I watched an incredible talk by a guy called Juan Enriquez a week or so back, in which he talked about the “next species of human”. Fair enough – no one can stop us evolving. But Juan blew my mind when he laid out some pretty convincing reasons why the next phase of human evolution will happen over the next 200 years.
He explained that technology is advancing at such a blazing pace that as well as being able to grow brand new organs, these organs will be, in some cases, improved beyond their natural state. For example, a blind person will be able to undergo surgery to enable them to see light. Then soon after that, black and white outlines. Then colour vision. Then they will have the same standard of vision normal human beings possess. Then, in the not too distant future, humans will have the option of infra-red vision, as well as zoom capability and nightvision.
Juan calls this evolution the latest in a series of 22 evolutions of Hominids. He then goes onto predict that we, as Homo Sapiens, will evolve into Homo Evolutis; “Hominids that take complete and deliberate control over the evolution of their species… and others”.
This prediction really excites me. I think it will scare a lot of people – but to me it seems inevitable and something that should be embraced. It’s already evident across the globe – look at the couples who are choosing the sex of their babies, or those who are undergoing sex changes or having cosmetic surgery. This is exactly what Mr Enriquez is talking about!
I strongly advise you to watch the video of his presentation at TED below.
Olsoweir
The Ladder 