Artificial Intelligence for Personalized Perioperative Medicine.

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) is disruptive and unstoppable, also in medicine. Because of the enormous quantity of data recorded during continuous monitoring and the peculiarity of our specialty where stratification and mitigation risk are some of the core aspects, anesthesiology and postoperative intensive care are fertile fields where new technologies find ample room for expansion. Recently, research efforts have focused on the development of a holistic technology that globally embraces the entire perioperative period rather than a fragmented approach where AI is developed to carry out specific tasks. This could potentially revolutionize the perioperative medicine we know today. In fact, AI will be able to expand clinician's ability to interpret, adapt, and ultimately act in a complex reality with facets that are too complex to be managed all at the same time and in a holistic manner. With the support of new tools, as healthcare professionals we have the moral obligation to govern this transition, allowing an ethical and sustainable development of these technologies and avoiding being overwhelmed by them. We should welcome this transhumanist tension which does not aim at the replacement of human capabilities or even at the integration of these but rather at the expansion of a "single intelligence".

No evidence that belief in conspiracy theories is negatively related to attitudes toward transhumanism.

Transhumanism is a movement that emphasizes the improvement of the human condition by developing technologies and making them widely available. Conspiracy theories regularly refer to the allegedly transhumanist agenda of elites. We hypothesized that belief in conspiracy theories would be related to more unfavorable attitudes toward the transhumanist movement. We examined this association through two pre-registered studies (based on two French samples, total N after exclusion = 550). We found no evidence of a negative relationship between belief in conspiracy theories and attitudes toward transhumanism. This null result was further corroborated by Bayesian analysis, an equivalence test, and an internal mini meta-analysis. This work plays a precursory role in understanding attitudes toward an international cultural and intellectual movement that continues to grow in popularity and influence.

Notes on [post]human nursing: What It MIGHT Be, What it is Not.

With this paper, we walk out some central ideas about posthumanisms and the ways in which nursing is already deeply entangled with them. At the same time, we point to ways in which nursing might benefit from further entanglement with other ideas emerging from posthumanisms. We first offer up a brief history of posthumanisms, following multiple roots to several points of formation. We then turn to key flavors of posthuman thought to differentiate between them and clarify our collective understanding and use of the terms. This includes considerations of the threads of transhumanism, critical posthumanism, feminist new materialism, and the speculative, affirmative ethics that arise from critical posthumanism and feminist new materialism. These ideas are fruitful for nursing, and already in action in many cases, which is the matter we occupy ourselves with in the final third of the paper. We consider the ways nursing is already posthuman-sometimes even critically so-and the speculative worldbuilding of nursing as praxis. We conclude with visions for a critical posthumanist nursing that attends to humans and other/more/nonhumans, situated and material and embodied and connected, in relation.

A world of difference: The fundamental opposition between transhumanist "welfarism" and disability advocacy.

From the standpoint of disability advocacy, further exploration of the concept of well-being stands to be availing. The notion that "welfarism" about disability, which Julian Savulescu and Guy Kahane debuted, qualifies as helpful is encouraged by their claim that welfarism shares important commitments with that advocacy. As becomes clear when they apply their welfarist frame to procreative decisions, endorsing welfarism would, in fact, sharply undermine it. Savulescu and Kahane's Principle of Procreative Beneficence-which reflects transhumanism, or advocacy of radical bioenhancement-morally requires parents to choose the child who will, in all probability, have "the best life." Assuming the emergence of potent biotechnologies, procreative decision-making would be highly standardized, for prospective parents would be morally obliged to maximize select capacities, including intelligence, self-control, and hedonic set-point, in their children. Welfarism, applied to reproduction, is staunchly objectivist about what course is incumbent on decision-makers, giving no credence to first-personal values, aspirations, and experiences. Though this dismissal of individual perspectives applies to everyone, its implications for disability advocacy are especially severe. With that advocacy in view, greater attention to "well-being" should, therefore, be severed from the welfarism of Savulescu and Kahane.

Innovative perspectives in limbic surgery using deep brain stimulation.

Limbic surgery is one of the most attractive and retaken fields of functional neurosurgery in the last two decades. Psychiatric surgery emerged from the incipient work of Moniz and Lima lesioning the prefrontal cortex in agitated patients. Since the onset of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery with Spiegel and Wycis, the treatment of mental diseases gave attention to refractory illnesses mainly with the use of thalamotomies. Neurosis and some psychotic symptoms were treated by them. Several indications when lesioning the brain were included: obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and aggressiveness among others with a diversity of targets. The indiscriminately use of anatomical sites without enough scientific evidence, and uncertainly defined criteria for selecting patients merged with a deficiency in ethical aspects, brought a lack of procedures for a long time: only select clinics allowed this surgery around the world from 1950 to the 1990s. In 1999, Nuttin et al. began a new chapter in limbic surgery with the use of Deep Brain Stimulation, based on the experience of pain, Parkinson's disease, and epilepsy. The efforts were focused on different targets to treat depression and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Nevertheless, other diseases were added to use neuromodulation. The goal of this article is to show the new opportunities to treat neuropsychiatric diseases.

'More evolved than you': Evolutionary spirituality as a cultural frame for psychedelic experiences.

One of the dominant cultural frames for psychedelics in western culture over last 130 years has been evolutionary spirituality. This tradition suggests human evolution is not finished and can be guided towards the creation of higher beings through such techniques as psychedelics and eugenics or genetic modification. But is everyone evolving into a new species, or just an elite? This essay defines the tradition of evolutionary spirituality and points to five of the ethical limitations of the tradition - its tendency to spiritual narcissism, contempt for the less-evolved masses, Social Darwinism and Malthusianism, spiritual eugenics, and illiberal utopian politics-before suggesting responses to these limitations.

Weak transhumanism: moderate enhancement as a non-radical path to radical enhancement.

Transhumanism aims to bring about radical human enhancement. In 'Truly Human Enhancement' Agar (2014) provides a strong argument against producing radically enhancing effects in agents. This leaves the transhumanist in a quandary-how to achieve radical enhancement whilst avoiding the problem of radically enhancing effects? This paper aims to show that transhumanism can overcome the worries of radically enhancing effects by instead pursuing radical human enhancement via incremental moderate human enhancements (Weak Transhumanism). In this sense, weak transhumanism is much like traditional transhumanism in its aims, but starkly different in its execution. This version of transhumanism is weaker given the limitations brought about by having to avoid radically enhancing effects. I consider numerous objections to weak transhumanism and conclude that the account survives each one. This paper's proposal of 'weak transhumanism' has the upshot of providing a way out of the 'problem of radically enhancing effects' for the transhumanist, but this comes at a cost-the restrictive process involved in applying multiple moderate enhancements in order to achieve radical enhancement will most likely be dissatisfying for the transhumanist, however, it is, I contend, the best option available.

Transhumanism: Integrating Cochlear Implants With Artificial Intelligence and the Brain-Machine Interface.

The integration of cochlear implants (CI) with brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) and artificial intelligence (AI) within the framework of transhumanism is revolutionary and this editorial highlights how this synergy can transcend human sensory experiences and auditory rehabilitation. The potential of this amalgamation extends beyond restoring auditory function to enhancing human capabilities, marking a transformative step towards a future where technology harmoniously extends human faculties.

Un antídoto ante los riesgos del auge de las ideologías transhumanistas y poshumanistas: la poesía de los cuidados / Um antídoto para os perigos da ascensão das ideologias transumanistas e pós-humanistas: a poesia dos cuidados / An antidote to the risks of the rise of transhumanist and posthumanist ideologies: the poetry of care

The purpose of this editorial is to reflect on the controversies generated by the new transhumanist and post-humanist ideologies regarding the humanisation of care. It also offers a remedy to the consequences of these depersonalising ideologies: the poetry of care. (AU)

El propósito de esta editorial es reflexionar sobre las controversias generadas por las nuevas ideologías transhumanistas y poshumanistas respecto a la humanización de los cuidados. Asimismo, se aporta un remedio ante las consecuencias de estas ideologías despersonalizadoras: la poesía de los cuidados. (AU)

O objectivo deste editorial é reflectir sobre as controvérsias geradas pelas novas ideologias transumanistas e pós-humanistas relativamente à humanização dos cuidados de saúde. Oferece também um remédio para as consequências destas ideologias despersonalizantes: a poesia dos cuidados de saúde. (AU)

Élie Metchnikoff, ¿el primer transhumanista moderno? / Élie metchnikoff, the first modern transhumanist?

Élie Metchnikoff, ganador del Premio Nobel de medicina en 1908 y sucesor de Pasteur, fue sin duda un hombre intelectualmente muy fértil. Sus investigaciones pioneras en una gran variedad de áreas científicas, como la gerontología, la tanatología y la inmunología modernas, constatan lo anterior. Pero ¿es posible considerarlo, además, como el primer transhumanista moderno? El objetivo de este artículo es estudiar la pertinencia de atribuirle tal título. Para ello analizaremos su vida y obra desde un punto de vista transhumanista. En un primer momento examinaremos cómo Metchnikoff concebía la naturaleza de nuestra especie; posteriormente, esbozaremos el modo en que podría presentarse su proyecto de mejoramiento humano; y, por último, expondremos su interesante concepción de la mortalidad humana. Existen dos alicientes para esta investigación: rescatar para los lectores hispanohablantes el pensamiento de Metchnikoff bajo esta novedosa perspectiva, y la necesidad de observar críticamente cualquier propuesta que aspire a superar los límites de la humanidad.(AU)

Élie Metchnikoff, winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1908 and Pasteur’s successor, was undoubtedly a very intellectually fertile man. His pioneering research in a wide variety of scientific areas, such as modern gerontology, thanatology, and immunology, confirms this. But is it also possible to consider him as the first modern transhumanist? The objective of this article is to study the appropriateness of attributing him such a title. To do so, we will analyze his life and work from a transhumanist point of view. We will first examine how Metchnikoff conceived the nature of our species; then we will outline how his project of human improvement might be presented; and finally, we will expose his interesting conception of human mortality. There are two incentives for this research: to rescue Metchnikoff’s thought under this novel perspective for Spanish-speaking readers, and the need to critically observe any proposal that aspires to overcome the limits of humanity.(AU)

On the (Non-)Rationality of Human Enhancement and Transhumanism.

The human enhancement debate has over the last few decades been concerned with ethical issues in methods for improving the physical, cognitive, or emotive states of individual people, and of the human species as a whole. Arguments in favour of enhancement defend it as a paradigm of rationality, presenting it as a clear-eyed, logical defence of what we stand to gain from transcending the typical limits of our species. If these arguments are correct, it appears that adults should in principle be able to make rational and informed decisions about enhancing themselves. In this paper, however, we suggest that a rational and informed choice to enhance oneself may in some cases be impossible. Drawing on L. A. Paul's work on 'transformative experience', we argue that some enhancements-such as certain moral or cognitive modifications-may give rise to unbridgeable epistemic gaps in key domains. Importantly, such gaps could prove to be not merely contingently unbridgeable due to a lack of information at a given moment, but radically unbridgeable, making someone in a non-enhanced state inherently unable to conceive of what it would be like to be enhanced in a particular way. Where this experience is key to understanding what values are being pursued by the enhancement itself, it may prove impossible for a person to be sufficiently informed, and to make a rational decision about whether or not to enhance herself. This poses a challenge for human enhancement proponents in general, and for transhumanists in particular.

El posthumanismo reproductivo a la vuelta de la esquina (explotación reproductiva 3.0) / El posthumanisme reproductiu a la cantonada (explotació reproductiva 3.0) / Reproductive posthumanism around the corner (reproductive exploitation 3.0)

Las corrientes intelectuales e ideológicas posthumanistasabogan por la superación de diferentes límites biológicos de la especie humana. La ruptura incluye los asuntos reproductivos, como estrategias para la supervivencia y como cuidado de una dignidad posthumana. En este trabajo, quiero esbozar cuestiones del trans y posthumanismo reproductivo interesado en la gestación subrogada (GS) en sus diferentes modalidades. La GS es relevante para reconducir la reproducción siguiendo criterios promotores de la elección individual. Comienzo subrayando la herencia liberalen el movimiento por la mejora humana y la elección procreativa. Después, sugiero que el posthumanismo reproductivo se apoya en los estudios de género y en la permisividad del comercio sexual para redefinir la GS como probable reproducción posthumana. Así, los objetivos del posthumanismo reproductivo ambicionan una agenda distinta a la feminista. Las perspectivas posthumanas y feministas proponen horizontes de justicia reproductiva que deberán criticarse en contexto antes de que los estados-nación procedancon reformas.(AU)

Els corrents intel·lectuals i ideològics posthumanistes advoquen per la superació de diferents límits biològics de l'espècie humana. La ruptura inclou els assumptes reproductius, com a estratègies per a la supervivència i com a cura d'una dignitat posthumana. En aquest treball, vull esbossar qüestions del trans i posthumanisme reproductiu interessat en la gestació subrogada (GS) en les diferents modalitats. La GS és rellevant per reconduir la reproducció seguint criteris promotors de lelecció individual. Començo subratllant l'herència liberal en el moviment per la millora humana i l'elecció procreativa. Després, suggereixo que el posthumanisme reproductiu es recolza en els estudis de gènere i en la permissivitat del comerç sexual per redefinir la GS com a probable reproducció posthumana. Així, els objectius del posthumanisme reproductiu ambicionen una agenda diferent de la feminista. Les perspectives posthumanes i feministes proposen horitzons de justícia reproductiva que s'hauran de criticar en context abans que els estats nació procedeixin amb reformes.(AU)

Posthumanist intellectual and ideological currents advocate the overcoming of several biological limits of humankind. The rupture includes reproductive issues to care for posthuman dignity. In this work, I want to outline questions of trans and reproductive posthumanism interested in surrogacy in its different modalities. Gestational surrogacy is relevant to redirect reproduction following criteria that enhance individual choice. I begin by underliningthe liberal heritage in the social movement for human enhancement and procreative choice. Next, I suggest that surrogacy could be considered as likely posthuman reproduction by drawing on gender studies and the permissiveness of commercial sex. Thus, the reproductive posthumanist goals envision an agenda different from the feminist one. Posthuman and feminist perspectives propose horizons of reproductive justice that will need to be critiqued in context before nation-states proceed with reforms.(AU)

Acid liberalism: Silicon Valley's enlightened technocrats, and the legalization of psychedelics.

The history of psychedelia within the New Left counterculture often implies a cultural alignment between psychedelics and progressive values or the promise of radical communitarian social reform. In contrast to these potentials, this paper examines Silicon Valley's engagement with psychedelics, a community which has demonstrated considerable financial and personal interests in these drugs despite promoting and advancing consistently neoliberal ends. This article studies Silicon Valley's culture of psychedelic drug use through extensive analysis of published interviews by tech industrialists, news reports, and recent studies on the tech industry's proliferation of mystical and utopian rhetoric. This work finds that psychedelics and their associated practices are given unconventional mystical meanings by some high-profile tech entrepreneurs, and that these meanings are integrated into belief systems and philosophies which are explicitly anti-democratic, individualist, and essentialist. It is argued that these mystical ideas are supported by a venture capital community which profits from the expression of disruptive utopian beliefs. These beliefs, when held by the extremely wealthy, have effects on legalization policy and the ways which psychedelics are commercialized within a legal marketplace. As Silicon Valley has put considerable resources into funding research and advocacy for psychedelics, I argue that the legalization of psychedelics will likely be operationalized to generate a near-monopoly on the market and promote further inequality in the United States that is reflective of both neoliberalism, and the essentialist beliefs of Silicon Valley functionaries.

Genetic enhancement, human extinction, and the best interests of posthumanity.

The cumulative impact of enhancement technologies may alter the human species in the very long-term future. In this article, I will start showing how radical genetic enhancements may accelerate the conversion into a novel species. I will also clarify the concepts of 'biological species', 'transhuman' and 'posthuman'. Then, I will summarize some ethical arguments for creating a transhuman or posthuman species with a substantially higher level of well-being than the human one. In particular, I will present what I shall call the Principle of the Best Interests of Posthumanity, which states that the enhancement of the human and transhuman species must be directed towards the creation of a posthuman existence that is substantially more valuable than its predecessors. I suggest that human extinction may be considered, within that principle, as one of the best interests of posthumanity. Finally, I will develop three objections that make that principle unattractive and that show that pursuing a full-blown programme of posthuman evolution is ethically flawed.

Neuroética en fotogramas / Neuroethics in frames

El auge de la neurociencia y la neurotecnología parece imparable. Cada vez sus posibilidades terapéuticas y el sueño de la neuromejora se hacen más evidentes. En este ensayo hacemos un recorrido descriptivo de una disciplina híbrida relativamente nueva, como es la neuroética, disciplina capaz de servir como marco deontológico de las profesiones «neuro», capaz también de investigar aspectos de la condición humana tradicionalmente reservados a otras áreas de conocimiento. Además, teniendo en cuenta que este «neuroesencialismo» también ha impregnado al séptimo arte, utilizamos el cine de ciencia-ficción como herramienta divulgadora de algunos de los hitos más destacados en la agenda investigadora de la neurociencia de la ética, como es el origen neurobiológico del libre albedrío y de la responsabilidad moral. (AU)

The rise of neuroscience and neurotechnology seems unstoppable. Each time its therapeutic possibilities and the desire of neuroenhancement become more evident. In this essay we make a descriptive tour of a relatively new hybrid discipline, such as neuroethics, a discipline capable of serving as a deontological framework of the «neuro» professions, also capable of investigating aspects of the human condition traditionally reserved for other areas of knowledge. In addition, taking into account that this «neuro-essentialism» has also reached the film industry, we use science-fiction movies to explain the most important milestones in the neuroscience of ethics, such as the neurobiological origin of free will and moral responsibility. (AU)

Moral enhancement, acquired virtue, and theism: A response to Brummett and Crutchfield.

Recently, Brummett and Crutchfield advanced two critiques of theists who object to moral enhancement. First, a conceptual critique: theists who oppose moral enhancement commonly do so because virtue is thought to be acquired only via a special kind of process. Enhancement does not involve such processes. Hence, enhancement cannot produce virtue. Yet theists also commonly claim that God is perfectly virtuous and not subject to processes. If virtue requires a process and God is perfectly virtuous without a process, however, then theists contradict themselves. Second, a moral critique: theists who reject moral enhancement are selfish, because accepting moral enhancement would (allegedly) reduce widespread suffering. Theists often condemn selfishness, however. By condemning selfishness and (simultaneously) rejecting enhancement, therefore, theists contradict themselves yet again. We argue that both critiques fail. Both substantially misrepresent their target. First, Brummett and Crutchfield confuse metaphysical enhancement (attempts to alter human nature) with moral enhancement (attempts to become better human beings). Authors that Brummett and Crutchfield cite object to the former, not the latter. Second, both conceptual and moral critiques overlook the many resources within theistic traditions that can quickly resolve relevant (alleged) contradictions. The conceptual critique, for example, misrepresents both common views held among theists (regarding God's virtue) and the ways in which virtue may be acquired. Similarly, the moral critique mischaracterizes the relationship commonly posited by theists between enhancement and agency. By attending to what theists actually claim-rather than relying on caricatures-it becomes clear that each of Brummett and Crutchfield's critiques fail.

(Re)-Emerging Challenges in Christian Bioethics: Leading Voices in Christian Bioethics.

This is the third installment in a Christian Bioethics series that gathers leading voices in Christian bioethics to examine the themes and issues they find most pressing. The papers address fundamental theoretical questions about the nature of Christian bioethics itself, long-standing ethical issues that remain significant today, including physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, the definition of death, the allocation of scarce resources, and finally, more futuristic questions regarding transhumanism. The contributions underscore the enduring significance of Christian engagement in bioethics.

Medicina de precisión y transhumanismo: una mirada desde la Bioética

Propósito/Contexto. Mostrar la concatenación de la digitalización médica con fines terapéuticos perfeccionados por la medicina de precisión, la cual arrastra consigo a la medicina desiderativa del realce para incrementar y sobrepasar el funcionamiento y la morfología del cuerpo humano considerado normal. Las técnicas de realce culminan con la pretensión de crear entes transhumanos. Metodología/Enfoque. Selección de publicaciones bioéticas que reflexionan sobre las investigaciones y detallan posibles aplicaciones prácticas de la medicina de precisión, así como textos que promulgan proyectos de transhumanismo, extremos que engloban las múltiples aristas de la medicina desiderativa en la cual todo objetivo o fin sirve de medio para una próxima meta. Resultados/Hallazgos. Tanto la medicina de precisión como el transhumanismo han despertado expectativas públicas de terapias más eficaces y de posibilidades de realce funcional tanto cognitivo como moral, investigaciones que han logrado capturar importantes recursos financieros dispuestos por empresas que anticipan una mercantilización lucrativa de estos proyectos. Discusión/Conclusiones/Contribuciones. Dadas las incertidumbres, las expectativas desmesuradas y los intereses económicos que se juegan en las diversas formas de digitalización biomédica, la Bioética no ha podido generar un debate sólido en la materia, por lo que ha de centrarse en alertar sobre dos consecuencias inevitables: la desigualdad de acceso, los efectos negativos de la expansión biotecnológica sobre el equilibrio adaptativo entre lo humano, los seres vivos no humanos y el medioambiente común. Es urgente llamar la atención sobre los ingentes recursos de la biotecnociencia sofisticada, en desmedro del apoyo al estudio de problemas sociales y éticos por ella exacerbados.

Purpose/Background. To present the concatenation of medical digitalization that unravels from the goal of therapeutic improvement through precision medicine and moves on to enhancement medicine beyond the normal function and form of the human body in order to reach the final purpose of creating transhuman beings. Methodology/Approach. To select papers that discuss research and eventual practical applications of precision medicine and encourage the possible development of transhumanism through the progression of biomedical enhancement procedures. Results/Findings. Both precision medicine and transhumanism have nourished public expectations for more effective therapies, and the possibilities of functional enhancement in the areas of cognition and ethics. Research has poured huge resources in anticipation of products allowing for lucrative marketing. Discussion/Conclusions/Contributions. Given the incertitude, excessive expectations and vested interests that play a large part in biomedical digitalization, bioethics has been unable to generate a robust debate on these matters. Some inevitable consequences need to be addressed: Unequal access and the negative effects of biotechnological expansion, have a destabilizing impact on adaptation between humans, nonhuman living beings and global environment. It is urgent to call attention about the huge amounts of resources poured into sophisticated biomedical research to the detriment of the ensuing social and ethical problems.

Finalidade/Contexto. Mostrar a concatenação da digitalização médica com fins terapêuticos aperfeiçoados pela medicina de precisão, o que traz consigo a medicina desiderativa de aperfeiçoamento para aumentar e superar o funcionamento e morfologia do corpo humano considerado normal. As técnicas de aperfeiçoamento culminam com a reivindicação da criação de entidades transhumanas. Metodologia/Aproximação. Publicações bioéticas seleccionadas que reflectem sobre a investigação e detalham possíveis aplicações práticas da medicina de precisão, bem como textos promulgando projectos de transumanismo, extremos que abrangem as múltiplas vertentes da medicina desiderativa em que cada objectivo ou fim serve como um meio para um próximo objectivo. Resultados/Descobertas. Tanto a medicina de precisão como o transhumanismo suscitaram na opinião pública expectativas de terapias mais eficazes e possibilidades de melhoria funcional tanto cognitiva como moral, investigação que capturou recursos financeiros significativos de empresas que antecipam uma mercantilização lucrativa destes projectos. Discussão/Conclusões/Contribuições. Dadas as incertezas, expectativas pouco razoáveis e interesses económicos em jogo nas várias formas de digitalização biomédica, a bioética não tem sido capaz de gerar um debate robusto sobre o assunto e deve, portanto, concentrar-se em alertar para duas consequências inevitáveis: a desigualdade de acesso, e os efeitos negativos da expansão biotecnológica sobre o equilíbrio adaptativo entre seres vivos humanos, não humanos e o ambiente comum. É urgente chamar a atenção para os enormes recursos da sofisticada biotecnociência, em detrimento do apoio ao estudo dos problemas sociais e éticos por ela exacerbados.

Human enhancement and personality: A new approach towards investigating their relationship.

With the rise of new technologies, also human enhancement is widely discussed. Especially the philosophical movement "transhumanism" urges for creating "better humans" by applying different enhancement methods, namely: pharmacological, current-based, and genetic enhancement as well as mind uploading. While the first three aim at enhancing human characteristics, mind uploading promises immortality by uploading one's brain onto an external storage medium. In the present study, we adapted the method of divergent thinking tasks to assess individuals' assumptions about enhancement methods. These were rated regarding their negativity/positivity and societal-/individual-orientation and then tested whether they are predicted by basic human values and selected personality traits. While individuals' values were not related to their assumptions about enhancement, openness predicted more negative assumptions about most enhancement methods, and a higher intellect predicted more societal-oriented assumptions about genetic enhancement. Furthermore, higher grandiose narcissism predicted more negative assumptions about current-based enhancement and higher psychopathic tendencies predicted more positive assumptions about genetic enhancement. Additionally, higher Machiavellianism predicted more individual-oriented assumptions about pharmacological and current-based enhancement. However, all relationships were of small effect size. We urge for further psychological research in this increasingly relevant field.

What do people think about technological enhancements of human beings? An introductory study using the Technological Enhancements Questionnaire in the context of values, the scientistic worldview, and the accepted versions of humanism.

BACKGROUND: Rapid development of technologies increases the possibility of technological enhancements of human beings, e.g., in their cognitive skills or physical fitness. Attitudes towards such enhancements may result in their social acceptance or rejection. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: One hundred and thirty-nine young Polish adults participated in the study. Participants completed the designed Technological Enhancements Questionnaire (TEQ) and questionnaires to measure values, the scientistic worldview, and the accepted versions of humanism. RESULTS: The study showed a one-dimensional TEQ structure and its satisfactory reliability. Attitudes towards technological enhancements correlated positively with achievement, self-direction in thought, power over resources, the scientistic worldview, and the evolutionary version of humanism. They also correlated negatively with tradition and the liberal version of humanism. CONCLUSIONS: The TEQ questionnaire is a short, reliable tool to measure attitudes towards technological enhancements. This preliminary study provided some significant results, but future work to validate the questionnaire is needed.