THE HUMEM STATE

No doubt many aspects of humem existence will develop in ways nearly unimaginable today. Nevertheless, many ways in which humems may enrich individuals and society are already in sight.

 

One that immediately springs to mind is an expansion of our personal information processing and memory capabilities. Despite the huge increase in the volume and variety of knowledge available today, our brains' capacity to retain and process information has not changed dramatically. Humems will have virtually unlimited memory storage, and they will process information at lightning speed.

 

In particular, alpha-humems—each affiliated with a specific person—will be able to transform our ability to manage private information, allowing for the accumulation and manipulation of much greater personal knowledge than humans could ever achieve by themselves. In fact, our alpha-humems may provide us with access to an almost complete memory of our lives, and eventually even those of our forebears.

And because alpha-humems and their interrelations mirror the fabric of a culture, they will have the potential to provide a similar benefit to society at large. That is, they will become ideal culture bearers. In this way, they will be able to provide unparalleled insight into present and past cultures, thereby opening exciting opportunities for the study of history and genealogy. Similarly, with the appropriate provisions for privacy and anonymity, humems will be able to provide unprecedented opportunities for large-scale medical research.

Moreover, by carrying on an alpha-person’s legacy, the alpha-humem may possibly ease some of our ancient angst and despair about death, and this in turn may result in a more optimistic and hopeful society. In fact, as humems proliferate, they may actually moderate humanity and reduce traditional forms of conflict by inducing societies to adopt more long-term attitudes. By virtue of their timeless natures and their acute sense of the future, alpha-pairs—the units formed by people and their humems—can be more mature, responsible, and forward-looking world citizens than people alone.