Transhumanism is having a moment

ALSO: The water crisis in Cape Town, the beauty of Shadow of the Colossus, and the history of emoji. [View this email in your browser](#SPCLICKTOVIEW) [logo]( [[WIRED Magazine]2.11.18]( Transhumanism—the idea that mere mortals can use technology to melt their too, too solid flesh into something renewable and eternal, and the [premise of the new Netflix sci-fi series]( Altered Carbon—has a bit of a problematic history. Coined by evolutionary biologist Julian Huxley (brother of Aldous) in 1951, it initially encompassed a eugenics-tinged notion that only the "best" members of society should procreate. What constitutes "best"? Huxley didn't specify. But "the concept he named ended up being primarily conceptualized in its infancy by white men of privilege," says writer [Devon Maloney](. By the 1980s, though, scholars were arguing the concept should be "about breaking down constructs like gender, race, and ability in favor of a more fluid, 'chimeric' alternative in which each person can be many seemingly contradictory things at once—including human and machine." But as the Silicon Valley boom has allowed jillionaires to invest in antiaging treatment and research, VR, and machine intelligence, it's once again seeming that disembodiment (and eternal life) will be reserved for the very rich and very white. And it makes the current crop of transhumanist TV, from Black Mirror to Electric Dreams to Travelers to Altered Carbon, make sense. Today’s worst social ills—police brutality, the refugee crisis, an epidemic of sexual assault—put less privileged bodies at real physical risk. “You’ve got the perfect cocktail for a flood of transhumanist sci-fi shows that give form to anxieties viewers have,” Maloney writes. “Both wanting to escape the physical confines of their blood-bag existences and being absolutely, justifiably terrified of what could go wrong when they actually do." Also: The [water crisis]( in Cape Town, the beauty of [Shadow of the Colossus]( and the history of [emoji](. TV Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Transhumanism Is Dominating Sci-Fi TV By Devon Maloney Whatever your views on the show’s plot, Altered Carbon’s best quality is its worldbuilding. In the 25th century, transhumanism—the belief that human beings are destined to transcend their mortal flesh through technology—has reached its full potential, and some of its end results are not pretty, at all. water water everywhere Is Cape Town Thirsty Enough to Drink Seawater? By Matt Simon In Cape Town, the ecological and social costs of desalination may pale in comparison to the consequences of not turning to the sea for help. The energy costs of the technology are still huge, but Israel has proven it can be done on a massive scale: The nation now makes more freshwater than it needs. Crowd Acting To Make AI Smarter, Humans Perform Oddball Low-Paid Tasks By Tom Simonite Researchers and entrepreneurs want to see AI understand and act in the physical world. Hence the need for workers to act out scenes in supermarkets and homes. They are generating the instructional material to teach algorithms about the world and the people in it. Backchannel One Man's Quest to Make Google's Gadgets Great By David Pierce The next phase of computing will center on artificially intelligent devices that fit seamlessly into their owners’ everyday lives. It will feature voice assistants, simple wearables, smart appliances in homes, and augmented-reality gadgets on your face and in your brain. In other words, the future involves a whole lot more hardware, and for Google that shift represents an existential threat. [advertisement]( [Powered by LiveIntent]( [Ad Choices]( [WIRED Magazine Subscription] Get Wired The future is already here. Try 3 months of WIRED free. START YOUR TRIAL. ideas America Needs More Fiber By Susan Crawford A giant middle class of consumers and producers will eventually be supported by the new businesses and new ways of thriving that very high-capacity networking will make possible. The problem is that policymakers in the US see high-capacity communications as luxury goods, to be provided only where there is both demand and a high-margin business case. gaming Shadow of the Colossus Is Back, Remastered and Resplendent By Julie Muncy It's a messy story, about hubris, and mortality, and the desperate greed of love that can cause us to do things we know full well will end in disaster. It is also, incontrovertibly, one of the most important videogames in the recent history of the medium. Buying Guide Which MacBook Should You Buy? By Wired Staff The problem with Apple's current lineup is that the company has a variety of models with different capabilities—some of which are cutting-edge, some of which haven't seen an update in years—so it can be difficult to decide which one is best for you. This item has no URL. It's probably not published. Product Review Review: Neato Botvac Connected By Adrienne So If you are willing to deal with a few quirks, the Botvac Connected is the best way to not shell out almost four figures for a thorough, reliable clean. Deep Dive The WIRED Guide to Emoji By Arielle Pardes In the future, as the world becomes increasingly digital and increasingly globalized, emoji will become important tools for translation and communication—a lingua franca for the digital age. [advertisement]( [Powered by LiveIntent]( [AdChoices]( [WIRED Magazine]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe](#SPCUSTOMOPTOUT) Copyright © Condé Nast 2018. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved. 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