Hello, SFIA audio listeners. In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory,

we're asking the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge.

To hear it and every episode early and add free, plus hours of bonus content,

check out go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur and use my code, Isaac Arthur.

If we gained the power to become more than human, should we?

And if we do, what does it truly cost us?

Today's topic is transhumanism and its ethical dilemmas, and it's a loose sequel to a few

other episodes we've done, the ethicsics of Life Extension, the Ethics of

Tehrforming, the Ethics of Uplifting, and more generally are episodes on transhumanism,

Cyborgs, Genetic Engineering, Superpowers, and many more. Of those ethical topics,

transhumanism is perhaps the hardest to pin down, not because the concept is new,

but because it covers so many competing

definitions and approaches. Unlike life extension, terraforming planets, or uplifting animals

be smarter, which are still mostly theoretical, transhumanism is something we're already

engage in, often in ways that stir debate or discomfort. Now, I'll say up front that I generally consider

myself moderately pro-transhumanism, much as I'm pro-life extension and pro-teroforming,

and a bit ambivalent when it comes to uplifting, but the point of these episodes isn't to clear

what's ethical, rather is to explore the concerns, the arguments on both sides, and ask whether

there are parallels in

history or existing ethical frameworks that might help guide us as we chart a course forward.

Because make no mistake, changing humans to something else is a deeply contentious subject,

and I dare say it should be. There are serious pros and cons, varying greatly depending on the approach,

...