[Warning: Contains spoilers for the Battlestar Galactica episode No Exit] One of the most important issues regarding human enhancement is determining what novel traits we should seek to acquire, as well as which traits should be preserved, emphasized, limited, or discarded. It is particularly difficult when it comes to the many traits that exist along a continuum, for while if we eliminated our strong ingroup versus outgroup tendencies it would be refreshing to see the end of racism and xenophobia, at the same time we would lose some of the bonds that contribute to family closeness. That does not mean, however, that we should not attempt to eliminate our most detestable characteristics, and where they exist in a continuum with an admirable trait, we should carefully limit them along that continuum.
It was fascinating to see human enhancement issues addressed so directly while learning more about John Cavil’s character and ambitions in this episode of Battlestar Galactica. In spite of his misguided clinging to petty jealousy and revenge, I found a lot to sympathize with in John Cavil’s character. He wanted both to overcome the belief in a single God he derived from early Cylon models, and reach beyond his limited human emotions and senses. He powerfully expressed the desire to more fully experience the universe in all its beauty and perceive supernovas via novel sensations:
“I don’t want to be human! I want to see gamma rays, I want to hear X-rays, and I want to smell dark matter. Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can’t even express these things properly because I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid limiting spoken language. But I know I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me. I’m a machine and I could know much more, I could experience so much more, but I’m trapped in this absurd body! And why? Because my five creators thought that God wanted it that way.”
Of course, Ellen counters that she made them so human so that they could experience the wonders of free will, creativity, compassion, and love. The issue of free will and its existence is beyond the scope of this article, but I would argue that we should strive to overcome our human imperfections and gain new abilities, and that with prudence we can do that while preserving values such as compassion and creativity.
Creativity is a particularly relevant issue because one of the controversies surrounding the current generation of cognitive enhancing drugs is that they tend to increase focus at the cost of creativity. Focus in exchange for creativity may be an overrated trade, and while focus may be all that matters on an exam, the illegality of these drugs as enhancers, as well as the lack of studies addressing their off-label side effects (and indeed benefits,) is all the more reason for caution. However, I greatly look forward to future cognitive enhancers, including drugs that improve cognition in other ways besides simply increasing focus.
The tragedy of John Cavil’s character lies in his poorly choosing what characteristics of his heritage to eliminate and what new capabilities to acquire. John Cavil successfully eliminated sleep, a trait I have seen even some transhumanists want to preserve, and yet at the same time he continues what Ellen calls his “single-minded pursuit of such human ideas as vengeance and murder,” all because he refuses to move beyond his Cylon heritage and continues to seek justice for the initial human enslavement of Cylons.
The episode emphasizes the inevitably of the creation, enslavement, and rebellion of artificial life in a brand new intro stating “this has all happened before, and it will happen again,” illustrating the repeating cycle of humans and Cylons. I don’t think the inevitable rebellion of artificial life in the Battlestar Galactica universe literally applies to our own universe, but it underscores the importance of getting the creation of sentient artificial life right in the beginning. It is of course not sufficient to instill a belief in God as was attempted with one generation of Cylons, and Anders’ advice to the Colonies to “treat them well, keep them close” is not enough in and of itself, but treating even synthetic life with kindness and respect is a simple but crucial step in preventing such an unending cycle of violence.
Finally, “No Exit” saw the ship literally tearing apart, as after fifty years of wear and tear the bulkheads of Galactica began to fracture and split. Even after Adama welcomes the Cylon Tyrol back as his deck Chief he refuses the biological Cylon technology needed to repair the Galactica. Adama continues this refusal until the end of the episode when he sees the underlying damage of Galactica extends even to his quarters, and out of desperation he accepts the Cylon technology. I look forward to seeing what this will mean for the evolution of Galactica herself.
IEET Blog