"I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning." Joseph B. Priestley
I’m nearing the end of my current blog project of commenting on each of the six articles in June’s edition of The Global Spiral , which is devoted to a critique of transhumanism. This time, I will discuss Andrew Pickering’s, “Brains, Selves and Spirituality in the History of Cybernetics”, in some ways the strangest of the five articles that I have read so far. We’ll come to why, but let me step back for a moment to survey the overall terrain.
I’ll start this essay by leading with my conclusion: do we make it through this century? Yeah, but not all of us, and it’s neither as spectacular nor as horrific as many people imagine.
Just as technology has the capacity to create, it can also destroy. It is crucial lived concepts like scarcity is identified so a life of abundance can fill destructive voids left behind. With enough collaborative expertise drawn to conclude that “giving gives more giving” and that “taking takes more taking,” the capacity to harmonize between these spheres can ensure that all of us have greater potential to live more preferred lives while limiting the causes of harm to oneself and others.
“At any moment the Yellowstone caldera could blow up, wipe out 99% of the life on the surface of the planet, and probably all humans, and in our last minutes the degree of equanimity with which we face that prospect is the test of our dharmic fortitude and wisdom.” - James Hughes
In our final episode with professor James Hughes we tackle the less rosy side of Transhumanism, which has to do with massive existential threats and risks. Though there are many natural risks that could threaten humanity as a whole, including large asteriod collisions, gamma bursts, and super volcanoes, the Transhumanist recognize a whole host of other ways that we could threaten ourselves with advanced technologies.
In addition to discussing these threats and all of the possible side traps on the way toward a more techno-utopian future, James ties these together with our understanding of the dharma. He argues that even in a techno-utopian future (assuming we make it), we will still have to deal with annica—the ever changing flow of reality.
Dr. J. chats with Vince Horn of Buddhist Geeks. With radical advances in science in technology would it be possible for us to turn our world into a so-called, “Buddha Realm” or would it be more likely that we create some sort of God Realm, where awakening is discouraged because the conditions are so radically pleasant? And how specifically could these advances help us develop spiritually, on the path toward Buddhahood? (MP3) Part 2 of 3. Part 1 is here.
In this keynote “invocation,” which opened the second day of Personal Democracy Forum on June 24, 2008, Doug argues that there is no such thing as “personal democracy” and genuine democratic discourse can only be participatory and collective. The power to write and publish, he notes, may finally be in the hands of everyone (after centuries of domination by religious and political elites), but real democracy isn’t just blogging and commenting, it’s treating the entire world as “open source” and remarkable by direct participation.
The fourth of the six articles in the special anti-transhumanism issue of The Global Spiral (June 2008) is “Wrestling with Transhumanism” by well-known critic Katherine Hayles, Distinguished Professor of English and media studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The Singularity concept remains inescapable these days, although rarely well-understood. Both are unfortunate developments, for essentially the same reason: the popularity of the term “Singularity” has undermined its narrative value. Its use in a discussion is almost guaranteed to become the focus of a debate, one that rarely changes minds. This is especially unfortunate because the underlying idea is, in my view, a useful tool for thinking about how we’ll face the challenges of the 21st century.
Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher writes widely on the biological basis of love, sex and relationships. She is a consultant for the computer dating firm Chemistry.com. We talk about the potential therapeutic uses of the neurochemistry of love.
On October 2, 2007, Robert Sawyer gave a talk at the University of Waterloo entitled “A Galaxy Far, Far Away” My Ass!, about science fiction’s relevance for the here and now. TVOntario’s lecture series Big Ideas produced an MP3 of the talk.
“The longer our lives, the more we’ll have a chance to see that there’s no self living them.” - James Hughes. What is Transhumanism and how is it related to Buddhist practice? Will technology enable us to radically extend our lifespans, help us control our thoughts and emotions, and bring about the potential to upload our consciousness into virtual reality spaces? And if so, what are the deeper implications for our contemplative traditions. Will these advances actually support the deepening of wisdom? According to professor James Hughes, a Buddhist practitioner and leading voice in the Transhumanist movement, these advances will enable us to deconstruct the notion and experience we have of an “authentic self” and will support the development of happiness, and the cessation of suffering. (MP3)
In a remarkably upbeat article, Wired magazine profiles IEET Fellow Aubrey de Grey and his pro-healthy longevity organization, the Methuselah Foundation.
In my continuing program of reading, and commenting on, the six articles about transhumanism in June’s edition of The Global Spiral, I now come to “Of Which Human Are We Post?” by Don Idhe, who approaches the issues from a perspective in philosophy of technology.
I am examining the articles on transhumanism in the current issue of The Global Spiral , an online magazine published by the Metanexus Institute. The articles in the issue were presented at a research conference on transhumanism in April 2008, at Arizona State University (ASU), funded by the Templeton Foundation. The Templeton Foundation also supports Metanexus Institute.
So, there’s a new robot movie coming out for kids, and humorous enough for adults: Wall-E. Looks like R.O.B from Nintendo and Number 5 from Short Circut? Cute? Inescapably addictive to young children? That’s the one!
Jamais says: Here’s the talk I gave at Moodle Moot San Francisco last week. It runs about 70 minutes—yeah, I spoke for over an hour—and the slides aren’t visible. Fortunately, I really only use slides for illustrations, and you shouldn’t have a problem understanding what I’m talking about.
While the talk ostensibly focuses on the future of education and educational technologies, it wanders across a much broader landscape. It’s more of a “what’s shaping the next decade?” kind of talk, with an education spin.
What would you do if you lived to be 150 years old? What about 300? The Methuselah Foundation is dedicated to curing age-related disease and extending the healthy human lifespan. And we’re closer than you think. Tell us what you would do with an extra 50 or 100 years of healthy life. You can submit your entries as a comment, photo, or video below. 10 winners will receive VIP admission and dinner seating to the upcoming Aging 2008 at Royce Hall, UCLA on June 27: http://www.mfoundation.org/Aging2008/ 1 grand prize winner will receive a rejuvenating spa package valued at more than $500.
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