Beyond Humanity: CyberEvolution and Future Minds

by Gregory S. Paul and Earl D. Cox

Charles River Media, P. O. Box 417, Rockland, MA 02370 ($20.95 paper)

Reviewed by Bill Creasy

What is the fate of the human race? What will the next century, and beyond, be like? Will the pace of technological change slow down, or will it become even faster than it is now? Paul and Cox tackle these ambitious questions in their well-written and engaging book, and they draw some surprising conclusions.

The authors begin with a few established principles and observations from the present and use them to speculate about an "extraordinary future". The first observation is that the speed and processing power of computers has been increasing exponentially for decades and shows no sign of stopping. Extrapolating from the trend, a computer with as much processing power as a human brain may be created in as little as twenty years.

The authors use the principles of Darwinian evolution to suggest that new and more fit organisms are inevitably created that are suited to expand into new domains. But although the organisms are more fit, they are also imperfect, with artifacts and limitations left over from previous generations. Human ingenuity can design tools and machines with greater strength, speed, and efficiency by intelligent design than occur from trial and error in nature.

With these ideas in mind, what may happen when computers have as much or more processing power than human brains? The authors explore many possibilities. Initially, humans will probably be replaced in most jobs by machines. Intelligent robots will also be designed as space probes to explore and colonize the solar system, since they will be better adapted to that purpose than humans will ever be. These artificial intelligences will continue to evolve and improve, becoming the descendants of humans.

But more changes will follow, even faster. Human brains, assumed by the authors to be mechanical processors made of biological matter, will be interfaced to intelligent machines. The connection will provide improved capabilities for the imperfect brains. Eventually, a functioning human mind will be completely copied into a compatible machine. In information processing terms, this will be nothing more than "backing up the data" of the brain, which any programmer would consider essential. In human terms, though, it will be nothing less than effective immortality, since the information in a human brain need never cease to exist. The mind will be free of its biological origins, and the nature of humanity will change.

As if this weren't enough for one book, Paul and Cox continue even further into the future, which they admit is more and more speculative. They critically examine a large number of science fiction concepts, including interstellar travel, extraterrestrial intelligences, and the future of religion. Anyone who likes to ponder about the future will be interested in their reasoned perspectives.

It may be difficult to find the book in stores, but it can be ordered from the publisher or over the World Wide Web from www.amazon.com or www.charlesriver.com.