Better Than Nature?

Excerpted from a talk given by Hugh Darrow at the 2022 Human Plus Conference in Kyoto.

I've been accused of arrogance by many people; my father, my tutors, my contemporaries and my rivals... and to all of the I say yes, indeed, if it is arrogance to have a design that surpasses the one that currently exists, then I am arrogant.

Arrogance, daring to go beyond the limits imposed upon us, that is exactly what makes us human beings. The truth is, nature is a haphazard and flawed designer. That is not to say there is not grace and beauty in the natural world; but the hand of man can take that base design and turn intellect to it, make more of it.

All of us are aware of the voices raised against human augmentation; those people have their right to speak, as we have the right - the arrogance, even - to ignore them.

We can be better than nature. We can improve on ourselves, and in every new iteration, be more than we were. What we are is only a stepping stone to what we can become.