Hello, SFIA audio listeners. In this month's Nebula exclusive, Big Alien Theory,

we're asked at 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 ethics of life extension, the ethics of terra Extension, the Ethics of Tearforming, 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 to be smarter, which

are still mostly theoretical, transhumanism is something we're already engaged 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

charter course forward.

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