Tim Tyler  wrote in
news:bthh93$1p20$1{at}darwin.ediacara.org: 

> If we don't engineer ourselves and our symbiotes, you can be sure
> that machine-based systems will have no such qualms about using
> engineering to further their own development - and will adopt the
> available niches themselves.

Actually man-machine symbiotes are probably the least threatening and 
therefore the most likely avenue for extending human capabilities, at least 
in the short term. In fact after I had started this response, I ran into an 
article that noted that our bodies increasingly include artificial 
components which are becoming more and more sophisticated, e.g. pacemakers, 
artificial knees, etc. But while developments such as GM foods and 
embryonic stem cell research are subjects of public outcry, nothing is said 
about our gradual metamorphosis into cyborgs.

Yours,

Bill Morse
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