To be a machine : adventures among cyborgs, utopians, hackers, and the futurists solving the modest problem of death / Mark O'Connell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Connell, Mark, 1979- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Humanism.

Medical technology--Social aspects.

Medical technology.

Technological innovations--Social aspects.

Technological innovations.

Prosthesis--Social aspects.

Prosthesis.

Social aspects.

Local Subjects:

Technological innovations--Social aspects.

Genre:

Dictionaries.

Physical Description:

241 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Doubleday, [2017]

Summary:

"A globe-spanning investigation into the Transhumanist movement, considering the tech billionaires, scientific luminaries, and DIY body-hackers attempting to prolong, improve, and ultimately transcend the limits of human life"-- Provided by publisher.

"Transhumanism is a movement pushing the limits of our biology--of our senses, intelligence, and life spans. It has been quietly exerting its influence on technology for decades, but in the last few years it has achieved critical mass, finding support among some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley and beyond. In To Be a Machine, journalist Mark O'Connell explores the staggering (and terrifying) possibilities that present themselves when you think of your body as an outmoded device. He visits the world's foremost cryonics facility to witness how some have chosen to forestall death. He discovers an underground collective of biohackers enhancing their senses by implanting electronics under their skin. He meets with members of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, a team urgently investigating how to protect mankind from falling victim to artificial superintelligence. Through this journey, O'Connell presents a singular, entertaining look at a growing movement, and an exploration of the ancient yearning to transcend our animal condition--a desire as primal as the oldest religions, as elemental as the ancient myths. In investigating what it means to be a machine, he offers a surprising meditation of what it means to be human."--Jacket.

Contents:

System crash

An encounter

A visitation

Once out of nature

A short note on the singularity

Talkin' AI existential risk blues

A short note on the first robots

Mere machines

Biology and its discontents

Faith

Please solve death

The Wanderlodge of eternal life

A short note on endings and beginnings.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [239]-241).

ISBN:

9780385540414

0385540418

OCLC:

951070642