Being There: How Technology Can Bring Us Nearer To Nature And Help Shield It

In 2005, futurist Ray Kurzweil claimed the subsequent technological revolution would rest upon advances in genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics, with robotics being probably the most impactful of the three technologies. Genetic engineering will enable far greater management over human organic nature via a process called directed evolution. Some thinkers believe that this will likely shatter our sense of self, and have urged for renewed public debate exploring the problem more thoroughly; others concern that directed evolution could result in eugenics or excessive social inequality. Nanotechnology will grant us the flexibility to control matter “on the molecular and atomic scale”, which …