There’s been considerable media attention surrounding a recent breakthrough in the development of a male birth-control pill (MBCP).
Nick Bostrom: “Why I hope the search for extraterrestrial life finds nothing.”
by George DvorskyTranshumanist philosopher (and IEET Chair) Nick Bostrom desperately hopes that we never find signs of extraterrestrial life—advanced or otherwise. Why? Because he understands the Fermi Paradox.
Why I hope the search for extraterrestrial life finds nothing
by Nick BostromIf we are alone it may be evidence that we have sneaked past the huge hurdles in the way of any species becoming an intelligent star-faring civilization. Then again, we could still be extinguished at any moment.
Eight tips to dramatically improve your chances of living forever
by George DvorskyThere is no such thing as a natural death. Nothing that happens to Man is ever natural, since his presence calls the whole world into question. All men must die, but for every man his death is an accident. And even if he knows it and consents to it, an unjustifiable violation.—J.R.R. Tolkien
Postgenderism: Beyond the Gender Binary (IEET White Paper 03)
by George DvorskyAn IEET White Paper by By George Dvorsky and James Hughes.
This essay is forthcoming in an edited book on gender and reproductive technologies, but in a shorter, revised form. So we wanted to share this IEET White Paper version with our readership for comment and improvement that we can use in revising the book chapter.
Abstract: Postgenderism is an extrapolation of ways that technology is eroding the biological, psychological and social role of gender, and an argument for why the erosion of binary gender will be liberatory. Postgenderists argue that gender is an arbitrary and unnecessary limitation on human potential, and foresee the elimination of involuntary biological and psychological gendering in the human species through the application of neurotechnology, biotechnology and reproductive technologies. Postgenderists contend that dyadic gender roles and sexual dimorphisms are generally to the detriment of individuals and society. Assisted reproduction will make it possible for individuals of any sex to reproduce in any combinations they choose, with or without “mothers” and “fathers,” and artificial wombs will make biological wombs unnecessary for reproduction. Greater biological fluidity and psychological androgyny will allow future persons to explore both masculine and feminine aspects of personality. Postgenderists do not call for the end of all gender traits, or universal androgyny, but rather that those traits become a matter of choice. Bodies and personalities in our postgender future will no longer be constrained and circumscribed by gendered traits, but enriched by their use in the palette of diverse self-expression.
Download the Complete Document (PDF)
Elliot Spitzer: Only a Human Male
by George DvorskyEvolutionary psychology suggests we should cut Spitzer some slack. Until we can re-engineer the brain, human males will do lots of dumb things for sex.
Ashley X’s Parents Declare Treatment a Success
In January of 2007 the IEET suddenly doubled its web viewage, and the phones rang off the hook.
President’s Council on Bioethics Publishes Bostrom on Posthuman Dignity
The latest volume from the President’s Council (and hopefully the last), Human Dignity and Bioethics, (Full Document PDF) includes a chapter by Nick Bostrom on “Dignity and Enhancement” (PDF)
Seven ways to control the Galaxy with self-replicating probes
by George DvorskySo, you want to take over the Galaxy. A good career move. Ultimately, you’re hoping to communicate with extraterrestrials, colonize entire sets of star clusters, and eventually lord it over the entire Milky Way.
The Future of Humanity
by Nick BostromAbstract The future of humanity is often viewed as a topic for idle speculation. Yet our beliefs and assumptions on this subject matter shape decisions in both our personal lives and public policy – decisions that have very real and sometimes unfortunate consequences. It is therefore practically important to try to develop a realistic mode of futuristic thought about big picture questions for humanity. This paper sketches an overview of some recent attempts in this direction, and it offers a brief discussion of four families of scenarios for humanity’s future: extinction, recurrent collapse, plateau, and posthumanity.
Popular Arguments For and Against Longevity
by George DvorskyJeriaska at the Future Current blog continues his service by transcribing the talks given at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies’ “Securing the Longevity Dividend” seminar in Chicago July 23, 2007. At that seminar the IEET’s George Dvorsky gave this talk on popular arguments for and against radical life extension.
Smart Policy: Cognitive Enhancement in the Public Interest
by Nick BostromRecommendations
• Conceptualize pharmacological cognitive enhancers as part of a wider spectrum of ways of enhancing the cognitive performance of groups and individuals.
• Expand the disease-focused regulatory framework for drug approval into a health- or wellbeing-focused framework in order to facilitate the development and use of pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement of healthy adult individuals.
• Provide public funding for academic research into the safety and efficacy of cognitive enhancers, for the development of improved enhancers, and for epidemiological studies of the broader effects of long-term use.
• Increase public funding for research aimed at determining optimal nutrition for pregnant women and newborns to promote brain development.
• Disseminate information to the public about optimal pre- and perinatal nutrition.
George Wins Three 2008 Blogisattva Awards
The 2008 Blogisattva Award winners have been announced - the awards for best Buddhist blogging - and our George Dvorsky has again scored a number of awards for Sentient Developments.
Prosthetics-a-gogo
by George DvorskyThe latest cyborg arms, augmented risk-assessment, using your head to Wii, and tattoo interfaces for your smart phone.
Marquis de Condorcet, Enlightenment proto-transhumanist
by George DvorskyMarquis de Condorcet (1744-1794) was a hugely influential Enlightenment era thinker who contributed significantly to the rise of secular humanism and helped plant the seeds of transhumanism. He is said to have best represented the ideals of the Enlightenment.
Facebook, the Pub and the Singularity
by Giulio PriscoTake a look at this anti-progress hate piece!
Overcoming Gender
by George DvorskyYour gender is a constraint. This is an inalienable truism, regardless of whether you’re a man or a woman.
Origins and Theory of the World Transhumanist Association
by NoneAndres Lomena recently conducted an interview for the Spanish magazine Cronopis with the Chair of the IEET’s Board of directors Nick Bostrom, as well as with IEET friend David Pearce, about their co-founding of the World Transhumanist Association and related topics. They have kindly allowed us to reprint the interview here.
$25,000 “Matching Grant” Drive for WTA
The World Transhumanist Association (WTA) - with which many IEET fellows and staff are associated - has launched a $50,000 fundraising drive with matching grants from two philanthropists.
Religions for a Galactic Civilization
by Giulio PriscoReligions for a Galactic Civilization is an old (1981) article by William Sims Bainbridge See also Bill’s bio on the IEET site and my article on the Spanish magazine “Muy Interesante”, adapted from an interview with Bill recorded at Transvision 2006, where he talks about NBIC, life extension and mind uploading.
Thousands of Evo Art Portraits of Hughes and Bostrom
Dr. Günter Bachelier is working on a portrait series called “Masterminds of Contemporary Transhumanism.” Using a photograph of each of the subjects, Dr. Bachelier uses a computer program to generate 2000 impressionistic variations of the image.
In Defense of Superlativity
by Giulio PriscoMany transhumanist ideas are products of fertile and creative imaginations. Some people would add “unhampered by the normal constraints of scientific and philosophical discipline”. Is that so? My answer: NO, or at least not necessarily.
Announcing the next phase of Betterhumans
IEET’s George Dvorsky announces some changes at IEET ally Betterhumans, such as the fact that he is the new editor-in-chief:
Bostrom, Corwin in BBC4’s Visions of the Future
Visions of the Future, the BBC special hosted by physicist Michio Kaku will air as a three-part series starting on 5 November, 2007. Nick Bostrom and Anne Corwin from the IEET are part of the series, as are many other futurist luminaries such as Ray Kurzweil, Joel Garreau, Jaron Lanier, Paul Saffo and Rodney Brooks.
Hughes, Bostrom Respond to Agar in Hastings Center Report
These letters are in response to Nicholas Agar’s article on H+ in the last issue of the Hastings Center Report:
Hitchens gets it wrong about Buddhism
by George DvorskyI’ve never really paid much attention to Christopher Hitchens, renowned and reviled critic of all things religious. But when my brother recently brought his anti-Buddhist sentiments to my attention I had to take a closer look.
Sovereignty and the problem of political relativism: Why we need a world without borders
by George DvorskySeveral days ago I argued that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should have been arrested upon his entry into the United States. I wanted to show how absurd it was that this political criminal is allowed to travel at will and be afforded diplomatic courtesies.
Storm Botnet storms the Net
by George DvorskyBack in January of this year a rather insidious computer virus began to make its way into a startlingly large number of computers around the globe. Called Storm Worm, the virus is a backdoor trojan that affects Windows operating systems. At its height the virus accounted for 8% of all infections globally; over 1.2 billion virus messages have been sent including a record 57 million on August 22 alone.
Tarkovsky’s Solaris
by George DvorskyJoy. I’ve finally got my own copy of the 1972 Soviet classic, Solaris. It will be a gem in my science fiction collection.
Bostrom talk on X-Risk and AI transcribed
The People Database Project has transcribed a talk by Nick Bostrom on “Longevity Escape Velocity and the Singularity” from the 2006 Singularity Summit hosted by the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence.. Video and audio are also online.
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