Transhumanism Focus Group Take 1

As some of you may know, for my dissertation I'm doing the 'public perception of Transhumanism' (read as 'Adam's mates talk about Superheroes' - how did I pull that one off???). There are lots of journal articles available on the web that discuss the permissability of Transhuman technologies from a scientific perspective (download a whole zip file of them here: www.the-biomatrix.net/Transhumanism.zip), but there has thus far been nothing on what the general public make of these ideas which is a problem as it is the general public who will get the final say on whether or not they become mainstream. That's where my study and I step in. Interesting stuff.

To achieve this I am using focus groups - semi-structured conversations between 5-8 people - and the first took place last Tuesday. I was pretty nervous about this at first as I'd never done anything like this before. I actually used to be the go-to guy for speeches and presentations at my old sixth form but that all ended in flames when I gave the gaduation speech on 2 hours sleep. Turned out I had my qeue cards in the wrong order. Obvious thing to do in that situation? Read them in the random order I found them in. Could have gone better...

Anyway I woke up at 7am to prepare my handouts and was shitting myself. I decided to OD on caffeine tablets too which may not have been the best idea. Although with my i-Phone, caffeine tablets and springboost shoes and springback speedsoles I was something of a testament to human enhancement myself.

Printing out the handouts in the libray I started dancing to my music though which greatly improved my mood. When I then arrived in 16AD04 and saw the set up with the cameras, recording devices and one-way glass I suddenly went on a power trip that dispersed the last of my nerves. I realised that all this was was a conversation with my mates, except better because everyone had to talk about what I told them to.

So how did it go? Actually it went pretty fantastically and ran over to be twice as long as anticipated (and as I'd promised my participants... :-S). I have literally tonns of data to work with (and to transcribe... joy).

One thing that was clear from the start was that generally no one has heard of Transhumanism. For such a potentially transformative subject (no pun intended), it's suprising how little is known. When asked to speculate as to what Transhumansim was, most people were along the right track (except those who thought it was somehow related to cross-dressing or sex changes... come on guys, why would I be doing my dissertation on that??), and parralells were drawn to science fiction. So far, the general concensus seems to be that Transhumanism isn't cool. As a transhumanist, this is kind of upsetting. Especially as the study might be being published. Am I going to inadvertantly be the guy who puts an end to a movement I've followed with great interest? Am I going to be the guy who pisses all over the great bonfire of Transhumanism?

The objections were varied. One of the issues that was raised was the idea that enhancement technologies ('surplus' advancements as one participant described them), would lead to a greater class divide as only the rich and wealthy gain access to the ability to be faster and smarter. I however pointed out that this was already the case in many ways as the rich afford better cars, computers, clothes, medicine and food. I put it to the group that really Transhumanism was no different. The counter argument for this, which was interesting, was that Transhumanism could be used as a weapon - and that was how it was different. This was a theme that actually came up regularly, along with a general mis-trust of the government and any other powers that might be put in place to regulate the technology. Could this be inspired by science fiction stories of dystopian futures brought about by genetic technology?

Afraid I was becoming the boy who killed Transhumanism, we moved onto the vignettes. Here the group were presented with little hypothetical scenarios in which an individual might turn to Transhuman technologies. Here it was still mostly considered wrong, with participants claiming that it took the struggle out of life and potentially the competition out of sport. If everyone made themselves perfect it was speculated that it could even elliminate individuality. This actually made me think, and I'd read a similar article in a journal. My response was jotted down on my iPhone:

Transhumanism - more instant gratification, no challenge or variation?No, this is when humanity turns to art & other challenges/forms of expression. And supreme individuality will arise from transhumanism for those who want it. Many people are gaining weight thanks partly to computers, but those like myself who value physicslity can still use a gym to attain higher levels of fitness. For the first time our outward image & our physical body will represent exactly what is inside. Like an online avatar. For the first time we will truly be able to excell in any field. For are not our individual weaknesses essentially disabilities? When is abnormal shortness shocking enough that it warrants treatment? Only the individual, with his own dreams, aims & experiences can make this decision.

More evidence that I am completely insane? Yes. I'm not even sure if those are my views, but they certainy offer an interesting counter argument (if I do say so myself). But still there is no doubting that it's an interesting topic and I'm excited to hear the issues raised in future groups. The next one is on Monday and I currently have two participants... shit.

Want to see just how much damage I do to the field? Stay tuned!