[Warning: Contains spoilers for the Battlestar Galactica episode Blood on the Scales] A lot of stories have fairly simple, obvious morals. These can seem like a clear guide for illustrating a moral rule, but they present moral dilemmas in an artificially isolated way. The problem is that in the real world, nobody lies, cheats, or kills for reasons that, at least in their own mind, aren’t important. I would argue that more complex, realistic narratives are more useful for exploring our ethics as they present moral dilemmas that are genuine dilemmas. Only by examining what we should do when faced with two unpalatable choices, which both present horrific consequences, can we really parse out what our values are and which ethical principles we must stand by, and what we must be willing to sacrifice.
[Warning: Contains spoilers for the Battlestar Galactica episode The Oath] It can be easy when experiencing an engaging story to be wrapped up in a world where problems seem much bigger, much more exciting, and more a matter of life and death than real life. The fast-paced action seems to involve much more important issues than our trivial day to day problems. But that impression is a mistake, because even though the major problems we face aren’t as immediate, we all face problems just as big and important, and it is our responsibility to take action that affects them.
[Warning: Contains spoilers for the Battlestar Galactica episode A Disquiet Follows My Soul] Even as Zarek and Gaeta sow the seeds of insurrection against Adama and his Cylon alliance, it is amazing how integrated the Cylons and humans have become. While it is true that a large portion of the fleet seems opposed to their alliance, it is nonetheless remarkable that Adama lets the Cylon Tigh remain as his second in command, even though Tigh is a member of a species of machines responsible for the destruction of the human race.
[Spoiler Alert: contains spoilers for the first episode of the final half-season of BSG Sometimes a Great Notion ] As the final half season of Battlestar Galactica opened with one of the darkest episodes ever, it gave me a lot to think about regarding death, immortality, and hope even in the worst of situations. Even if you happen to assign a low probability to the possibility of a high-quality future for ourselves here in 2009, it is worth dedicating a lot in pursuit of that future when its realization is of great value and permanence.
Virtual Reality (VR) has advanced to incredible heights. For those who haven’t kept up with the gaming scene, the newest game renowned for impressive graphics is Fallout 3. Of course, graphics aren’t all that matters to gamers, which is why another one of the hottest games on the block right now is Spore, which looks very cartoonish.
The Oxford English Dictionary has added “transhumanism” as a new word. Only fifty years since Julian Huxley coined it, but the OED needs to be sure of these things.
I used the term ‘legacy code’ in one of my novels, and Farah Mendlesohn, a science-fiction critic who read it thought it was a term I had made up, and she promptly adapted it for critical use as ‘legacy text’. Legacy text is all the other science fiction stories that influence the story you’re trying to write, and that generally clutter up your head even if you never read, let along write, the stuff. Most of us have default images of the future that come from Star Trek or 2001 or 1984 or Dr Who or disaster movies or computer games. These in turn interact with the tendency to project trends straightforwardly into the future.
The IEET and the editors of the Journal of Evolution and Technology (JET) are pleased to announce the publication of two special issues of JET, one brought together by Sky Marsen with the intention of publishing a book on transhumanism, and the other a collection of papers from the IEET’s May 2006 Human Enhancement Technology and Human Rights conference at Stanford University. Together they represent the wide array of issues at play in the debate over human enhancement and our transhuman future, from the daily lived experience of pushing to maximize one’s potential, to the legal, political and philosophical arguments we will need to secure universal access to safe enhancement technologies. Enjoy!
Today is the “preview” launch for Superstruct, the massively-multiplayer forecasting game that Jamais Cascio has been working on with the Institute for the Future. All IEET folks will love it.
Dr. Phineas Waldolf Steel is a mentally twisted but awe-inspiring figure whose interests span the production of propaganda, the construction of chronically malfunctioning robots, puppet shows, and an ongoing attempt to become World Emperor for the purpose of turning this planet into a Utopian Playland.
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.
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!
As of this morning, the case against acclaimed artistic photographer Bill Henson appears to have collapsed completely. A few days ago, the censored versions of the most controversial images, as published by news outlets, were given a G rating. The uncensored version of the most controversial image has now been rated a lowly PG. Australia’s censorship authority, the Classification Board, has stated that the “image of breast nudity … creates a viewing impact that is mild and justified by context … and is not sexualised to any degree”.
Oscar Pistorius was right all along, at least for now. He was right to appeal the ruling from the International Association of Athletics Federations that forbade him from competing alongside Olympians in Beijing for one simple reason: he is an Olympian.
On May 3, 2008, shortly after finishing second at the Kentucky Derby, filly Eight Belles went crashing to the ground, the result of sustained compound fractures to both her front legs. The horse’s injuries were so devastating that she had to be euthanized right there on the track, much to the horror of the 157,770 spectators. Last week, a number of baseball pundits noticed that home run production was significantly down across the Majors. And not by just a little bit. It’s being predicted that this season could see a drop of 1,000 home runs compared to the 2006 season. Last year saw a drop of nearly 600 home runs compared to 2006. Home runs, it would appear, are on the decline. What do these two seemingly unrelated stories have in common? Performance-enhancing drugs.
When Hollywood movies depict mutated human beings — sometimes beautifully, grotesquely, or bizarrely transformed in appearance from the Homo sapiens norm — they draw upon traditions that are thousands of years old. Throughout recorded history, human myths, legends, and folktales have described recognisably anthropomorphic beings that nonetheless deviate from species-typical human morphology and/or possess greater than human powers.
A lot of discussion has been going around regarding Pistorius. Should he or shouldn’t he be allowed to compete for a spot in the Beijing Olympics? If he makes it, should he or shouldn’t he be allowed to compete. There’s concern over what this will do to sports in general; what kind of message is it sending out to others; and how it could throw off future comparisons within the sport, making some sports records incomparable.
China is often depicted by the traditional media as a nation with a booming economy, a thriving middle class, and an unlimited future. We’re led to expect that it soon will become the world’s unchallenged economic and geopolitical superpower.
Marquis 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.
IEET Fellow Doug Rushkoff has finished his four volume graphic novel series on how the stories of the Bible were actually written, and how they resonate with a near future history. An “underground band of renegades…employ technology, alchemy, media hacking and mysticism…to combat the frightening threats to freedom that permeate the world.”
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I’m a huge science fiction nut (and that this has been the case for practically as long as I can remember). I grew up being exposed to Star Trek (both the original series and the Next Generation series when that came out), Star Wars (which I became utterly obsessed with at the age of eight), and other miscellaneous media.
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