To Be a Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of De

Resumen del libro

An eye-opening journey into a world of tech visionaries, billionaires, and eccentrics dedicated to nothing less than the salvation of mankind Transhumanism is a movement pushing the limits of our biology'of our senses, intelligence, and lifespans. It has been quietly exerting its influence on technology for decades, but in the last few years it has achieved critical mass, finding support among some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley and beyond. In To Be a Machine, journalist Mark O'Connell explores the staggering (and terrifying) possibilities that present themselves when you of think of your body as an outmoded device. He visits the world's foremost cryonics facility to witness how some have chosen to forestall death. He discovers an underground collective of biohackers, enhancing their senses by implanting electronics under their skin. He meets with members of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, a team urgently investigating how to protect mankind from falling victim to artificial superintelligence. Through this journey, O'Connell presents a singular, entertaining look at a growing movement, and an exploration of the ancient yearning to transcend our animal condition'a desire as primal as the oldest religions, as elemental as the ancient myths. In investigating what it means to be a machine, he offers a surprising meditation on what it means to be human.

Biografía del autor

Escritor. Es columnista sobre libros para Slate. También escribe en The Millions y es colaborador habitual del blog "Page-Turner" de The New Yorker. Tiene un doctorado en literatura inglesa del Trinity College de Dublín, y en 2013 su monografía académica sobre el trabajo del novelista John Banville fue publicada por Palgrave Macmillan. Fue becario postdoctoral del Irish Research Council desde 2011 hasta 2012 en el Trinity College, donde enseñó literatura contemporánea.