Customer Reviews

Upgrade Me: Our Amazing Journey to Human 2.0

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked up this book because of its fascinating subject: the ongoing technical evolution of human beings, via genome modification and embedded computing, into something more: call it "cyborgs," or "Human 2.0". However, as it turns out, most of the book is not about that!

Clegg writes mostly about technological evolution in the past, external things like clothing and cars and whatnot that increased human capacities but did not change the human body itself. Direct technological enhancement of the body and brain is discussed only briefly, for example in parts of Chapter 2 (life extension) and Chapter 6 (brain implants).

The book is written for readers who really do not know the first thing about technology, and information is communicated at the most basic, dinner-party conversational level. We are told that clothing was invented for protection and ornament, that airplanes were invented for flight, and so on.

"Upgrade Me?" Well, maybe, but this book doesn't make the grade.

This is a very good read on why human enhancement has been good for us and why we should continue to enhance ourselves. Although the subtitle of the book is "Our Amazing Journey to Human 2.0," the first two-thirds of the book is a look back in history. It explains in detail the central point that all technology is an attempt to transcend human nature. We have been enhancing ourselves since the beginning - the first woven garment, for example, appeared as early as 25,000 B.C. From wearing eyeglasses to drinking coffee, once a new technology has proven to work and become affordable, we all love to embrace it and gradually take it for granted.
The big difference today is emerging new technologies are not just providing add-ons and networking capabilities to the human body, but also approaching the threathold of modifying the core of human nature. So the rest of the book effectively addresses various concerns about changing ourselves.
Will cognitive enhancement make us dumber somehow? No, the author points out that "When the slide rules were replaced by the calculators, everyone said the next generation won't understand math the same way - it didn't happen. When computers came along, many predicted that learning as we know it would collapse. It didn't."
Will genetic tinkering lead to catastrophe? Not necessarily. In fact, commenting on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein story, Clegg said, "Biologically speaking, every one of us is a particular kind of monster - a mutant." (more details on blog www.2CoBe.com)
The book ends with a healthy dose of realism: "It would be foolish to portray our ability to enhance ourselves as wholly positive." Risk is unavoidable, though it can be managed with our conscious efforts.