Future Human Evolution

Abstract

The very distant futures of the human species are of two kinds: those that can only be imagined, beyond any similarity to what we know today, and those we can get a glimpse of through a deep understanding of the meta-structures that guide our transformations. This article deals with the latter. We are keenly aware nowadays that we are crossing the chasm, and we do not want to just jump without an educated guess as to where we will land. What visions of the future can be offered that are soundly reasoned and well grounded enough to be credible? When futures studies combine foresight and macro-history with a bit of evolutionary anthropology, it becomes possible to catch some detailed glimpses of the far future and of the related developments in human evolution that such futures will demand. This article will guide the reader on such a journey. What are the most probable paths ahead and the crucial challenges humanity might face in a future not all that far away? Several alternative lines of evolution based on our knowledge of history are detailed. The first set (part 1) leads to a post-human evolution of three different varieties. The second set (part 2) explores the possible confrontation between artificial intelligences and human beings and challenges our ability to live in harmony with artificial beings such as robots.