Technological upgrades of body and mind soon to be a reality — but only for the very rich [View all]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/07/technological-upgrades-of-body-and-mind-soon-to-be-a-reality-but-only-for-the-very-rich/

Technological upgrades of body and mind soon to be a reality — but only for the very rich
By Ian Sample, The Guardian
Sunday, September 7, 2014 11:32 EDT

Homo sapiens were not always so special. In the ancient past, other human forms lived beside us. The Neanderthals in Eurasia. Small, hobbit-like humans in Indonesia. The mysterious Denisovans in the Ural mountains.

But our time alone may be nearing its end. Through the power of technology, humans are set to take on the role of Intelligent Designer. We can upgrade ourselves and surmount evolution. Ultimately, we can become entirely new beings that set the stage for a posthuman future.

The scenario has played out for decades in science fiction but the prospect is raised more seriously by Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli historian, in his latest book, Sapiens. In it he sees trouble ahead. The latest human enhancements will be accessible only to the rich, leading to a 21st-century society more unequal than any that came before.

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Harari says the rich will always have first access to the latest enhancements. “When the aim is to upgrade, by definition, you want to be better than others. So no matter how much the cost goes down, there will always be the next treatment which is only available to the rich. The differences might become so big that if you miss the train it will be too late.”