Andy Walker - Super You: How Technology Is Revolutionizing What It Means to Be Human

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How Technology Is Revolutionizing What It Means to Be Human

ANDY WALKER, KAY WALKER,
AND SEAN CARRUTHERS

800 East 96th Street,
Indianapolis, Indiana 46240 USA

Super You

Copyright 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission must be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permissions, request forms, and the appropriate contacts within the Pearson Education Global Rights & Permissions Department, please visit www.pearsoned.com/permissions/. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-5486-8
ISBN-10: 0-7897-5486-X

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016937879

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing: June 2016

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Lets face it, the world is moving quickly into a future full of uncertainty. One where for the first time in history, human beings may no longer be classified as a mammal. One where technology will naturally be a part of mans evolutionary footprint.

There are many people today that have done the research. They understand the future we are inevitably walking into. Technology is growing faster than it ever has before. There will come a day where man will build machines that match and then supersede his intelligence.

These groups use different words to describe the new era: Transhumanist, posthuman, techno-optimism, cyborgism, humanity+, immortalist, machine intelligence, robotopia, life extension, or Singularity.

While there is overlap, each name represents a unique camp of thought, strategy, and possible historical outcome for the people promoting their vision of the future. Collectively, they all believe in the same experience of life, something the authors have captured so expertly in this book. We are walking into the Age of Super You.

This book is a guide to that future. It explores some of the major themes we face in this new era. How will science and technology impact our humanity? What will we look like? What will our children look like and become? Will we be healthy? Will we live for hundreds of years? Can death be cured? Who will be in the way of all this? Can our leaders, government, and clerics keep up with it all?

As this book goes to press, I am in the final months of running for President of the United States. Im running as the leader of the Transhumanist Party, a political organization I founded seeking to use science and technology to radically improve the human being and the society we live in.

In addition to upholding American values, prosperity, and security, many of these issues are on my mind.

The three primary goals of my political agenda are as follows:

Attempt to do everything possible to make it so this countrys amazing scientists and technologists have resources to overcome human death and aging within 15 to 20 yearsa goal an increasing number of leading scientists think is reachable.

Create a cultural mindset in America that will embrace and produce a radical technology and science that is in the best interest of our nation and species.

Create national and global safeguards and programs that protect people against abusive technology and other possible planetary perils we might face as we transition into the transhumanist era.

There is a burgeoning movement in the United States, and as well as many other countries, that we need to prepare for a robust technology-enhanced future. The authors have crisply defined the trend in their book and have cleverly looked back to see how it happened and look forward to see where it is going. Even though it wasnt intended to be a guide to the future and how we got there, in many ways it is.

The book examines how humans are transforming themselves through science and technology to become better versions of themselves, to live healthier and more fulfilling lives, and to hyperextend their human capabilities, including their longevity.

Theres increasing evidence everyday from the frontiers of scienceand already in the warehouses of ecommerce companiesthat much of what this book examines and predicts is, or soon will be, a near-term reality.