To Be a Machine : Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death

Mark O’Connell investigates the transhumanist movement, a subculture dedicated to using technology to bypass biological aging and achieve physical immortality. He visits Alcor’s cryonics facility to view frozen bodies, interviews developers of brain-uploading software, and observes biohackers who implant sensors into their flesh to expand human perception. The text examines the philosophical framework that treats the human body as an inefficient machine requiring a hardware upgrade. O’Connell documents his encounters with figures like Max More and Zoltan Istvan, contrasting their technological optimism against the physical reality of decay.

This book serves readers interested in the intersection of philosophy and extreme elective technology. It provides a skeptical look at the Silicon Valley belief system that views death as a technical bug rather than a biological certainty. Readers gain a clear understanding of current efforts in life extension and robotic integration. The work offers a grounded perspective on how futurists attempt to decouple the human mind from its organic origin, leaving the reader to consider the implications of a post-biological existence.