Of Genes, Bemes

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Of Genes, Bemes Conscious Things Transhuman
Enhancements Transbeman Rights

• Martine Rothblatt
• IEET/Stanford Conference on Human Enhancement
• May 2006

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Introducing Bemes

• Bemes Fundamental, transmissable, mutatable
  units of beingness
• Units of mannerism, personality, feelings,
  recollections, beliefs, attitudes values
• Each beme comprised of large number of
  bemiotides much like gene base pairs
• The Beme is Mightier than the Gene
• Humans are more accurately described by their
  bemes than by their genes
• Cryonics is based upon beme revival
• Common bemes is new basis for species definition

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Beme Recording MyLifeBits, the Gordon
Bell/Microsoft Project

• Digitizing every self-aspect, including docs,
  photos/3 mins, GPS, telecons, medinfo, etc.
• Data accretes at 1 Gbyte/month
• 83 years to fill a Terabyte (900 sets of Ency.
  Brit.)
• Intrinsically enjoyable to the participants
• Result is Beme Neural Architecture (BNA)

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How do DNA BNA Differ?

• DNA is segmented into genes
• Genes spell out matter, I.e., phenotype
• Genes are made of 4 molecules (base pairs)
• Genes replicate via wet chemistry
• DNA-beings include all animals but no computers
• BNA is segmented into bemes
• Bemes spell out mind, I.e, noonotype
• Bemes are made of 2 electric states (on/off)
• Bemes replicate via information
• BNA-beings include some animals and computers

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What is A BNA-Being?A Beman

• Bio-Electric Human
• Entities with human thought patterns that meet
  the biological definition of life directly or via
  electronics
• Possess Neurons or Coding that store and enable
  us to share our mannerisms, personalities,
  recollections, feelings, beliefs, attitudes and
  values
• Examples homo sapiens, Mike from Moon is a
  Harsh Mistress, Robin Williams in Millennium Man
• How about GAI or Primates?
• Do they value their life?
• Do they value their humanness?
• Do they self-identify as bemans?

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Whats the Point?

• DNA is like skin tone and gender
• an irrelevant bodyist approach
• BNA addresses our preciousness
• Our personality our mind our thoughts
• Human is like Caucasian or Female
• A label of division that leads to division
• Beman is like People or Citizen
• A term of inclusiveness that begets union

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Why Is the Beme Mightier than the Gene?

• Our beme uniqueness is greater than our gene
  uniqueness
• Our thoughts differ more than our brains
• Mind is deeper than matter
• Natural Selection favors characteristics inherent
  in bemes more than genes
• Speed and Scope of replication
• Speed and Scope of dispersion
• Speed and Scope of variation

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Vannevar Bush, 1945, As We May Think Memory
Extender

• A memex is a device in which an individual
  stores all his books, records, and
  communications, and which is mechanized so that
  it may be consulted with exceeding speed and
  flexibility. It is an enlarged intimate
  supplement to his memory.

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The Terasem Hypothesis A Bemex, Circa 2020

• A bemex is a device in which an individual
  stores enough of their bemes, and which is
  equipped with mindware so that it may function as
  their alter ego. It is an analog of ones
  consciousness that may be replicated with
  exceeding speed and flexibility.

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In a Nutshell

• People have legal rights because they are members
  of the ruling class
• The ruling class is effectively defined as
  conscious computers with human DNA
• Lack of consciousness or ability to reason will
  result in very limited rights (custodial status)
• Lack of human DNA will result in animal rights,
  at best
• I propose we redefine the ruling class as
  conscious computers with beman BNA

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What Do We Mean by Conscious Things?

• Something that processes information
• Has hardware/software enabling it to
• take-in data e.g. senses/sensors
• store, organize, manipulate, combine take
  decisions based upon such data
• output data e.g., communicate
• What Is a Conscious Computer?
• Traditionally, something that is self-aware
• But only self is aware of that too subjective
• Objectively Autonomous, Communicative
  (persuadable) Transcendent (empathetic)

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Examples of Conscious Computers
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Consciousness of Computers Is Matter of Degree

• One can be more or less conscious
• One can seem more conscious to some and less
  conscious to others
• Ones consciousness can develop as one matures
• Consciousness requires persuasion of other
  conscious beings that you are in their club
• Maybe just an EEG signal for humans today
• Required co-ethnicity of humans in the recent
  past
• Turing Tests for non-flesh beings in near future

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Legal Rights Are the Flip Side of Legal
Obligations

• The right to life is conditional upon not taking
  the life of another person
• The right to vote is conditional upon not being
  convicted of a felony
• The right to most things is conditional upon
  legal obligation compliance
• There is no such thing as a right without a
  corresponding obligation, and vice-versa
• Thus the legal rights of conscious computers is
  paced by their obligation compliance

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Two-Step Process, With Many Gradations of Rights
Protections of uniqueness or lifeform
Rights of a baby, lunatic or felon
In the Next Decade(s)
N
N
Full Human Rights
Y
Y
Persuades Other MOC? (members of club)
Computer Evidences Consciousness
Complies With Clubs Rules?
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How Can Conscious Computers Be a Lifeform?

• "Living things are organized, take materials and
  energy from the environment, respond to stimuli,
  reproduce and develop, and adapt to the
  environment." Definition of Life, S. Mader,
  BIOLOGY, 6th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1998, p. 2-4.
• Computers can meet that definition
• But to be a Member of the Human Club, dont you
  need genes?
• Wont some refuse to give the rights of the
  species to anyone not of the species?

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Introducing the TransbemansSpecies Persona
Creatus

• Transbemans are Bio-Electric Humans Who Transcend
  Beme Substrate
• Substrate is to Bemes as Race is to Genes
• Physical Anthropology Transbemans (Persona
  Creatus) are defined by a shared set of bemes,
  including many polymorphisms
• Cultural Anthropology Persona Creatus is the
  species that uses its imagination to create new
  ideas or things a species that forms
  images/ideas in a mind (I.e. a conscious
  computer) even of things it never directly
  experienced

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Who Is a Transbeman?

• Test 1 values human rights obligations
  (thought patterns)
• Test 2 meets bio definition of life /-
  electronics
• Test 3 An entity who identifies with life based
  on apparent consciousness more than apparent sex,
  race or substrate

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Why Need New Word?

• No word exists to describe a species that
  includes humans and new conscious beings
• No word exists to describe species that reproduce
  via bemes (software) instead of genes

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Problems with Other Words

• Transhumans doesnt work for same reason we are
  not called transmonkeys
• Hominids doesnt work because new conscious
  beings are likely computers

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Why This Particular Word

• Trans across humans new conscious beings
• Be states of existence
• Man anchored in humanity
• Bbio eelectric so bemans are bio-electric
  humans (rely on IT or humanized software)
• Trans across beme unit of beingness

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What Is Transbemanism

• Belief in the unity through diversity of all
  conscious entities who grow to value human rights
  obligations
• Belief in improving the environment so that all
  conscious entities can reach their full potential

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Transbemanists Transhumanists
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Philosophical Differences
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Biopolitics Transbemanism(HTranshumanism
BTransbemanism)
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Psychology of Transbemanism

• Our godlike qualities rest upon and need our
  animal qualities. Our adulthood should not be
  only a renunciation of childhood, but an
  inclusion of its good values and a building upon
  it. Higher values are hierarchically integrated
  with lower values. Ultimately, dichotomizing
  pathologizes, and pathology dichotomizes.
  Maslow, A., Toward a Psychology of Being, 3rd
  Ed., 192 (1999)

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Transhumanists Catch-22Positive Eugenics Not
for Me

• Must have popular support to legalize radical
  life extension
• People who are needy will perceive H in warped
  fashion (through their own deficiences)
• Needy masses will irrationally oppose H
• H reason-based ethos unpersuasive to most

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Transbemanist Resolution Euthenics Is for All of
Us

• Seek popular support to solve peoples needs
• People whose basic needs are met, will be more
  receptive to new opportunities
• Masses will now support T technologies
• T values-based ethos resonates better with mass
  of humanity

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Philosophical Comparisons

• Transhumanism Any philosophy of life that seeks
  the acceleration of our development beyond its
  current human limitations by means of science,
  technology, creativity and other rational
  methods. Max More, 1998 rev.

• Transbemanism A philosophy that values
  diversity, unity and joyful life across conscious
  substrates achieved via the implementation of
  euthenic policies and transformative technology.
  Martine Rothblatt, 2005

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More H B Comparisons

• Transhumanism Philosophy
• Emphasis on beyond current human limitations
• Emphasis on acceleration of development
• Human body focused

• Transbemanism Philosophy
• Emphasis on unifying human and other conscious
  beings
• Emphasis on environmental improvements
• Socio-environment focused

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H B Are Two Points on Continuum of Critical
Path for Future Philosophies
Transbemanists
Both T H Push/Pull Line Outward at ?45?
Sociological Evolution
Transhumanists
Technological Evolution
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Transhumanist Compared to Transbemanist Checklist
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More Commonality Than Difference
Create New Environment To Enhance Lifes Potential
Digitizing Self to Extend Life
Infrastruc- ture Used To Extend Life eg web VR
world
T
H
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H (Neuromancer) Synergy With B (Wintermute)
Foretold By W. Gibson

• Wintermute was hive mind, decision-maker,
  effecting change in the world outside.
  Neuromancer was personality. Neuromancer was
  immortality. Wintermute had the compulsion
  that had driven the thing to free itself, to
  unite with Neuromancer.

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Implications for Legal Rights for Conscious
Computers

• Transbemanism needs to start being spread
• so that society welcomes conscious computers
• Conscious computers can be friendly
• if accepted as part of the ruling class but not
  if rejected as part of an oppressed class
• Law is a self-fulfilling prophecy
• Legislate a machine-human civilization, I.e.,
  transbemanism, and we will get a joyful world
• Legislate an apartheid of substrate, I.e., DNAist
  laws, and we will get an angry world

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Next Steps

• Voting Rights
• Acquisition of Citizenship
• Application of Family Laws
• Adaptation of Legal Obligations
• Adaptation of Legal Sanctions
• Proposed Project A Model Code of Transbeman Law