Himmortality
“In 1999, the futurist Ray Kurzwell published a book entitled The Age of Spiritual Machines.
He looked forward to a future in which the ‘human species, along with the computational
technology it created, will be able to solve age-old problems . . . and will be in a position to
change the nature of mortality.’ ….
“Aubrey de Grey, co-founder of Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence . . .
believes that ageing is just an engineering problem. Technological progress . . . will
eventually enable human beings to achieve what he calls ‘life extension escape velocity’.
“As for Mr Kurzwell, earlier this year he announced that he had ‘set the date 2045 for the
“Singularity” which is when we will multiply our effective intelligence a billion-fold by
merging with the intelligence we have created.’ In this ‘transhumanist’ vision, once we turn
ourselves into ‘spiritual machines’, we will be able to live forever.”
~ Thomas Metzinger, “Silicon Valley evangelists sell an ancient dream of immortality,”
The Financial Times, August 19/20, 2017, p. 9
When scientists and engineers transform
Me, make me part computer and part man,
Arrange me as new self, against the norm
Of masculinity, their work will ban
My hormones, or at least the lusting best
Of them and also those that grow the hair
On parts of me, my underarms, my chest,
My face, and down around my dangling pair
And thing. The digital components will
Take over what minute control I might
Have in my fantasies and where I spill
My essence deep in secret loves at night.
..My nano circuit board will shrink the strength
….Of manliness and undermine its length.