Homo hybridus
It is likely that many of the people who accept cybernetic
enhancement would lend themselves to genetic enhancement too, or
would allow enhancement of their offspring. A further branch of
optimised biological man with some cybernetic links can therefore
be expected. Perhaps their genes could be selected to work better
with cybernetics than conventional organisms. We call this species
Homo hybridus. This species is the one which makes Homo optimus
rather redundant, very soon after its creation. Similarly, the
first generation of Homo cyberneticus would become obsolete, since
the human bodies connected would be inferior to those of Homo
hybridus.
Changes generally bring stress, and this often leads to conflict.
The many new species would not coexist easily with Homo ludditus,
and there would be some competition for resources between these
species too. Whether peaceful coexistence is possible or not, it
would seem unlikely, give the well known nature of Homo ludditus.
Science fiction has already begun exploring this conflict, with The
Forbin Project, Terminator 1 & 2 being famous examples.
However, in Terminator, Homo ludditus wins, which seems an unlikely
outcome. Perhaps the 2200 estimate for human extinction seems
optimistic in this light.
We can also expect friction within our species as machine
intelligence improves. The industrial revolution reduced the value
of muscle power and in the same way computer evolution will reduce
the value of brain power - to zero. One by one, jobs will be lost
to machines, whether robots or computers. Our corporations will be
run and staffed entirely by machines. Those using humans will not
be able to compete and will go under. People will have fewer and
fewer attributes to sell. Of course, production and output could
greatly increase while human input could decrease, so we could all
have a better quality of life without having to work. A fully
automated economy could still be bigger than one which involves
people. 20th century economics will not work in the future - the
cracks are already getting bigger - machines take out delay and
uncertainty, displace humans and reveal economics for what it is, a
game of numbers in a spread sheet! . Our current concepts of
wealth, money and ownership will take a severe battering. Perhaps
we will enter an age of leisure, where any work we do is voluntary
and is based on spending time with other people. Or perhaps people
will be overtaken by fear as they lose control over what is
happening. Then wars might break out. In any case, this age will
not last long as we are absorbed into the higher existence offered
by the machine world.
When a direct link from the computer into the human brain is
achieved, thought transmission will give us telepathic
communication not only with machines but with other people. We will
be able to enjoy a shared consciousness with other humans and
synthetic intelligences such as Robotus primus. Our evolution to
Homo machinus will therefore be set against the background of a
global consciousness. Individuals will still exist, but we will
also have a group existence. As we achieve this link, we will also
be able to make copies of our minds in the machine world - a backup
in case of accident. We will become immortal, even if our mobility
and physical existence is restricted until a suitable replacement
body or android is produced for us. Death will be just a memory of
a primitive past. We may have an alter ego in the machine, or many.
We may try out different situations or life decisions, or different
personalities. These alter egos could occasionally make trips into
the ?real world?, time sharing robotic bodies. These bodies would
not necessarily be humanoid, so we could really be the ?fly on the
wall?. Procreation could be a highly creative act, with any number
of people combining (N - Sex) selected characteristics from
themselves or their imaginations to create new beings. Each person
could give rise to large numbers of personal offspring in this way.
The number of beings which could coexist may be limited by the size
of the host infrastructure, but they could timeshare or lie dormant
until more space is created.
Homo machinus
The two enhancements of biological optimisation and connection to
synthetic intelligence are not equal in potential impact. Due to
speed of development, we can reasonably assume that some of each of
the above species would exist, but we can argue that they would
soon become obsolete. Homo optimus, would have been left behind by
Homo cyberneticus and they in turn would be succeeded by Homo
hybridus. However, as the mind machine link becomes completely
transparent, and as materials and cybernetic technology improve,
Homo hybridus would rapidly find most of its intelligence and most
of its physical capability residing in the machine rather than the
organic side. As the human mind gradually moves further into the
machine world, it would become apparent that the organic body is
redundant. If it died, it would be a minor inconvenience, requiring
a cybernetic replacement to be commissioned. As the bodies die out,
Homo hybridus would too, becoming a non corporeal being, which we
call Homo machinus.
This new species retains some elements of the earlier human race,
but is vastly more intelligent and has access to whatever physical
capability is required. It can travel at the speed of light, exist
in many places at once, and would be essentially immortal. It would
coexist with Robotus primus, but we could expect that the two would
closely interact and may quickly converge
