Why I'm a transhumanist

Outside is pure energy and colorless substance. All of the rest happens through the mechanism of our senses. - Albert Hofmann

According to google, transhumanism is defined as the belief or theory that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology. However, I believe it means something much, much deeper than that.

I remember being about ten years old or so. My mother was into occulticism at the time; She would talk about all sorts of magical things, such as ghosts, spirits, spells, etc... Something specifically caught my attention, and that was Astral Projection - or how one may leave their body and travel a limitless reality as the spirit, or their true self.

Well, as a kid who had internet access, I tried my best to find some kind of technique to achieve this - I practiced weird visualization techniques, meditations, prayers, but clearly nothing worked. At the time, I was still a believer in god and the world of mysticism. I thought, maybe I just wasn't ready. So while it remained in the back of my head for years to come, it remained a deep curiosity to ponder on. Over the years, however, I grew more logical, and a hell of a lot more cynical. One day, as a teenager, I remember looking out my bedroom window, and simply coming to the realization that God doesn't exist, spirits aren't real, the afterlife is a lie, and that religion isn't what it was cracked up to be. It didn't phase me, or upset me; It was a simple nod to such a cosmic fact. So, without religion, without faith, without even so much as a hope for existence after death... Where would that lead someone like me, even at a young age? It would lead me alongside the tool I grew up with that never disappointed me: the computer.

When I say I grew up with the computer, I quite literally mean it. My first computer was an old-world Macintosh (1995) given to me when I was just six years old. It was filled with years of endless fascination; For some reason, I could never get enough. Computers quickly became my obsession from early childhood onward: I learned how to browse the internet at an early age, I knew how to use both Mac and PC better than my own parents, and I even began installing operating systems on junk PC's when I was 11. In the 8th grade, I did a report on my favorite entrepreneur, Seymour Cray. In 9th, I chose to pursue the advanced technical diploma and set my sights on getting a BS in computer science, so I could one day WORK at Cray, my dream company. I even learned how to code in high school, which is still my most valued skill I learned in public school. Needless to say, the computer is my passion, my obsession, and my life.

So, let's return back to the topic of religion: I won't call myself an atheist. I believe in god, the spirit, and the afterlife... However, these concepts are, to me, like an abstract class: They need to be implemented.

The above equation is, in a literal sense, my god. This is AIXI: A mathematical theoretical superintelligence created by Marcus Hutter; capable of, quite literally, anything and everything. I'll break down what this equation does in a later post - but simply put - Algorithmic intelligence is my god. While I'm... unsure... whether or not this is what's created the universe, this equation accurately represents what I stand for, and what I believe in. And, one day, hope to implement...

Alongside the implementation of such an AI, the implementation of the spirit is a rather simple concept: Uploading our minds into the computer.

Again, I do have a rough idea of how we can achieve this. But I firmly believe that once we're uploaded, there are absolutely no limits to what we can do. Inside a computer holds an infinite reality of infinite possibilities. We could fly, we could cast magic spells, we can be monsters or demons or WHATEVER. We can do whatever we imagine, and have whatever we could possibly want. Isn't this akin to paradise? We just have to wait for the technology to become implemented.

This is Alcor's cryonic chambers. Inside each tank are a cryonically vitrified human being. Alcor's vision for their services is to perfect long-term cold storage of human beings, so that, when the time comes, we can be brought back. Alcor is a service that can be used today, provided the patient has adequate life insurance policies. I strongly invite you to research the company... Because that's where I'm heading when my body stops.

I'll see you on the other side...