abilities consistently while under high duress or subject to high self-interest temptations.  Of the very few who did attain those skills to a high degree far less ever held positions of power that could prevent our history of ongoing social, political and economic catastrophes. Catastrophes that were ultimately caused either by the general ignorance of a human species (that with each new generation has to be taught almost all accumulated human knowledge once again from birth) or, by the unconscious ancient biological conditioning of individual or collective emotional, psychological and physiological reactions. 

We are not suggesting here that new technology solutions should replace all natural solutions to our biological limitations. What we are saying is that we should remain open to the probability that at some point new technology solutions will be available and be safe and that they will develop in parallel with ongoing refinements in natural solutions to our biological limitations. We are saying that transcendence and new emergence from other transhuman species (speciation,) is a natural part of universe evolution and as such we must logically envision and begin exploring what will transcend our own species and evolve in parallel and potential cooperation with it. 

Ten Wise Steps on How to Optimally Implement the New Technologies such as Genetic Engineering, Biotech, Nanotech, Autonomous Artificial Intelligence, New Species Creation, Clones, Cybernetics, Ect, More Safely in Biological and Social Systems

There will most likely never be a completely or even mostly safe full implementation of these new and highly dangerous technologies, but there can be wise and more safe implementation of these technologies that plans for how to deal with the inevitable mistakes and disasters. The following ten points are evolving guidelines for more safe implementation and experimentation with these new technologies.

1.) We need to always first evaluate using or experimenting with any of these new technologies and their capabilities from the two ever-present controlling and conditioning evolutionary meta-perspectives.

These universe evolutionary meta-perspectives are;

a.) do these new technologies and their capabilities forward the core progressive directionality and "values and goals" for evolution in the universe and,

b.) do these technologies and their capabilities also forward the core progressive directionality, values and goals for the evolution of humanity as a species over long periods of time (i.e. decades, centuries, millennia,) and,

If use of new technologies do forward the evolution of humanity and they are they still also in alignment with the core progressive directionality and "values and goals" of universe evolution, they meet the two point evolutionary meta-perspective test. In other words we must align and use all new technologies to become a source of positive contribution to the forwarding of the progressive evolution of the universe and toward the emancipation of the full human evolutionary potentials of humanity itself. (See the following link for what the core progressive directionality and "values and goals" of universe evolution actually is, progressive evolution in the universe.)

2.) We must intentionally and consciously guide and limit the capacities of new technologies with the best ethical procedures, scientific safeguards, pre-execution computer modeling and international laws our brightest and best minds can offer. (We can use advanced super computer simulations to help us locate some of the problems and some of the unforeseen consequences and therefor minimize, but not eliminate all of the "target, aiming and firing" mistakes in trying to alter or improve biological and ecological complex adaptive systems.)

3.) We must base or use of these new technologies on scientific facts that pass the strict falsification rigors of scientific methodology.

4.) Because we are still an almost adolescent species in evolutionary time scales and because we can be easily blinded by a non multidisciplinary techno-optimism, we must exercise a great and humble caution with new technologies, but not with a progress choking caution that stops all intelligent or necessary risk for which one can be as prepared as possible. (We are an adolescent species in that our self-reflection or self consciousness, which separates from our ape-like ancestors, seems to have appeared about 40,000 years ago. Forty thousand years is barely a blink in relation to the time it took many of our ancestors to emerge into their near final forms.)

5.) We must remain humble and realistic toward both the limits and promises of new technologies. This is because in the life and Earth systems where this these technologies will be directly or indirectly applied --- these systems are complex adaptive systems and not simple mechanical systems. In complex adaptive systems the results and consequences are often unpredictable (even using advanced modeling with our most advanced super-computers,) and non-linear and, --- they contain many completely unforeseeable system tipping points. This means that in spite of our best ethical procedures, scientific safeguards, advance super-computer modeling or new international laws there still will ALWAYS be unforeseeable accidents, calamities and devastating catastrophes --- just as there has always been throughout human history with all new technologies as well as with evolution's own many experiments. Our job is to limit these catastrophes as much as possible by using the Precautionary Principle (now part of law in many European countries,) as well as all of the wisdom and humility of humanity's total knowledge base when exploring the many benefits of these potentially very dangerous new technology areas.

6.) While using these new technologies to work with and align with the deep patterns of the universe's progressive evolutionary processes we must not attempt to inappropriately control, overwhelm or bypass those ancient, controlling, conditioning and time-proven universe evolutionary meta-processes. If we try to do this we will most likely not get good results or we will suffer many even worse side effects. In new technology applications the "Akido approach" will generally be better and do less natural destructive creation damage that the "charging bull in the china shop approach." 

7.) Where ever and when ever possible we must apply the new technologies of genetic engineering, biotech, nanotech, cyberetics, creating artificial intelligence or artificial life, cyborgs, human chimeras, clones, etc by wisely and skillfully also using the guiding principles of the Appropriate Technology Movement. This includes making new technologies affordable for all and equally available to all so as to not create or expand an unfair "have" and "have not" separation in users choosing to avail themselves to the new technologies and their benefits.

8.) We must not use these new technologies as a rationalization to continue to ignore own own species' mistakes and not correct them in more appropriate ways that deal with our actions being the causes. Such as continuing to pollute the atmosphere with carbon from fossil fuels because someday there may be nanotech, biotech or other adaptive new technologies to clean the carbon out of the air. (Carbon from fossil fuels causes global warming and climate de-stabilization.)  And,

9.) Participation in and with new technologies must be by individual choice and option and must not be coerced or forced by governments or businesses. Particularly in this area we need to maintain the critical balance between individual rights and responsibilities and group rights and responsibilities.

10.) Any and all for-profit companies and nations participating in research in these potentially dangerous new technologies must establish a large insurance (and reinsurance,) common fund and if they are a nation, they must create ample reserves before starting experiments in these areas to pay for the natural and unavoidable clean ups and catastrophes that will without a doubt happen frequently as for-profit business and governments experiment in highly unpredictable areas that impinge into biological and non-biological complex adaptive systems. These technologies must not become areas where for-profit business organizations "keep all the gain" and "pass all of the pain," damages and losses of their experiments onto the government and ultimately public to clean up and pay for. National and International laws also must be passed or updated so that if for-profit companies or governments choose to experiment in these known very high risk areas both they and their insurance companies will be held fully legally responsible for any and all damages that they cause to individuals who were experimented upon or to the society. There can be no "it was an unpredictable accident" or "that was just the current state of the technology" exemptions: for assigning liability in these new technology areas because the risks of experimenting are already widely well known to be very high risk and highly unpredictable. In other words, "if you want to play with the big high-risk toys, you have to pay for the big high-risk toys as well as their big accident insurance costs." You would not allow someone to drive a car without insurance so why would we ever we  let anyone experiment in these highly dangerous, highly unpredictable areas without lots of ample layers of insurance, reinsurance and reserves to cover the costs of the inevitable serious accidents and the care of its victims.

In spite of all the precautions and safeguards listed above we see these new technology areas being eventually researched and well managed with necessary ethical guidelines, scientific safeguards, pre-positioned super-sized insurance funds and international law so that humanity can safely and wisely explore, create and evolve in these areas in a way that assigns appropriate rights and responsibilities and healthy boundaries to each new area of new technology creativity and innovation. We see and hope at some point in the far distant future that traditional humans, genetically enhanced humans, human-created forms of new life forms, such as cyborgs, self-conscious, self-organizing artificial intelligence (possibly housed within robots,) and clones will develop both in parallel (as well as additionally possibly within their own ecological niches,) and all coexist peacefully and cooperatively within one government/community and be parts of a healthy overall planetary and universe ecosystem as humanity and its human created "children" move out into the stars and universe...

Although our organization does not agree with some of the ideas contained within the new book Human Purpose and Transhuman Potential: A Cosmic View for our Future Evolution by Ted Chu, PhD., and we partially qualify our views on these issues in the above areas on this page, it currently does best expresses a current, complex, nuanced and detailed position on the issues and possibilities surrounding genetic engineering, biotech, nanotech, artificial intelligence, artificial life, cybernetics, ect:

We also see the new book Human Purpose and Transhuman Potential: A Cosmic View for our Future Evolution by Ted Chu, PhD. as the most motivating and inspirational overview of the biggest possibilities of what it now and could mean to be a universe citizen and Evolutioneer. Ted presents the "next generation" specifics on what inspired conscious evolution in alignment with evolutionary science looks like.

His vision of the future of technological evolution and humanity's role in it is well grounded in history and science and it will stretch the vision of the biggest Evolutioneers and universe citizens. At Universe Spirit we now recommend that every new member reads this book (and our qualifications above on it,) as part of their intermediate level education on what it takes to be an authentic Evolutioneer and universe citizen effectively forwarding progressive evolution on Earth and then out into the universe and stars.)

(Please Note: The above conditions and qualifications for wisely deploying important yet, potentially dangerous new technologies was created from a perspective derived from universe-scaled progressive evolution theory, systems theory and dialectical meta-systemic theory.

 Many new technologies are also often associated with the concept of Transhumanism.) For more information on our position on Transhumanism, click here.

For more information on the Universe Evolutionary Worldview, click here.

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