Dear George!
Thank you for your answer, and I'm waiting for your post on my essay with much interest. (That I couldn't see yet there at that time when I just had been writing my answer here to you)
You radiate lot of positivism, faith in the good, values and man. Which is my faith and claim too. Thus, I can basically agree with you in that required high standards you represent, and your expectation for us to survive.
I'm not a pessimistic one I'm rather realistic. I've been trying to understand (somehow I was steered to follow and consider) much things what run behind not so obviously given even so covered and emerged publicly in the past 25 years. I find all those concerns are also parts of the present - as is - reality big picture.
I ought to think, the expression - humanity - need to be clarified first. Whether that is true or not, it seems to be a fact (as James Lee Hoover writes in his essay and Turil also brings forth a very diverse extra-ultra brains database conception) our species and population here on our present Earth are quite diverse, even may be intentionally genetically engineered either for a kind of betterment, or conveying lowered capacity being kept under a direction of some ones in charge. My very personal opinion is, all tremendous speculation about this huge topic is not an extra terrestrial matter of things at all. I had found someone's indication in his comment - we may be the creators of our own evolution even conceptualizing GOD or GODs. I can feel similar, therefore I conclude much rather we need to finely discern the operating of Natural evolutionary processes, and a probable consciously and intentionally engineered steerable evolutionary mechanism.
I like, you finely expose a difference between - fitness landscape - and the - stronger will - conquer or survive 'law'. That means for me, while in the wild nature the evolutionary processes can run unpredictably missing steps what are logically expected when those are consciously examined and tried to be modelled - due to the Nature is able to keep a healthy balance between the destructive and building forces in a possible changing of Her stratum, either consciously apprehended or not by ones - but that is unfortunately wrongly interpreted by ones' conclusion or deduction that is so, because the - stronger will - conquer. There is a big difference, in the Nature naturally balancing herself evolutionary mechanism and how much we learned from that to consciously steer to build a 'fitness landscapes'. I feel, this may be a so called consciously steerable ability for a creation process given for 'a mankind' who is factually initially (and hoped finally) the sum total stratum of the never created unconditioned NATURE! I feel, this is our creation power given in-inbuilt and encompassing for us being lived both as individuals and group structure of a natural organism and organizations. We should name that community as godlike MAN as his own nature or natural organism or organization. I suppose, there may be experiments running of which positively charged goal is to recognize the working of the NATURE and applying those gathered and learned knowledge for our best invention. But, because of the natural processes also contain destructive forces, I suppose too, the are set counterfeit effects too, for an examination.
I suppose too, the intent of those creation experiments initially may be set and equipped with such high standards you are mentioning and expects those values, and I quite agree. However, some kind of failure should have happened and we can see presently those process cannot be or very difficult to turn them back into the right tracks.
We also should not be unobservant in that of an actual group or social consciousness is mainly determined at institutional levels and may be conditioned by lead forces consisting individuals with service to self or service to others interest being unbalanced in them and even they may be also a kind of groups too. However, mainly they are who own yet presently those peculiar technologies (high energy or subtle energy manipulations with which possible to encroach into the natural matter and energy flowing and allows reality and consciousness manipulations) and more closed released ones to the nowadays using.
So, I'm not afraid of the believing of the average 'hu'man (coming from an originally naturally arranged genetic which is inherently can be balanced by the nature either apprehended consciously and voluntary steered or not - this is what from Joe Fisher talks about I think, and I agree with him) capability to fulfil those high standards. I'm pretty much afraid of them who are in charge presently to engineer of steering of the evolutionary processes into a beyond reason direction what they should have to have already overseen. Very because using their peculiar equipments looking into the future - What should be the total annihilation and destruction of the natural life ending eventually the artificial machine life too, into which they try to escape and save themselves existing in a kind of virtual heaven? It is totally beyond reason, and I'm afraid of how to stop them by ones who are able to apprehend and can do those high standards you wrote.
This is not an off-Earth or out there extraterrestrial topic. It is running here and NOW! We need to realize it and somehow stop it. Unfortunately I'm either not in charge or knowing more how.
Kind regards,
Valeria