[Richard Leis, Jr. is Executive Director of Humanity+, formerly the World Transhumanist Association.]
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Transhumanism.
Never before has a philosophy, a social movement, and a way of life so perfectly fit the technological infrastructure on which it was built. To ignore this fact would be to lose what makes this movement so powerfully progressive.
Yet that word itself, so technically and academically perfect for the idea it labels, has played poorly to a broader audience. The “trans-” disturbs those with juvenile and ignorant ideas about gender and sexuality. The “-ism” disturbs those who easily imagine elitism and conspiracy in the authorities and institutions around them. “Humanism” disturbs the humanists as it is perceived to have been hijacked and imbued with an unappreciated and far-future technological twist. “Humanism” also disturbs the environmentalists for being human-centric.
Make no mistake that technology is the emphasis at the core of transhumanism. Yes, the humanism is still there, but the technology has been embraced, embedded, and internalized in a way never before seen. Whatever the particular brand of political transhumanism, technology is there, bright, noble, and beckoning. Small wonder then that men vastly outnumber women within the transhumanism movement. As we now know during this age of consumer electronics, it is not that women are less technical or technologically aware than men, or that they are less embracing of technology. Instead, their approach to technology is varied and poorly understood by marketers and those who would generalize or even ignore their response. Typical branding efforts tailored for young men may or may not play well to women.
Follow any movement and you will find tensions over the choice of labels for that movement. Follow any movement and you will discover a moment when a label begins to take hold that brings widespread acceptance and growth. For the transhumanist movement, that time is now, and that label is “Humanity+”.
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A movement is built on a strong foundation of core philosophies, academic discourse, and art. Transhumanism includes additional strength in science and engineering. Now, transhumanism is transforming to include a brand, a suite of marketing approaches, a portfolio of politics, and newly accessible art forms. Transhumanists began to experiment with the “h+” label, because it seemed a little smaller, a little friendlier, a little more accessible than previous labels. Designers of emerging technology websites, graphics and logos began to experiment with imagery that rejected the stainless steel and plastic bald feminine creations of traditional H+ art. Butterflies with mechanisms instead of microprocessors, leaves that fell but were rejuvenated, nanoscopic gears, DNA and hourglasses, rejuvenated cartoon mice: these were emerging art forms for a movement that has been seeking to expand far beyond its humble beginnings.
Eventually, “H+” and “h+” became symbols for “Humanity+”, just as they were symbols for “transhumanism”. The proponents of “Humanity+”, generally of a wider demographic than existed before, began to roll the word around on their tongues. Humanity+ felt like a natural fit for a movement that is still reaching for new heights and widespread acceptance. Humanity+ is not about gender or sexuality, though they are there. It is not about class, though that is there. It is not about humanism, though that will always be there. This is about “Humanity” and “+”. This is about humanity and emerging technologies. Together, they mean improvement of the human condition. This is Humanity+.
And so is this, our organization. With a powerful identity now firmly in our grasp and a thoughtful branding and new website on the way, we are prepared to take this idea, this transhumanism with a powerfully inclusive Humanity+ branding, across the globe and to all the people of every land. We will fulfill our mission to promote understanding, interest and participation in fields of emerging innovation that can radically benefit the human condition. We will realize our vision that emerging technologies can dramatically enable people to become smarter, healthier and happier.
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