Just as socialism took over the world by promising salvation through steam and electricity so in the coming decades new techno religions may conquer the world by promising salvation through algorithms and genes.
The techno religions are :
- techno-humanism
- data religion
Techno-humanism still sees humans as the apex of creating but agrees that Homo sapiens as we know it has run its historical course and will no longer be relevant in the future. Technology should be used to create Homo deus – a much superior human model that will retain some essential human features, but will enjoy upgraded physical and mental abilities that will enable it to hold its own event against the most sophisticated non-conscious algorithms.
As Sapiens organised in larger groups they lost some skills and aptitudes (smell, paying attention – Fear Of Missing Out, ability to dream). For the economical and political system it was worth it.
The attention helmet – the overuse of it my cause us to lose our ability to tolerate confusions, doubts and contradictions. That means, techno-humanism can end up by downgrading humans. They would lack some really disturbing human qualities that hamper the system and slow it down.
Humanism always emphasised that it is not easy to identify our authentic will. It demands us to listen to the inner messages even if they scare us. Technological progress wants to control the inner voices.
The dilemma: how we can live with such technologies as long as we believe that the human and the human experiences are the supreme source of authority and meaning?