More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement [Hardcover]

Naam describes recent scientific advances with the rigor of an academic researcher, but in terms that you don't need a PhD to understand. He also does an insightful job of relating recent breakthroughs to historic scientific firsts. For example, he makes a credible case that someday choosing the genes of your children will be just as common and non-creepy as in-vitro fertilization is today. He covers a wide range of topics, describing science that could lead to 150 year lifespans or being able to google things just by thinking about them. I was hoping for a bit more about nanotechnology, but maybe it's still a bit early for that. ;)

He explains how these technologies can be helpful to society if embraced. The more compelling argument is how frightening they could be if restricted. He draws astute connections to the rise of already common technologies like reading or antibiotics. Even if you don't agree with everything he believes, his position is well argued, and insightful.

Most importantly, from a crowd screaming in panic about a changing world, Naam's perspective stands out as calm, optimistic, logical and caring.

The basic thesis of Ramez Naam's book is that with our ability to shape (especially to enhance) our biological nature through the tools of our culture--in particular, genetic engineering--we will transform humanity into "a plethora of forms," which will eventually result in thousands if not millions of new species. Naam contends that we will spawn "a new explosion of life as sudden and momentous as that of the Cambrian explosion" some 570 million years ago. (p. 233)

That's the upside. What is also possible (although Naam does not dwell on this) is that with biological enhancement tools that are presently coming into discovery and use, we may transform ourselves into beings who will have satisfied their every desire, and with that satiation, have put an end to desire. The result may very well be the end of human evolution, biological or cultural. And following that, the end of the species that began as a big-brained walking ape six million years ago.

Or none of the above.

This is the exciting part. We have no idea where cultural evolution is going to take us. We have no idea whether we will develop the ability to stave off natural disasters (rogue comets; nearby supernovae; unstoppable pathogens) or overcome our propensity to self-destruction in the form of perpetual war or the poisoning of our environment. Yet, modern Luddites and social conservatives notwithstanding, we will indeed use the tools we develop to initially prevent and cure ailments and deficiencies, and ultimately to enhance our abilities to enjoy and to get the most out of life.

This is what this book is all about. Naam begins with the fuzzy distinction between using genetic engineering to heal or to enhance, and makes two telling points: (1) it is often impossible to distinguish between a procedure done as part of the healing arts, or one done to enhance our abilities; and (2) whether we like it or not, given human nature (as it now exists!) if the enhancement tools are there, promising greater intelligence or greater beauty or longer life, then we humans will inevitably use such tools. If the Bush administration or some other Luddite-mentality government tries to suppress these tools, people will just go elsewhere. And those societies that fall behind will fall very far behind. The genetically enhanced will inherit the earth, and indeed it isn't much of a stretch to imagine a future in which those who have enhanced themselves are so far in advance of those who have not as to constitute superior beings. Will the Luddites become pets?

More immediately--keeping these ideas in mind--will it only be the rich who will benefit? Naam argues--and I think convincingly--that yes, at first only the rich will use the tools to better themselves and their children, but then lagging only ten or twenty years behind will come the total mass of humanity. Naam compares this process to that in the present day pharmaceutical environment in which initially the new drugs are very expensive, but after they go generic they become affordable to the masses.

There is so much in the book that I will not be able to get to even a fraction of it. So let me say that Naam has anticipated a lot of the criticism that will be leveled at his position and he has done a good job of answering it. The idea that we can somehow stop genetic engineering to save our human nature is shown as bogus since human nature is an ever evolving, ever changing abstraction. Even the concrete species itself (which is us) has changed mightily over the eons from Australopithecus to homo sapiens. And whether we lift a finger or not, we will eventually change again or go extinct. That is the main point. We cannot stop change. We cannot hope to preserve the present human "endowment." We can only hope to engage change, and with our intelligence make life better for ourselves and those to come, people who will be different from us, and going far enough into the future, very different from us.

For the here and now, Naam sees biotech and neurotech enhancements as "investments in valuable human capital." (p. 76) I believe this is the primary reason the United States must overcome the backward mentality of the Bush administration and support not only more stem cell research, but encourage a greater investment in all forms of biological engineering. If we don't we will fall behind those who do.

For others who see the ghost of eugenics in his position, Naam has an effective answer. He writes, "the only people advocating state control over the genetic makeup of the population are those who would like to see genetic enhancement techniques prohibited. The advocates of human enhancement, on the other hand, are arguing for individual and family choice, the opposite of state control." In other words, "...the prohibitionists are the ones upholding the eugenic side of this debate." (p. 166)

Naam gets very specific about the enhancements possible or at least conceivable, including brain-computer interfaces, brain implants, human cloning, electrical stimulation of the brain, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (which takes in vitro fertilization one step further), etc. Near the end of the book, he sees us communicating not only ideas and words, but thoughts, feelings and emotions to others directly from our brains as one would communicate through a wireless network. Eventually we will have "the flexibility to do what we like with the contents of our thoughts, feelings, and imaginations..."

Since all of this may sound scary (yet exhilarating), Naam adds, "and society will respond with new social norms to guide our choices." (p. 219)

Oh, brave new world that has such things in it!

The book is fascinating. Naam has not only done his homework, he has thought out the consequences of what he has found and provided the reader with some guidance.

In More Than Human, Naam's writing is a compelling look at our probable future. Through genetic techniques, drugs, computer and robotic technology, we will have many avenues to enhance our minds and bodies.

Naam presents a wonderful and engaging survey of current, cutting-edge scientific research across various fields including medicine, genetics, biology, robotics, and computers. The central theme, of course, is that all of these endeavors involve improving the human body and/or mind.

Unfortunately, many oppose the idea of enhancing our minds and bettering our bodies. They argue that such desires are "unnatural" and go against what it means to be human. They further believe that decisions on the future technologies of bio-enhancement should be made by a select few. Naam convincingly argues that the desire to improve and enhance ourselves is in fact a central trait that defines our humanity. Indeed, nothing could be more "natural" than the interest in improving ones abilities, including the ability to have better, longer, and healthier lives. Naam also demonstrates how the governance of these issues by an elite cadre of political appointees is ultimately more harmful than allowing the billions of inviduals who will make use of these bio-enhancements to choose for themselves.

In sum, Naam writes clearly and with infectious excitement about topics that could easily be confused as science fiction. The great wonder however, as Naam is able to show us, is that these topics are very much science fact. We can not avoid what bio-enhancement will do to us as individuals and to our society. We should allow our enthusiasm and optimism to fully accept the inevitable changes that are coming, so that with full understanding we can properly integrate them into our lives.

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