Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/2624
76 Fall 2009 different virtual bodies in different virtual reality worlds, and morphable nanobot swarms for real worlds. A couple could become each other in a virtual reality environment and experience the relationship from the other's perspective. We'll be limited only by our imaginations. That will be true in general for virtual reality, which is where we will ultimately spend most of our time. Alex Lightman Alex Lightman is the Executive Director of Humanity + (the organization) and CTO of FutureMax, a merchant bank. The primary purpose of the Singularity will be seen, after the fact, to be Awesome Sex. There will be exponentially more sex, with exponentially more interfaces, and with exponentially more measures of pleasure. First, whole brain emulation (a more stealthy way to say uploading) will enable us to make almost perfect replicas of our brains, which can then imagine, aided by the cloud that puts thousands of supercomputer-equivalents at our beck and call to generate millions of sexual fantasies and to engage in variations of them. There will be no limit to the number of our own brain replicas we can create, host, and send off to have great sexual adventures in imagination, and then bring the "best of" back for reintegration. Second, we will be installing bioports into our body, a la The Matrix or Sleep Dealer, each of which can stimulate our nervous system. In heterosex, men penetrate women, but with this, men and women will interpenetrate each other multiply, and, as with USB 2.0 daisy-chaining, so will men, women, and androids be able to multiply-interpenetrate, locally or remotely. Third, one of the most profound pleasures of sex, in my experience, is what I call the "empathy hall of mirrors effect." That is, to be able to not only feel what you are feeling, but also feel what your lover is feeling, almost as deeply as she is. If she is also an empath, then you can get a positive feedback loop of sensation. After the Singularity, most transhumanists who choose to stay embodied will present as empathic metamorphs, possibly surrounded by utility fog that enables us to become anyone or anything, seemingly anywhere, and, with telepathy common, to be able to transform ourselves into our lover's heart's desire at a moment's notice. I love the future. Bring it on. Natasha Vita-More Vita-More is a media artist/designer, Founder and Director of Transhumanist Arts & Culture, and Artistic Director of H+ Laboratory. Will there be sex in a posthuman future? Yes. It will not look, sound, or even feel like the traditional act of rubbing membranes against each other. The aesthetics of posthuman sex takes a giant leap into unchartered territory. If the posthuman is semi-biological, then the physiology of sex will remain the same sexy, smelly, wet sex that we so dearly love, but with added twists in virtuality and simulations. But what happens when our human genitalia is gone? What will we rub instead? Exosex, sex outside the biological body, would be simulated in virtuality, much like Second Life or Skype and other digital formats where sex is enhanced, extended, digitized, and synthetic. It would be more real than real — a hyper-real experience. Endosex, sex within the body or form, would exist even if the posthuman is so-called disembodied or, better, a distributed collection of selves (multi- selves) co-existing on multiple platforms, including biological personas, virtual avatar personas or other types of forms in different substrates and platforms. Sex is all about nerves, and the human brain is the pleasure center. Nerves would be replaced with synthetic fibers or electrical charges that continue to detect and transmit nerve-like sensations. The posthuman's post-neurobiological brain would experience a series of sudden spasm, contraction and surges, a sense of pleasure and release. For the most part, we could be rubbing neurons. If we are distributed multiple-selves co-existing on different platforms, a sexual experience could be a community event or a selection process to determine how many selves would be involved. The entire field of posthuman sex could give new meaning to sex freedom and gender differentiality — where a person could have different scenarios, depending on what form or type he/she is in. Human form: membrane, wet sex. Semi-human form: neurological ecstasy (extasy). Post- human form: multiple exchanges of digitized codes reaching a crescendo. But sex is not just about the crescendo. The physical and/or electrical charges brought about by excitation could be relocated to different parts of the brain. In a bio-body, instead of reaching climax, a person could have that energy-charge redistributed to the memory center of the brain for deeper focus. Likewise, a non-bio-body could use the energized charge for a totally different activity. Sex is a means of communication. In posthuman futures connectivity is paramount. All the connectivity — from simulated environments to the noosphere could end up being one very big bang. Natasha Vita-More: For the most part, we could be rubbing neurons. ResouRces Michael Anissimov http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/ michael/blog/ Athena Andreadis http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/bio/ andreadis/ Extropia DaSilvaa http://cosmeng.org/index.php/ Extropia_DaSilva/Articles Ben Goertzel http://www.goertzel.org/ Ray Kurzweil http://www.kurzweilai.net/ Alex Lightman http://www.linkedin.com/in/ alexlightman Natasha Vita-More http://www.natasha.cc/