Could future technology allow for humans to transform into a

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Jitro
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29 Aug 2012, 6:36 pm

Could future technology allow for humans to transform into a different gender, race, or even species (e.g. a human becoming a gorilla)?



thomas81
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29 Aug 2012, 6:45 pm

Jitro wrote:
Could future technology allow for humans to transform into a different gender, race, or even species (e.g. a human becoming a gorilla)?


Different gender transfer already exists (to a degree) while race is a more slippery slope. I see that one as being analogous to the whole autism cure debate.

Becoming a different species however, I dont understand the argument for that.



Kurgan
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29 Aug 2012, 6:56 pm

Jitro wrote:
Could future technology allow for humans to transform into a different gender, race, or even species (e.g. a human becoming a gorilla)?


Gender reassignment surgery or Michael Jacksoning is purely cosmetic, but I guess it's theoretically possible to surgically alter a human's appearance so that he somewhat resembles a gorilla without actually being one.



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29 Aug 2012, 7:03 pm

I could see the possibilities of such technology ... if people had broader experience as difference genders and ethnicity, then maybe they'd come to see us all as humans instead of placing divisions between genders and ethnicities.

What if you could change gender or ethnicity after the age of 65, and that doing so rejuvenated you back to a physical age of 25?

What if then there were laws that made it mandatory that your rejuvenated body had to be of a different gender, ethnicity, or both?

Somewhere, there is a science-fiction novel about this very topic...



Hopper
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29 Aug 2012, 7:42 pm

No.



auntblabby
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30 Aug 2012, 2:36 am

Jitro wrote:
Could future technology allow for humans to transform into a different gender, race, or even species (e.g. a human becoming a gorilla)?

a human into a gorilla :?: :!: that is HORRIBLE :!: 8O and i could never quite figure out why anybody would wanna live forever :duh:



Arcanyn
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30 Aug 2012, 11:54 am

Yes, it should be possible. Once we get really good at organ printing, we'll eventually be able to print out entire new bodies; then it's just a matter of transferring the brain into the new one. There's no reason why you couldn't print out a body the exact same shape as of a gorilla, even if you have to make it out of human cells, it should be quite indistinguishable from an actual gorilla. Though if you were to use a body plan that deviates too greatly from the normal human one, it might be difficult for a human brain to properly control the new body.



Last edited by Arcanyn on 30 Aug 2012, 12:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

visagrunt
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30 Aug 2012, 11:57 am

Consider sex. (oh, please...) There are at least four ways to classify people by sex: karyotype, physiology, gender identity and social sex.

Now we can sugically alter some of the physiological aspects of sex--sex reassignment surgery is well known, but presents some limitations--particularly as the individual is sterile as a result. But that won't change a person's genotype, nor will it grow ovaries where there were no ovaries before.

On the other hand, can we conceive of genetic engineer so robust and so precise that we could replace a Y chromosome in over 1,000,000,000,000 cells with an X chromosome (or vice versa?) Maybe such technology could exist. But even if it did, it won't cause a person to grow ovaries where there were no ovaries before.


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Jitro
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09 Sep 2012, 7:34 pm

Well, you never know what might be possible. These things might be possible with genetic engineering. There are things we have to day that in the past were widely thought to be impossible.



Last edited by Jitro on 09 Sep 2012, 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

thewhitrbbit
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09 Sep 2012, 7:37 pm

One day I think it will be built, but I doubt any of us will be alive to see it.



Mike1
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09 Sep 2012, 7:47 pm

Changing race would probably be a lot easier to perfect than changing gender, and sex change operations are already being done. It's possible that we can already crossbreed humans with other species, but that type of experimentation is illegal in most places. Taking one species and changing it into a different species would be very difficult though.



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09 Sep 2012, 9:06 pm

visagrunt wrote:
Consider sex. (oh, please...) There are at least four ways to classify people by sex: karyotype, physiology, gender identity and social sex.

Now we can sugically alter some of the physiological aspects of sex--sex reassignment surgery is well known, but presents some limitations--particularly as the individual is sterile as a result. But that won't change a person's genotype, nor will it grow ovaries where there were no ovaries before.

On the other hand, can we conceive of genetic engineer so robust and so precise that we could replace a Y chromosome in over 1,000,000,000,000 cells with an X chromosome (or vice versa?) Maybe such technology could exist. But even if it did, it won't cause a person to grow ovaries where there were no ovaries before.


hte only workaround i could think of would be to grow a new body from scratch with the new "parameters"

i think there is another question one should ask oneself, why does it matter if people(as in intelligent sentient beings) are human?

would a true strong ai not be worthy of similar consideration(here is am of course talking about ideal AI)


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Vexcalibur
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09 Sep 2012, 9:23 pm

Jitro wrote:
Could future technology allow for humans to transform into a different gender, race, or even species (e.g. a human becoming a gorilla)?
Yes.

Well, except for the race one, as there is no biological definition of such thing. But if you mean skin color, then yeah. In fact, didn't Michael Jackson already do that? (Perhaps not intentionally, but still, quite possible isn't it? )


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