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Right now, we are inventing all these different technologies

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with which we could actually make ourselves superhumans

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with superintelligence.

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The potentials are quite extreme.

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You could eventually have printable noses,

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ears, lungs, kidneys.

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The big question is immortality.

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Dying, is it something we have to do?

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I'm convinced that the engineers at MIT

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are looking back into the ancient examples of the gods.

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You've got to wonder, are extraterrestrials somehow guiding us

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and manipulating us into this new future

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and this new human that we are destined to be?

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Since the dawn of civilization,

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mankind has credited its origins to gods

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and other visitors from the stars.

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What if it were true?

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Did extraterrestrial beings really help to shape our history?

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And if so, might their ultimate plan be revealed

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with the rise of the next humans?

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MUSIC

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Mountain View, California, August 1962

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At NASA's Ames Research Center,

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the newly formed Division of Biotechnology and Human Research

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begins a study on the possibility of exploring space

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with technologically enhanced humans,

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otherwise known as cyborgs.

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Ten months later, they release a report

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called the Cyborg Study, Engineering Man for Space.

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In it, they propose that astronauts

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will require artificial organs and pharmaceuticals

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to survive in the harshest environments of deep space

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as we explore beyond our solar system.

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While the program was quickly abandoned

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due to the lack of available technology,

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it helped usher in a new era of scientific research

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focused on augmenting the human species

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into a new stage of evolution.

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The Transhuman

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Transhumanism is the use of technology by humans

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to enhance their physical, psychological,

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and most of all, intellectual capabilities.

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We transhumanists want to use science and technology

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to self-direct our evolution.

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There are lots of transhumanists now

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that don't even consider themselves transhuman.

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For example, people who have pacemakers

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or cochlear implants or hip replacements.

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These are technologies that we're using,

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and that is beyond human.

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The idea of there being a transhuman

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is actually a very old notion.

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It stems from our longing for immortality,

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so there were attempts to extend human life.

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Transhumanism has been thought of for a very long time

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throughout mythology.

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From Gilgamesh's search for immortality

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to alchemy

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to the search for the fengen of life.

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Really, the quest to overcome what it means to be human,

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to see if we can live forever,

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that has been the quest for a very long time.

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Although the notion of modifying the body with technology

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has been around for thousands of years,

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transhumanists say the 21st century

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will radically change what it means to be a human.

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When we begin to genetically engineer

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an entirely new generation of humans.

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April 22, 2015.

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Guangzhou, China.

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Geneticists at the Sun Yat-sen University

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make history as the first team in the world

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to genetically modify a human embryo.

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Using a gene editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9,

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the scientists were able to correct the gene defect

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that causes beta thalassemia, a blood disease,

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by snipping out and replacing portions of the DNA

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in the fertilized egg.

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By using a new technology called CRISPR,

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scientists are able to actually cut into the DNA

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and replace parts of the DNA with genetically modified proteins.

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This allows us to literally transform who we are.

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When we look at DNA changing,

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it can be used not just to overcome problems,

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but to improve your looks,

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maybe change the color of your hair or your eyes,

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or perhaps even more importantly,

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change your intellectual or physical abilities.

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Will the modification of human embryos

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soon lead to a wave of what futurists call designer babies?

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Children whose physical features and mental capabilities

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were selected by their parents.

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Many believe that not only is this a possibility,

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but that the very definition of a parent

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may soon change as well.

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UK is on its way to becoming the first country

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to legalize the creation of babies from three different people.

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In a large majority, the House of Commons voted in favor

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of the controversial Three Parent in Vitro Fertilization,

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or TPI VF.

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The British government officially declared it legal,

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so actual children that have been born

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that have DNA from three different parents.

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I think it is quite possible in the future

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that it won't be just two or three parents that a child has,

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but could be any number.

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That sounds like science fiction,

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but it's actually something that Japanese scientists

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are working on right now.

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And what that would entail is using an artificial womb,

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actually gestating the child within that artificial womb.

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You can imagine if we can get to this stage,

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it doesn't matter who the parents are.

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You could have a community of people with the best genes

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contributing to making that child,

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and that is really the future that is in front of us.

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Is it possible we could synthetically create human beings,

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picking and choosing genetic traits from any number of donors?

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Could the characteristics of a person

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soon be limited only by our imaginations?

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Ancient astronaut theorists say yes,

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and suggest an even more incredible possibility

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that we are not the first to do this.

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Luxor, Egypt.

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Here, in the Deir el-Bahari Mortuary Temple,

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lies the burial chamber of Hatshepsut,

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one of the only queens to ever become a pharaoh.

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And on the frescoed walls of this tomb

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is a scene portraying Hatshepsut's conception

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at the hands of divine beings.

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On the walls of Queen Hatshepsut's Mortuary Temple,

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it says that long time ago,

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God Eamon came to Hatshepsut's mother, Ahmose,

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in her sleep, and with the power of God Khanoum,

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and with the key of Ankh in his hand,

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he created baby Hatshepsut.

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He uses the Ankh,

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that key-shaped tool to give life to create a human.

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Any device that can give life

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upon something would have to appear as magical.

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So you have to wonder,

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who are these gods that they were talking about?

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What we have in this story is actually

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the immaculate conception of Hatshepsut.

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And it is clear that this is the story

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of an extraterrestrial intervention

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in the creation of a star child, Hatshepsut.

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So we appear to be dealing with some sort of a technology,

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a DNA-based technology,

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that can manifest human bodies or alter human DNA.

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Kodhatshepsut have been genetically engineered

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by other worldly beings.

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And is it possible that humans are just now starting to unlock

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the incredible potential hidden within us

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by our extraterrestrial creators,

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as ancient astronaut theorists propose?

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Perhaps further clues can be found

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in our own attempts,

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not in creating life,

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but in reversing death.

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Song Chen and a team of biologists

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from the Life Sciences Department at Penn State University

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reveal research on a cocktail of specialized drugs

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designed to convert non-neuronal cells in the brain,

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called glial cells, into neurons.

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90% of our brain is made up of what's called glial cells.

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These cells are just a support mechanism

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for the neurons themselves.

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What we can do at the moment

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is to take glial cells from the brain

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and to use different chemicals, essentially,

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to alter the functioning of the glial cells.

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Chemicals will cause them to become fresh neurons.

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Gong Chen's belief for this research

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is that things like severe brain trauma,

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Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's

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could actually be effectively transformed and healed.

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Could degenerative brain disorders

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like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's

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be cured by a simple chemical injection?

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And if so, could we eventually rid the brain

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of neurological diseases entirely?

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Transhumanists believe the therapeutic use

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for this incredible discovery

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are only a small part of the bigger picture.

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In the future, we could see using that technology

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to increase our intelligence to a superhuman state.

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Now, imagine, because the brain is only 10% neurons,

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imagine if we could increase the brain's capacity to 35%.

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That could change everything.

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I mean, we could become a superintelligent species.

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Could you, in fact, advance the human IQ,

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perhaps to such a degree

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that you might have people walking around now

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with a 1,000 IQ?

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Could Dr. Chen's research

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lead us to an exponential increase of the human intellect?

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And if so, will we seem like primates

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to the people of tomorrow?

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Transhumanists suggest that if we can create new brain cells,

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we could potentially reproduce all of the body cells,

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which would have profound implications.

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The big question is immortality.

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Dying, is it something we have to do?

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Cells die away, but if we can start replacing the cells

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and if we can replace brain cells

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and keep the functioning of the brain going,

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then it does potentially really extend life,

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in theory, forever.

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Some people, like Ray Kurzweil, have suggested by 2045

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we'll be able to do that.

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Ray Kurzweil is Google's director of engineering,

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a transhumanist, prolific author, and inventor.

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He believes in the near future,

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humans will be able to extend their lives indefinitely.

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To reach that point, he maintains a daily diet

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of over 100 different body and mind enhancing pills

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called Neutropics.

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Neutropics are essentially drugs of one kind

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or another, chemicals, if you like,

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that can change the way both the body functions

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but particularly how the brain functions.

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Colline, for example, helps with memory,

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and so people are using these Neutropics

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to enhance their memory, to have better recall,

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to have better focus.

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You're starting to see Neutropics pop up everywhere,

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especially in Silicon Valley.

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In the future, the idea of enhancing the cognitive ability

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in the human being is going to be sort of commonplace.

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Kurzweil and others predict Neutropics

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will become a new multi-billion-dollar industry

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as people turn to supplements to enhance their bodies

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and prolong their lives.

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But ancient astronaut theorists believe

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that like genetic manipulation,

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evidence of Neutropic use can be found thousands of years ago.

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Dating back to the 5th century BC,

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the Hindu Sanskrit epic known as the Mahabharata,

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tells the story of Samudra Manthana,

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a celestial battle between the gods

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for a rare substance that grants immortality.

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The Samudra Manthana means the churning of the ocean,

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and in this case, the ocean is visualized as a cosmic sea of milk.

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It is, in essence, the Milky Way itself.

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There were two primary forces and odds in the universe.

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There were the Asuras,

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and they were at odds with a new order of gods, the Davas.

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The gods went to Lord Vishnu and Vishnu said,

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why don't you try to cooperate with them?

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At the very depths of the ocean,

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there is a substance called Amrita,

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a divine nectar of immortality.

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It will churn the cosmic ocean of milk,

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and it will yield forth the nectar of immortality,

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and you can share it.

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The gods and the demons start churning in the heavens,

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the Milky Way,

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and what is produced by this is an elixir,

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an elixir that can grant immortality.

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Well, it was a terrible war now because everyone wanted this.

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In order to win the battle for the gods,

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they decided they need this Amrita, this elixir of life.

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So you have to wonder if this story isn't about some kind of

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extraterrestrial war in heaven,

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where aliens are fighting over new tropics.

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Could the story of the Samudra Manthana

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00:16:52,789 --> 00:16:55,790
be an ancient account of a celestial battle

269
00:16:55,790 --> 00:16:58,792
over a highly advanced new tropic?

270
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Ancient astronaut theorists say yes,

271
00:17:02,794 --> 00:17:07,796
and point to legends of immortality elixirs throughout antiquity.

272
00:17:10,798 --> 00:17:13,799
The ancients had many stories of immortality,

273
00:17:13,799 --> 00:17:16,801
that it was touchable or reachable.

274
00:17:16,801 --> 00:17:21,804
The Chinese had the peaches of immortality.

275
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The Greeks had ambrosia.

276
00:17:24,805 --> 00:17:28,807
The Mesopotamians had the idea of soul mind.

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In the biblical tradition, there is the tree of life.

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There is something that you can ingest and gain immortality.

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This quest has been going on for thousands of years

280
00:17:41,814 --> 00:17:45,816
around the world by many different cultures.

281
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This quest for these smart drugs that will enhance

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our lifestyle and our mental clarity.

283
00:17:52,819 --> 00:17:57,822
So you have to wonder, was this new tropic drug

284
00:17:57,822 --> 00:18:00,823
some kind of extraterrestrial elixir

285
00:18:00,823 --> 00:18:03,825
that was well known in ancient times?

286
00:18:07,827 --> 00:18:11,829
Could ancient accounts of elixirs of immortality

287
00:18:11,829 --> 00:18:15,831
really be descriptions of extraterrestrial new tropics?

288
00:18:16,831 --> 00:18:21,834
And might it soon be possible to unlock our full human potential

289
00:18:21,834 --> 00:18:24,836
simply with the right potion or pill?

290
00:18:25,836 --> 00:18:30,839
Perhaps fulfilling a destiny to become like our alien ancestors.

291
00:18:31,839 --> 00:18:34,841
Ancient astronaut theorists say yes

292
00:18:34,841 --> 00:18:40,844
and suggest molecular chemistry is only the beginning of the human upgrade.

293
00:18:45,846 --> 00:18:47,847
Coming up...

294
00:18:47,847 --> 00:18:51,849
Nanomachines could actually heal the wounds in our bodies.

295
00:18:51,849 --> 00:18:57,852
The possibility of reversing human aging is not a very big stretch.

296
00:19:17,862 --> 00:19:21,864
The nanomachines are the most driven submersible nanomachines ever created.

297
00:19:24,866 --> 00:19:31,870
Molecular nanotechnology is the idea of building devices, machines,

298
00:19:31,870 --> 00:19:34,871
at a molecular scale.

299
00:19:35,872 --> 00:19:40,874
Nano refers to a billion of a meter, so very, very small.

300
00:19:40,874 --> 00:19:43,876
We're getting down to atomic scale.

301
00:19:44,876 --> 00:19:48,878
Measuring only 244 atoms across,

302
00:19:48,878 --> 00:19:53,881
these miniature robots are designed to deliver specialized medicines

303
00:19:53,881 --> 00:19:56,882
throughout the body using the bloodstream.

304
00:19:56,882 --> 00:20:00,884
Scientists have created bio-bots that are the first of its kind.

305
00:20:00,884 --> 00:20:06,887
These tiny little bio-hybrid semi-bots are capable of driving to viscous material through our bodies.

306
00:20:06,887 --> 00:20:10,889
They take submersible nanomachines that can be controlled with UV light,

307
00:20:10,889 --> 00:20:16,892
and using the UV light they can control where these nanomachines take nutrients

308
00:20:16,892 --> 00:20:19,894
and take medicines into the body.

309
00:20:19,894 --> 00:20:23,896
As long as we have a way of controlling them from the outside,

310
00:20:23,896 --> 00:20:27,898
they can move around very, very quickly, perform a function.

311
00:20:27,898 --> 00:20:30,899
If we're looking at operating on a cancer,

312
00:20:30,899 --> 00:20:35,902
then potentially they could do that operation for you from within.

313
00:20:40,905 --> 00:20:47,908
This could lead to huge advances in medicine, in healing,

314
00:20:47,908 --> 00:20:53,911
leading to nanomachines that could actually heal the wounds in our bodies,

315
00:20:53,911 --> 00:20:58,914
close things up much faster, repair damaged tissue,

316
00:20:58,914 --> 00:21:05,917
extend our lifespan, and literally bring us into a new level of human evolution.

317
00:21:06,918 --> 00:21:14,922
Transhumanist believe our bodies will soon be home to swarms of nanomachines

318
00:21:14,922 --> 00:21:18,924
that will both heal and also warn of disease.

319
00:21:21,925 --> 00:21:25,927
And some propose this technology is advancing so rapidly

320
00:21:25,927 --> 00:21:31,930
that it will not just be future generations that will live tens or even hundreds of years longer,

321
00:21:31,930 --> 00:21:34,932
but people who are alive today.

322
00:21:36,933 --> 00:21:42,936
The possibility of reversing human aging as opposed to just slowing it down

323
00:21:42,936 --> 00:21:44,937
is not a very big stretch.

324
00:21:44,937 --> 00:21:52,941
So if you understand aging and the fundamentals of the processes that are leading to it,

325
00:21:52,941 --> 00:21:58,944
it would be quite possible both to slow it and it would also be possible to reverse it.

326
00:21:59,945 --> 00:22:05,948
An example of this is a study that has gone on at Harvard

327
00:22:05,948 --> 00:22:08,949
by reversing the muscle tissue and mice.

328
00:22:09,950 --> 00:22:13,952
We have actually reversed the age in these mice.

329
00:22:14,952 --> 00:22:18,954
And so if we can do that in the laboratory setting,

330
00:22:18,954 --> 00:22:23,957
it's only a matter of time before we're able to reverse our own aging process.

331
00:22:24,957 --> 00:22:29,960
Could millions of microscopic robots soon be swimming in our bloodstreams,

332
00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:31,961
augmenting our immune system,

333
00:22:31,961 --> 00:22:37,964
and even reversing the aging process entirely, as transhumanists believe?

334
00:22:39,965 --> 00:22:44,968
Ancient astronaut theorists suggest that if such a transformation does occur,

335
00:22:44,968 --> 00:22:50,971
it may be a sign that we are evolving to become more like our alien race.

336
00:22:50,971 --> 00:22:55,973
As evidence, they point to the Sumerian King List,

337
00:22:55,973 --> 00:23:01,976
a series of stone tablets that are believed to be over 4,000 years old,

338
00:23:01,976 --> 00:23:09,980
and record the reigns of ancient Mesopotamian kings that ruled for upwards of 43,000 years.

339
00:23:09,980 --> 00:23:13,982
The Sumerian King List was handed down to humanity by the gods.

340
00:23:13,982 --> 00:23:18,985
What's extraordinary is that the reigns of these kings last into the thousands of years.

341
00:23:18,985 --> 00:23:21,986
These people weren't making allegorical or metaphorical statements,

342
00:23:21,986 --> 00:23:24,988
these were accurate historical records.

343
00:23:26,989 --> 00:23:28,990
Ancient texts,

344
00:23:28,990 --> 00:23:30,991
and ancient texts,

345
00:23:30,991 --> 00:23:32,992
and ancient texts,

346
00:23:32,992 --> 00:23:34,993
and ancient texts,

347
00:23:34,993 --> 00:23:36,994
and ancient texts,

348
00:23:37,994 --> 00:23:41,996
Ancient texts, including the Bible and the Sumerian texts,

349
00:23:41,996 --> 00:23:48,000
talk about ancient kings and other people living incredibly long lifespans.

350
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,002
Methuselah, who was supposedly the father of Noah,

351
00:23:53,002 --> 00:23:56,004
was said to have lived for 969 years.

352
00:23:59,005 --> 00:24:01,006
When we look into the past,

353
00:24:01,006 --> 00:24:05,008
there's a clear record of people who have lived a much longer lifespan than we have today.

354
00:24:06,009 --> 00:24:11,011
We have to wonder if these beings weren't given or had access to some type of nanotechnology,

355
00:24:12,012 --> 00:24:18,015
that fuels the idea and understanding in our drive today to be like the gods.

356
00:24:20,016 --> 00:24:30,021
And this important nanotechnology is something that extra-terrestrials and other advanced civilizations would already have.

357
00:24:31,021 --> 00:24:36,024
And it would only make sense that if extra-terrestrials are coming to our planet,

358
00:24:36,024 --> 00:24:40,026
they would have brought this nanotechnology with them.

359
00:24:45,028 --> 00:24:47,029
Might our research into nanotechnology,

360
00:24:47,029 --> 00:24:50,031
new tropics, and genetic engineering

361
00:24:50,031 --> 00:24:57,035
ascend us to the level of extra-terrestrials that came to earth thousands of years ago,

362
00:24:57,035 --> 00:25:00,036
as ancient astronaut theorists suggest.

363
00:25:04,038 --> 00:25:08,040
Perhaps further clues can be found by examining the technology

364
00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:12,042
that is being developed to upgrade not just our blood,

365
00:25:12,042 --> 00:25:15,044
but even our flesh.

366
00:25:17,045 --> 00:25:18,045
Coming up...

367
00:25:19,046 --> 00:25:23,048
We can use the power of our thoughts to control avatar robots.

368
00:25:24,048 --> 00:25:29,051
The engineers at MIT are looking back into the ancient examples of the gods.

369
00:25:36,054 --> 00:25:41,057
New York City, May 4th, 2015

370
00:25:43,058 --> 00:25:48,060
At TechCrunch Disrupt New York, an annual new technologies conference,

371
00:25:48,060 --> 00:25:55,064
U.S. biotech startup BioBots launches a desktop 3D printer for biomaterials,

372
00:25:56,064 --> 00:26:00,067
which they use to print a replica of Van Gogh's ear.

373
00:26:03,068 --> 00:26:07,070
Instead of plastic, special ink is combined with biomaterials,

374
00:26:07,070 --> 00:26:13,073
like collagen and cultured cells, to build living tissue and human organs.

375
00:26:13,073 --> 00:26:20,077
So right now, we're just at the beginning of understanding how to 3D print organs.

376
00:26:22,078 --> 00:26:25,079
It's a process called biofabrication.

377
00:26:25,079 --> 00:26:32,083
So BioBots has created a biofabrication 3D printer that can print artificial tissue and small organs.

378
00:26:34,084 --> 00:26:41,087
In the future, what we're going to see are 3D printers that are biofabricating our bodies and our organs.

379
00:26:44,089 --> 00:26:52,093
You could eventually have printable noses, lungs, ears, kidneys,

380
00:26:52,093 --> 00:27:01,097
and in certain ways, this technology is so extreme that it could make it democratic, it could make it inexpensive.

381
00:27:02,098 --> 00:27:08,101
So in the hands of skilled trained medical professionals, it could be possible in the future

382
00:27:08,101 --> 00:27:13,104
to 3D print organs for people out of their own genetic material.

383
00:27:19,107 --> 00:27:25,110
Transhumanists believe we may soon transcend our biological limitations

384
00:27:25,110 --> 00:27:29,112
as we embed machines directly into our own bodies.

385
00:27:31,113 --> 00:27:35,115
DARPA, the agency of the U.S. Department of Defense,

386
00:27:35,115 --> 00:27:40,117
responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military,

387
00:27:41,118 --> 00:27:48,121
is currently designing neural implants that will improve cognitive speed and memory retention in soldiers.

388
00:27:50,122 --> 00:28:00,127
And in 2014, scientists at Seoul National University in South Korea unveiled research on synthetic smart-skin,

389
00:28:00,127 --> 00:28:06,130
life-like ultra-thin crystalline silicon designed to cover prosthetic limbs,

390
00:28:06,130 --> 00:28:10,133
giving the user all of the sensations of a natural limb.

391
00:28:13,134 --> 00:28:22,139
They've now developed a skin which has touch sensors embedded in it with a very fine matrix,

392
00:28:23,139 --> 00:28:26,141
which can be put around a prosthetic.

393
00:28:26,141 --> 00:28:31,143
So you can actually feel what that arm is feeling,

394
00:28:31,143 --> 00:28:36,146
or you can touch the floor, feel whether it's hot or cold or applying pressure.

395
00:28:37,146 --> 00:28:42,149
Future artificial limbs will look just like our skin, look just like our hands and our legs.

396
00:28:42,149 --> 00:28:44,150
It's going to affect the entire world.

397
00:28:44,150 --> 00:28:49,152
We're going to see people using smart prosthetics that are added to the body,

398
00:28:49,152 --> 00:28:53,154
that can be controlled directly through the brain.

399
00:28:53,154 --> 00:28:57,156
And that really is the future of prosthetics.

400
00:28:59,157 --> 00:29:02,159
I can speak from experience because I've had one myself.

401
00:29:02,159 --> 00:29:08,162
Our implants that link either into the brain or into the human nervous system,

402
00:29:08,162 --> 00:29:17,167
and what I had was 100 small electrodes fired into my nervous system

403
00:29:17,167 --> 00:29:20,168
to link my nervous system with a computer.

404
00:29:20,168 --> 00:29:26,171
It was a bit like plugging a plug into an electric socket, but the socket was my nervous system.

405
00:29:26,171 --> 00:29:32,174
So I went to Columbia University in New York, we plugged my nervous system into the internet,

406
00:29:32,174 --> 00:29:36,176
and I controlled a robot hand from my brain signals.

407
00:29:36,176 --> 00:29:41,179
You can extend your nervous system by simply plugging into it.

408
00:29:42,179 --> 00:29:49,183
If we can use just the power of our thoughts to control artificial limbs,

409
00:29:49,183 --> 00:29:56,186
we can eventually one day use the power of our thoughts to control avatar robots.

410
00:29:59,188 --> 00:30:04,190
I think we're going to see that kind of technology used to control avatars on the moon.

411
00:30:04,190 --> 00:30:09,193
We're going to see that kind of technology to control robotic humanoid avatars on Mars.

412
00:30:12,194 --> 00:30:16,196
Could we one day venture into the cosmos?

413
00:30:16,196 --> 00:30:22,200
Not with our bodies, but by wirelessly controlling robotic avatars.

414
00:30:24,201 --> 00:30:29,203
And is it possible that extraterrestrials have utilized these same technologies

415
00:30:29,203 --> 00:30:33,205
to explore Earth in the distant past?

416
00:30:34,206 --> 00:30:42,210
Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, and point to technologies currently in development at MIT

417
00:30:42,210 --> 00:30:49,213
that strongly resemble those in ancient accounts of gods who descended from the sky.

418
00:30:51,214 --> 00:30:56,217
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technologies Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies,

419
00:30:56,217 --> 00:31:00,219
they are developing a new smart skin for our soldiers.

420
00:31:01,219 --> 00:31:05,221
It would make them resistant to ballistic attack or chemical attack,

421
00:31:05,221 --> 00:31:08,223
and also would instantly self-repair.

422
00:31:09,223 --> 00:31:14,226
This is absolutely extraordinary because in the ancient texts we learn of the gods

423
00:31:14,226 --> 00:31:19,228
who wore a similar skin that seemed to make them impervious to any kind of human weaponry.

424
00:31:19,228 --> 00:31:21,229
They couldn't die.

425
00:31:23,231 --> 00:31:29,234
Now when I hear stories of semi-divine beings such as Hercules

426
00:31:29,234 --> 00:31:33,236
with his impenetrable lion skin,

427
00:31:33,236 --> 00:31:40,239
or in the Sanskrit Mahabharata, the story of Karna and his impenetrable armor,

428
00:31:40,239 --> 00:31:46,242
I have to ask the question whether or not these were all misunderstood technologies.

429
00:31:49,244 --> 00:31:55,247
Could the self-repairing skin being developed at MIT be the same technology

430
00:31:55,247 --> 00:32:01,250
our ancestors wrote about when they described divine beings that were invincible?

431
00:32:02,250 --> 00:32:09,254
And are we on the verge of this incredible biological and evolutionary leap ourselves?

432
00:32:09,254 --> 00:32:15,257
Some believe that mankind's next step is not in augmenting our bodies with machines,

433
00:32:15,257 --> 00:32:19,259
but in becoming the machines ourselves.

434
00:32:20,259 --> 00:32:21,260
Coming up.

435
00:32:21,260 --> 00:32:26,263
We can download every connection that we have in our brain onto a computer.

436
00:32:27,263 --> 00:32:32,266
These are the kinds of powers that would have been viewed as godlike at one previous time.

437
00:32:51,275 --> 00:32:57,278
A lot of people are really excited about the idea of if we could map out the structure of the human brain,

438
00:32:57,278 --> 00:33:00,280
neuron for neuron, and every connection,

439
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:04,282
then we can download every connection that we have in our brain.

440
00:33:04,282 --> 00:33:09,284
And we can also create a new system of human brain.

441
00:33:09,284 --> 00:33:12,286
We can create a new system of human brain,

442
00:33:12,286 --> 00:33:15,287
and we can create a new system of human brain,

443
00:33:15,287 --> 00:33:18,289
and we can create a new system of human brain,

444
00:33:18,289 --> 00:33:22,291
then we can download every connection that we have in our brain,

445
00:33:22,291 --> 00:33:25,292
all that information onto a computer.

446
00:33:29,294 --> 00:33:34,297
The Human Brain Project is only one of a number of brain mapping ventures.

447
00:33:34,297 --> 00:33:39,300
The next great American project, and that's what we're calling the Brain Initiative.

448
00:33:39,300 --> 00:33:48,304
In 2013, President Barack Obama unveiled a $4.5 billion project called the Brain Initiative.

449
00:33:50,305 --> 00:33:59,310
And Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has invested over $500 million in the Allen Institute for Brain Science.

450
00:34:00,310 --> 00:34:07,314
Futures speculate that if these initiatives are successful, the implications could be profound.

451
00:34:09,315 --> 00:34:17,319
Imagine having every piece of knowledge that every human has ever collected.

452
00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:27,324
And if you crunch that down into a digital consciousness, that's going to unlock everything.

453
00:34:28,324 --> 00:34:40,331
We can't know things about the world and about life that no individuals have ever previously known.

454
00:34:41,331 --> 00:34:48,335
Because they're all from the aggregation of all of human knowledge that's going together.

455
00:34:48,335 --> 00:34:54,338
So these are the kinds of powers that would have been viewed as godlike in previous eras.

456
00:34:58,340 --> 00:35:07,344
Could we be on the verge of creating a superhuman intelligence, able to outperform a human at any task?

457
00:35:08,345 --> 00:35:14,348
And if so, are we at risk of being replaced by machines entirely?

458
00:35:16,349 --> 00:35:23,352
Transhumanists believe what lies ahead could actually be emerging of man and machine.

459
00:35:28,355 --> 00:35:41,362
If we can map the human brain into technology, then I could take your brain or somebody else's brain and copy it into a computer.

460
00:35:42,362 --> 00:35:46,364
A technological one that could potentially live forever.

461
00:35:46,364 --> 00:35:59,371
What happens if we gain the ability to upload our consciousness into some sort of cloud virtual internet technology?

462
00:36:00,371 --> 00:36:11,377
It's not that far from the spectrum of a realizable goal, because we're already seeing neurological implants that can be put into the brain,

463
00:36:11,377 --> 00:36:16,379
that can be used to control the movement of an artificial arm.

464
00:36:17,380 --> 00:36:24,383
What happens if those neural implants can actually take the true essence of what it means to be conscious?

465
00:36:25,384 --> 00:36:31,387
And break that down into some sort of pure information that could live apart from a biological substrate?

466
00:36:32,387 --> 00:36:40,391
It could make itself far more massive, far more intelligent than any human ever had been before.

467
00:36:45,394 --> 00:36:53,398
Could extraterrestrials have steered our evolution towards technology so that we may merge men directly with machine?

468
00:36:54,399 --> 00:36:58,401
Eliminating our biological restraints?

469
00:36:59,401 --> 00:37:06,405
And if so, might our futures lie entirely in a digital realm of silicon and bits of code?

470
00:37:07,405 --> 00:37:13,408
Many believe the answer lies not in what we are becoming, but where we are going.

471
00:37:14,409 --> 00:37:27,415
It won't be long before mankind has reached a point where we have the technology and the artificial intelligence to leave our planet and go into space.

472
00:37:28,416 --> 00:37:30,417
Just like extraterrestrials before us.

473
00:37:33,418 --> 00:37:44,424
You've got to wonder, are extraterrestrials somehow guiding us and manipulating us into this new future and this new human that we are destined to be?

474
00:37:48,426 --> 00:37:57,431
Is it possible that extraterrestrials have led us to a post-biological future so that we can rejoin them in the cosmos?

475
00:37:58,431 --> 00:38:05,435
And if so, might they have used these same technologies to visit Earth in the distant past?

476
00:38:08,436 --> 00:38:17,441
Ancient astronaut theorists say yes and look to NASA's own attempts at re-engineering man for space.

477
00:38:17,441 --> 00:38:26,445
New York City, 1961.

478
00:38:27,446 --> 00:38:42,453
Psychopharmacologist Nathan S. Klein and cybernetic mathematician Manfred Klein co-publish a paper about human space travel entitled Drugs, Space and Cybernetics.

479
00:38:42,453 --> 00:38:54,459
The two coined the term cyborg, an enhanced human being specifically doctored to survive in extraterrestrial environments without a space suit.

480
00:38:56,461 --> 00:39:10,468
In their paper, they detailed various ways in which to modify the human body for survival beyond Earth and later served as the inspiration for NASA's study, Engineering Man for Space.

481
00:39:13,469 --> 00:39:21,473
Our bodies are not suited for living in space. After only a few days, we experience muscle and bone loss.

482
00:39:22,474 --> 00:39:28,477
One has to wonder if extraterrestrials experience the same type of problems.

483
00:39:29,477 --> 00:39:41,483
I do think that any beings that are able to cross the cosmos and visit this planet will have learned how to self-direct their evolution.

484
00:39:42,484 --> 00:39:56,491
To survive in deep space for extraordinarily long periods of time, those beings more than likely will be at least biodigital, meaning that they have merged with their technologies, or they will be pure digital beings.

485
00:39:57,491 --> 00:40:00,493
These may be robots or cyborgs.

486
00:40:01,494 --> 00:40:14,500
Could extraterrestrials have used the same cyborg technologies we are just now developing?

487
00:40:15,501 --> 00:40:27,507
If so, might our push towards transhumanism really be inspired by an innate desire to travel further into space and seek out our creators?

488
00:40:31,509 --> 00:40:47,517
There has been a consistent path towards the fusion of human and machine. Throughout all of our history, this idea that we could somehow advance ourselves for the betterment of humankind through this merger of technology and biology.

489
00:40:48,517 --> 00:41:04,525
I think that what will happen is that our biological bodies will be able to be perfected. Any imperfections corrected, our mental abilities and lifespan will be enhanced considerably.

490
00:41:05,526 --> 00:41:12,530
And we will be ready, ourselves, to go into space and ultimately join our creators in the start.

491
00:41:17,532 --> 00:41:25,536
Is it possible extraterrestrials left us with the tools to mold ourselves into a truly transhuman species?

492
00:41:27,537 --> 00:41:33,540
One, without any limits, capable of traveling the stars at will?

493
00:41:34,541 --> 00:41:42,545
Or could nanomachines, artificial intelligence and the digital revolution render humans obsolete?

494
00:41:42,545 --> 00:41:49,548
Our lives and the very nature of our existence may balance on this choice.

495
00:41:50,549 --> 00:41:55,551
A choice that is coming much sooner than we think.