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DR. DANNY BELKIN
The
KurzweilAI.net article
Evolution and the Internet: Toward A Networked Humanity? began
The discussion regarding the fate of the human race, recently addressed
in Bill Joy's article in Wired has focused mainly on the question of
technologies which might endanger that future. One specific threat which
has been discussed is the danger posed to humans from a superior robot
species. While the discussion itself is an important and relevant one, I
would suggest that robotics and other technological developments may yet,
should we avoid self-destruction, free us from worry about such threats,
and instead present us with a future quite different from the common
"humankind manages not to destroy itself and sets out to colonise the
galaxy" scenario.
The drive for scientific and technological development during the last
century, while indeed creating great dangers to our very existence, has
brought us to the brink of a major change not only in the way we live,
but in who we are — both individually and as a species. In this
broad
field of advanced technology, communications and information technology
are unique in that they facilitate the advances in technology and push us
toward the immense leap that we, as a species, are set to
make.
A similar, if slightly less complex situation occurred on this planet a
long time ago.
Dr. Danny Belkin was the author of this article and has been involved
in
the practical and philosophical aspects
of futurism, life extension and biotechnology for several years. His
interest in these subjects, no doubt fuelled by being raised on science
fiction, took a tangible turn following an essay he wrote discussing the
field of programmed cell death research, which sparked his interest in
the subject of societal cellular behavior, consciousness, evolution, and
how these subjects relate to humanity's present and future.
He was born in 1973 in Jerusalem, and spent his childhood in Israel,
except for three formative years in San Francisco. Having gone through
high school and majoring in Biology, he completed three years' military
service before studying for a B.Sc. degree in Biology at Tel Aviv
University. Four memorable years studying for a Ph.D. in Immunology at
the University of Cambridge followed, during which his interest in all
things futuristic grew: human and machine evolution, computer technology,
life extension, their actual and potential inter-relations, as well as
current and future implications. His vision and outlook is exemplified by
the article
Evolution and the Internet: Toward A Networked Humanity?.
Returning to Israel he set about homing on realizing the near-term
practical application of biology and life extension research, joining
TheraVitae, an innovative stem cell therapy leader, where he is now a
senior scientist.
Danny received a B.Sc. degree in Biology from
Tel Aviv University
in 1999 and a Ph.D. degree in Immunology from the
University of Cambridge, UK, in
2003.
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