Three mergers
First, there are three mergers that are needed.
Intelligence with computers
The language was the first step. With it, it was possible to transfer lessons learned without the need for people to do the mistake themselves. Written text was the next step, where there was no longer a need to rely on the memory. The World Wide Web is maybe the next step again. Information is now available from more people, to more people than ever. And much faster.
Humans of today are already enhanced with the help of computer intelligence. I don't know what the next step will be, but it could be a more deep integration with one or more of our senses and computers. The eye is the input sensory with the highest data throughput. Eventually, I think the integration will be directly with the brain.
Eventually, there will come a day when there is no clear border between human intelligence and artificial intelligence. It will not be interesting to define a border.
Humans of today are already enhanced with the help of computer intelligence. I don't know what the next step will be, but it could be a more deep integration with one or more of our senses and computers. The eye is the input sensory with the highest data throughput. Eventually, I think the integration will be directly with the brain.
Eventually, there will come a day when there is no clear border between human intelligence and artificial intelligence. It will not be interesting to define a border.
Biology with machines
Originally, organic chemistry was used to denote chemical compounds that were part of life. Soon, it was realized that quite a lot of the chemical elements could be involved in biological organisms. The word virus is already used for both biological entities and a software algorithms.
As machines gets smaller, the mechanism they use to function will become more like living organisms of today, but more efficient. There are experiments ongoing to create artificial life from DNA. There exists organisms today with a completely hand crafted DNA definition.
Eventually, there will be self-replicating nano mechanisms and we will need immunity systems to protect us. We will live in a symbiosis with some of these, just as it is today. There will also be artificial mechanisms that use evolution to improve themselves.
Reality with virtual reality
There are several signs of this:- Augmented reality
- MMORPG
- Simulation games
While virtual reality will get more and more like real life, there will be VRs that are not at all like real life. It is hard to predict how they will look like. Why should a VR emulate the principles of physical rooms, causality of time or personal identities? I believe every form of VR will always have a set of rules that you have to obey. Just that some rules will be completely alien to what we have today.
Final merger
The final merger will make these three as one. The question what it is to be a human will lose it meaning. But I think there will be many problems on the way, possibly painful, including existential risks to us.
