Michael Anissimov, IEET contributor and WTA Board member, become a prominent transhumanist writer and thinker fifteen years ago or so when he was a pre-teen, and now in his twenties is beginning to come to some conclusions about risk and regulation that a lot of techno-utopians need to hear. In a recent article ”The Religion of Science” he writes:
Among scientists and the scientifically literate public, there is a strong movement that says: “if science can be done, it should be done”. That is, all possible avenues of research should be pursued because the benefits always outweigh the risks, and anyone who disagrees is being anti-science. This stance might be called the flip-side of anarcho-primitivism. I call it the Religion of Science.
A hearty huzzah! from those of us who have been decrying technolibertarianism and urging an embrace of responsible regulatory approaches to emerging technologies.
Michael concludes:
Full article hereWhen I see people calling me a “Luddite” for worrying about future technological developments, I think one of two things. Either they greatly underestimate the transformative power of the technology they themselves advocate, or they recklessly support scientific research without considering all the consequences…
Without universally followed regulations and guidelines, things could get way out of control. I am not an authoritarian, but when you give humans a power that basically amounts to magic, ground rules have to be set and followed. Some avenues of research may even need to be abandoned.