| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/14/2009 5:24:39 PM | I read an article last Sunday reporting apparently that artificial sperm is finally a possibility; so the implications.
Is this a threat to manhood?
Are we to become reproductively obsolete?
Should we consider inventing artificial wombs to counter the balance of power?
Would taking the reproductive process out of the human body in some way emancipate us all, or render us emotionally impotent (excuse the pun).
If we are to use artificial sperm, why not go the whole hog and allow cloning?
Do we need to reconsider what being human really means? | |
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| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/15/2009 9:16:11 AM | | yes.... your doomed to be replaced by really expensive sperm ! | |
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| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/16/2009 10:43:30 AM | Well you know some beleave we were artificially created anyway , The first civilisation of man the Semerians say we were created by the celestial beings from the 10th planet niberiu which is aparently suppose to come around by earth in 2012  So maybe people wont care so much about things like artificial sperm they do show up on 2012  | |
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| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/16/2009 7:25:46 PM | Back in the 70's the book that was all the rage was 'Chariots of the Gods'. Written by Eric Von Daniken it was a load of nonsence about aliens having visited us and doing things like building the pyramids.................ugh!
The aliens I believe are us, and we will begin by building intelligent machines ..............let's hope they are not like Sky Net in the film Terminator! | |
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| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/19/2009 4:21:58 AM | | Dont worry we will still need you to jump start our cars, change tyres and open those tightly screwed jars :) and of course for the cuddles! | |
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| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/19/2009 1:55:08 PM | Gd ...we could well end up with a skynet scenario ...look what we are doing here..interacting on the most detached benign level known to humans...the laptop!! Terminator .....A movie depicting the fraility of homo sapiens in the face of stronger ,adaptable machines...an interesting concept ,given our dependence on artificial intelligence in most walks of life. But the movie also explores the resistance of the mere human ,who is at least humanly conscious of the decisions we make . We are not the T 101 off an assembly line ..we are of DNA and genetics and human criteria that enables us to differeniate between human intelligence and artificial intelligence...and as long as we maintain that" human difference " we will never consider our machines more intelligent than ourselves.
However to get actually get back to the thread..."artifcial sperm" is as yet a non starter. There is no such Thing!! There is IVF and there is ICSI.....in both cases an actual man is required.... it is not artificial ....In cloning ,it's the same.....human cells , or indeed animal cells,...DNA, and genetic format is essential ....nothing artificial !! Now ,on the other hand the need for a husband /partner to be present in the making of baby ,is another thread in the making ,which is what I think the op is hankering after..... | |
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| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/19/2009 4:38:54 PM | 'Of all the would-be fathers who came and went over the years, this thing, this machine was the only one who measured up. In an insane world, it was the sanest choice. ':- Sarah Connor's (Terminator 2)
This is my favorite quote from Terminator two. Sarah describes how the Terminator would never come home drunk, would never be abusive and would always be there for John. He also was a dab hand at jumpstarting cars and opening cars incidentally!
Mir your answer was really entertaining, I enjoyed reading it very much; clearly you are a Terminator fan as am I. What I find interesting about it that it forces us to ask ourselves what makes us unique as humans. What we define as being a person? One notion proposed is a person is free to make choices, to have possibilities. For the Terminators there was only their mission, which they were not free to deviate from. Once completed their reason to exist ceases, unless they are reprogrammed. In lots of ways we are programmed, but we can choose to change that programming if we so choose. I think we are a long way from successfully creating AI but I think its definitely on the way- we better watch out……………….smile!
Mir apparently artificial sperm is real see
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article685515.ece
It does raise all sorts of ethical questions I believe similar to that of cloning etc.
Lastly I love technology – it’s a tool. How we use it is the question. Speaking on forums is not all that different from writing letters into the newspaper for example. Technology makes life more convenient, I'm dying for the day that machines can do all our work for us so we can get on doing more interesting things with our time.
I love this form of communication on the forums , it’s fun. We are simply writing letters electronically and delivering them electronically, but the basic action is the same as its always been. Instead of POF they should call the site POL (plenty of letters.com). | |
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| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/20/2009 3:39:35 AM | GD ...I can pretty much quote the entire script of terminator 2 LOL....was my favorite terminator movie...also liked when sarah connor turned to him in the car and said"so what's your story"?
Anyway ...I stand corrected about artificial sperm it seems.....first I heard of it ...and it certainly makes way for some ethical questions sure enough .And considering human fertility has decreased significantly over the course of our generation ,it would seem like the next step...I guess it can't be stopped ...progress will always prevail and I think that's a good thing.When IVF was first introduced it was the same and even to-day there are people who have issues with it.I could never understand that ...it's creating a life not destroying it....I might not have my son now if it wasn't for IVF ,and I am eternally grateful for those doctors ,nurses and professors in the retunda who made it possible for me to become a mother. So given the apparent decline in sperm numbers to date ..they are probably very much on route to rectify this....and so be it I guess.
Where technology is concerned ..it is very much how we use it ...you're right there....though I am not so sure about machines doing all our work for us .....removing the human element could be a dangerous thing....that's if we allow ourselves to be removed.Awareness of self is the essence of what being alive means .We not only think... but perceive ourselves thinking.We experience thought as something within our control.Of all the components of human motivation, the one least likely to be duplicated by a computer is our capacity to find things interesting. We care about solving a new problem or discovering a new fact...even if we have no immediate application for our discoveries.Technology does indoubtedly outstrip human intelligence in certain ways ,but it's chief influnce I hope will continue to lie in it's utility as a tool.
Doing all our work for us might sound great but it raises the question ...will we render ourselves obsolete, and risk allowing our machines to make decisions in areas involving say moral and ethical issues...when we ourselves should have that human input...could you imagine machines doing the work of the military for instance,or in making judgements in courts of law,or in psychotherapy?
In the terminator movies skynet did become self -aware and the problems started...could it really happen We might be taking on more pressing issues then artificial sperm...what if our machines were to use our artificial sperm and rise up against us If we had already surrendered our human input and the machines were doing all the work for us ...they could do all the work without us lol....and in the words of Kyle Reese ..."...and he will not stop 'til you are dead".......
Gd ,as enticing as it seems ...to be able to get on with doing more interesting things with our time ...maybe for now we should refrain from surrendering too much ...including maybe our capacity to reproduce our species...artificial sperm ,wombs ,whatever may well become a thing of the future....but for now it would be foolish to consider our machines and technology etc, more useful than ourselves .
And no matter what technology or medical discovery comes to us in the future it would be unwise to let our machines take over completly.....not as long as we are aware of ....and proud of......the human difference !! | |
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| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/21/2009 5:33:04 PM | Mir,
Your last post is really well written, I loved it. I'm going to recommend you as a promising new screenwriter for ‘Terminator 5 – Sky Net Repents’.
I'm more inclined to think that if we ever do create artificial life (machines that think) they are more likely to be our friends than our enemies. Perhaps they would think of us as parents who created them and love us instead of seeing us as a threat?
When I referred to machines doing all our work for us, I didn’t mean intelligent ones. To use sentient machines in such a manner would be barbaric – basically slavery. I was thinking more on the lines of automated systems that carry out jobs like driving Taxis and Running the Country………………….just joking! What I mean is machines that make life easier for all of us.
Thanks again for a great post!
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| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/23/2009 8:03:24 AM | Why ...you are very welcome kind sir !!...LOL...I enjoyed writing it....I guess I have my moments ...anyway I would love an artifcial intelligence to come and do hair ...or better still have myself cloned ...then I can go off and be leisurly ....nice !! | |
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| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/23/2009 4:51:15 PM | Your more than welcome Mir!
Ive cloned myself; from my picture you can see there are at least 5 of me walking around Dublin! | |
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| Artificial Sperm ?
Posted: 7/23/2009 6:04:04 PM | I wonder if Artifical Sperm and Real Sperm would feel the same hmm like fake boobs and real boobs i wonder....  | |
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