Human identity, the idea that defines each and every one of us, could be facing an unprecedented crisis. It is a crisis that would threaten long-held notions of who we are, what we do and how we behave. It goes right to the heart - or the head - of us all. This crisis could reshape how we interact with each other, alter what makes us happy, and modify our capacity for reaching our full potential as individuals. And it's caused by one simple fact: the human brain, that most sensitive of organs, is under threat from the modern world. Unless we wake up to the damage that the gadget-filled, pharmaceutically-enhanced 21st century is doing to our brains, we could be sleepwalking towards a future in which neuro-chip technology blurs the line between living and non-living machines, and between our bodies and the outside world. It would be a world where such devices could enhance our muscle power, or our senses, beyond the norm, and where we all take a daily cocktail of drugs to control our moods and performance. Already, an electronic chip is being developed that could allow a paralysed patient to move a robotic limb just by thinking about it. As for drug manipulated moods, they're already with us - although so far only to a medically prescribed extent. Increasing numbers of people already take Prozac for depression, Paxil as an antidote for shyness, and give Ritalin to children to improve their concentration. But what if there were still more pills to enhance or "correct" a range of other specific mental functions? What would such aspirations to be "perfect" or "better" do to our notions of identity, and what would it do to those who could not get their hands on the pills? Would some finally have become more equal than others, as George Orwell always feared? Of course, there are benefits from technical progress - but there are great dangers as well, and I believe that we are seeing some of those today.



View: Full Article | Source: Daily Mail

well, this is somewhat disturbing, but nevertheless inevitable, at least transhumanism movement and it's ideas says it to be so...
I still don't know whether it's necessarily a bad thing. I do value individualism, but perhaps a kinda swarm civilization would be better off to deal with the coming singularity and it's fallout.
In a way, this ego loss is happening already, with the help of wikipedia, youtube, cnn, google, mtv. Everyone (well almost ) is capable of accessing the same information, hence form the same opinion.
Also, if any of you have taken psychedelics, you will already know what a complete ego death is...

I don't find this too disturbing. Individuality is the person and not how many credit cards or how much information is out on the net about them. Chips in the brain on the other hand is a totally diffrent story. We have a body that does things with having to tell it to do something. Our body fights the flu unknown to us. Having chips in us is going to be clash with our bodies system. We will have persion instruments that will have to be controlled by some mean in our bodies and this will conflict with our bodies which aren't controlled too much. Our body's ability to do seems to depend on how happy we are, whether we are stressed or angry. If you have been over worked and stressed for ten years you can bet your ass that you will see the affects in your body. Presuming that we don't have a spirit then technology is the way to go. Presuming we do have a spirit then technology is not the way to go at all. We will slowly mix the organic and the mechanic untill there is nothing left of us.