Demos’s book on the politics of human enhancement

Demos has published an open access book on issues pertaining to human enhancement titled Better Humans? The politics of human enhancement and life extension. Book description:

We all share a desire for self-improvement. Whether through education, work, parenthood or adhering to religious or ethical codes, each of us seeks to become a ‘better human’ in a variety of ways. And for some people, more consumerist pursuits hold the key to self-improvement: working out in the gym, wearing makeup, buying new clothes, or indulging in a spot of cosmetic surgery.

But now a new set of possibilities is opening up. Advances in biotechnology, neuroscience, computing and nanotechnology mean that we are in the early stages of a period of huge technological potential. Within the next 30 years, it may become commonplace to alter the genetic make-up of our children, to insert artificial implants into our bodies, or to radically extend life expectancy.

This collection of essays by leading scientists and commentators explores the implications of human enhancement technologies and asks how citizens and policy-makers should respond.

The book contains articles written by a number of leading thinkers in bioethics and futures issues, including IEET Chair Nick Bostrom’s essay on exponential change and an essay about the work of IEET Fellow Aubrey de Grey. IEET Executive Director James Hughes’ book Citizen Cyborg comes in for some nice accolades from the editors:

“One of the most interesting books to emerge recently is Citizen Cyborg by James Hughes, executive director of the World Transhumanist Association. Hughes argues that enhancement must go hand in hand with a radically strengthened democracy: ‘We can embrace the transhuman technologies while proposing democratic ways to manage them and reduce their risks. . . .We need a democratic transhumanist movement fighting both for our right to control our bodies with technology, and for the democratic control, regulation and equitable distribution of those technologies.’ He even suggests that transhumanism will become the next progressive force, picking up the mantle of human liberation from the movements for gender and racial equality.”

You can download the complete book or the individual essays:

01 - Stronger, longer, smarter, faster - Paul Miller and James Wilsdon

02 - Is it wrong to try to improve human nature? - Arthur Caplan

03 - Welcome to a world of exponential change - Nick Bostrom

04 - The man who wants to live forever - Paul Miller and James Wilsdon

05 - The transhumanists as tribe - Greg Klerkx

06 - Brain gain - Steven Rose

07 - The cognition-enhanced classroom - Danielle Turner and Barbara Sahakian

08 - Better by design - Sarah Franklin

09 - More life - Jon Turney

10 - Nip/Tuck nation - Decca Aitkenhead

11 - The perfect crime - Rachel Hurst

12 - The unenhanced underclass - Gregor Wolbring

13 - Does smarter mean happier? - Raj Persaud