1. A Note From Dr. J.
2. IEET News
3. Articles
4. Multimedia
5. TechEthx News
6. Events
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A NOTE FROM DR. J.
Hope your holidays are going well, and you find the willpower to keep your New Year’s resolutions for a couple of months. I started my new diet the day after the election (13 pounds so far) and my target is to keep it up till the end of the Obama first hundred days. Then my mood (elation or disappointment), and the productivity of my second year of gardening, will probably determine whether I can maintain a carb-less lifestyle.
Time for a year-end review of the IEET, its accomplishments, and future prospects.
First, we have assembled an amazing group of public intellectuals all of whom are working feverishly (with occasional breaks to bear children) to promote various kinds of technoprogressive ideas in the public square. That is our first and foremost mission, and the constant stream of talks, media appearances, essays, books, videos, podcasts, and even graphic novels (Doug Rushkoff) and feature-length films (Martine Rothblatt) demonstrates the amazing capacities of the folks of the IEET.
More than 1100 people receive this newsletter, more than 500 people are subscribed to our RSS feeds, and more 300 people subscribe to our daily news and topical news lists. (I did so much TV this year that the Trinity College President’s conference room began to seem like my studio…) Our networking has paid off in very tangible ways, generating many new opportunities, ideas and avenues for work. Thank you all for your passionate efforts.
Second, we found a very able editor for our Journal of Evolution and Technology in Russell Blackford. Since he assumed the editorship a year ago we have cleared out a two year backlog of manuscripts, published three mammoth issues of JET, and are working on more for next year. Thank you Russell, who by the way completed and defended his dissertation, compiled a book, and found time to blog and publish scholarly work at the same time.
Third, we upgraded our website with the volunteer help of the talented graphic artists and web designers Edwin Rosero and Pedro Carabeo-Nieva. It looks a lot more professional. Thank you.
Fourth, we organized and co-sponsored the very successful seminar on Global Catastrophic Risks November 14th in Mountain View California. Thanks to all of you who spoke at or attended our seminar, and to the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology and Lifeboat Foundation who co-sponsored. Thanks also for the hard work of Jeriaska who videotaped the entire seminar and is putting up the video on Vimeo, which we are linking to from the IEET site. Thanks also to the two years of hard work of IEET Chair Nick Bostrom and IEET Fellow Milan Cirkovic in pulling together the landmark Global Catastrophic Risks volume, and the three day GCR disaster-a-palooza at Oxford in July which launched the book.
Fifth, we welcomed three new IEET Fellows, Milan Cirkovic, Ben Goertzel and Susan Schneider. We’re looking forward to promoting Milan’s steady stream of ground-breaking astrobiological essays, Ben’s work on building self-aware machine minds, and Susan’s forthcoming book on Science Fiction and Philosophy.
Sixth, we launched our first distance learning course, on the topic of the Longevity Dividend. Ten folks signed up for the ten week course, but between all our distractedness (especially mine) it didn’t work very well. I think we’ll try a distance learning project again, but this time with a shorter time line and more tangible group project (like a public wiki). With the likely strong science, technology and health care components in the Obama economic stimulus and healthcare reform plans we are in an excellent position to continue advancing the idea of anti-aging research and the Longevity Dividend we can all reap from universal access to safe and effective aging-retardation treatments. (By the way, I put together a very cool syllabus for my Fall 2008 course on Happiness and Public Policy - email me if you would like to download it (director@ieet.org). It has all the texts and podcasts in the zipped file.)
Seventh, the IEET received our official status as a 501c3 tax-exempt/tax-deductible nonprofit organization. Which is awesome, except that I DON’T KNOW HOW TO ASK FOR MONEY. As a consequence we have none. Literally. None. Makes the tax reporting easy, but that is the only upside.
So a note about my biggest failure so far, and my first resolution for 2009: Ask people for money for the IEET.
When Nick and I and the IEET Board put this together in 2004 I drew up a plan of action and a budget to try to reach the position where I could work for the IEET full-time by 2010. That’s not going to happen. But we still could raise enough to continue paying Marcelo’s $5000 a year as Assistant Director, and support our couple of meetings a year. If you feel moved to chip in toward these goals as an end-of-the-year charitable contribution you can do so here:
http://www.chipin.com/contribute/id/7f1384a7fb2a8c5e
Having participated in the World Transhumanist Association’s successful raising of $50,000 last year, and then its transformation into Humanity+ I now understand what even that relatively modest amount of resources can enable. (Not to mention the incredible success Nick has had building the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford.) I want that for the IEET also.
It constantly amazes me that even with nothing we have been able to produce fifty times more commentary, media, and policy debate than some of the incredibly well-funded bioconservative organizations in our ideaspace ($800,000/year of progressive foundation money for the Center for Genetics and Society for instance, so they can keep bashing stem cell research?! Arggh!!) Imagine what we could do with 10% of that kind of funding! I do, often.
Anyway, that’s my obligatory financial whine. Please make whatever contribution the collapse of Ponzi-scheme capitalism allows you to make, and send me your ideas for how we can build the IEET program-wise and financially. No Ponzi schemes.
As to my agenda for 2009:
1) Continue building the IEET network, and promoting the work and careers of the IEET’s staff, fellows and interns.
2) Say no to some writing and speaking requests to that I can find time to start blogging chapters of Cyborg Buddha, and get a contract to get it published.
3) Put some serious work into our IEET technoprogressive policy wiki, so that we have a resource to point people to on questions like technoprogressivism, the Longevity Dividend, the Basic Income Guarantee, open source biohacking and re-“commons”-ing of the genome, the regulation of performance and cognition enhancing drugs, and the control of technologies of potential mass destruction. In the meantime do check out the wonderful biopolicy source volume that the Hastings Center put together:
http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Publications/BriefingBook
Technoprogressive bioethicists and bioethics ideas should have a lot of influence in the Obama administration and Democratic Congress in the coming years. They couldn’t have less influence than they did for the last eight years.
4) Find someone to re-design the IEET Images of Non-Human Intelligence website so that it will be capable of generating critical reflection on biopolitical pop culture, from sexy vampires to lovable robots to oppressed mutants. If the collapse of the global economy doesn’t get too much in the way we’re hoping to work with Andy Miah to organize a conference on the theme of Biopolitics of Pop Culture in Glasgow, Scotland. In the meantime make sure to follow the superb analyses by Annalee Newitz and her team at io9 blog.
5) We’re also working with folks to organize a “BuddhaDharma 2.0” conference in Boulder Colorado in 2009, with a Cyborg Buddha sub-track.
6) And we’re working with Humanity+ and European technoprogressives for a possible technoprogressive conference in the Hague.
So 2009 will be exciting here at the IEET, and I look forward to sharing it with you.
J.
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IEET NEWS
OED adds “transhumanism” (Dec 26, 2008)
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/oed08/
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.
George gets io9ed and Metafiltered (Dec 20, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/dvorsky20081220/
George’s recent article on sex selection got reviewed by Annalee Newitz of the fantastic io9 blog, and his “must-know terms” piece was linked from a post on transhumanism at the snarky Metafilter blog.
Celebrating our past, imagining our future (Dec 19, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/blackford20081219/
Russell Blackford, editor of the IEET’s Journal of Evolution and Technology (JET), has just published the first three items for JET’s new 2008-2009 volume (Volume 20 of the journal). The first of these is Russell’s editorial, entitled “Celebrating our past, imagining our future” which sets out his vision for the journal ... and for some mild celebration of its first decade.
Michael Anissimov reports from Colloquium on the Law of Futuristic Persons (Dec 11, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/mafp08/
I’m in Melbourne Beach, Florida, for the 4th Colloquium on the Law of Futuristic Persons….
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ARTICLES
George Dvorsky: Future risks and the challenge to democracy (Dec 24, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/dvorsky20081224/
As we prepare for the emergence of the next generation of apocalyptic weapons, it needs to be acknowledged that the world’s democracies are set to face their gravest challenge yet as viable and ongoing political options.
Jamais Cascio: Cycles of History (Dec 19, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/cascio20081219/
A new economic superpower undermines established economic leaders. The collapse of complex financial instruments turn a boom into a bust. Banks fail in waves. Unemployment reaches up to 25% in some areas. A global depression holds on for more than two decades. Class warfare breaks out. Transportation networks stall—along with industries dependent upon them—as the main “fuel” for transportation disappears. Pandemic disease exacts a terrible toll. Religious fundamentalism skyrockets. Totalitarianism rises around the world.
George Dvorsky: Most people favor reproductive technologies—but not sex selection (Dec 18, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/dvorsky20081218/
A recent poll conducted in 15 countries by the BBVA Foundation shows that citizens in the developed world are largely in support of assisted reproductive technologies. In particular, most people polled were very much in support of in vitro fertilization, a technique used to help couples with fertility problems (scoring over 7 points on an acceptance scale from 0 to 10). At the same time, however, there was strong disapproval for using the technique to choose a baby’s gender, with scores consistently showing below 3 points.
Jamais Cascio: Value Ecologies (Dec 16, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/cascio20081217/
I have to admit something: I’ve been a business consultant. Not just in the consulting futurist sense, but also in the “let me help you innovate your product cycle, grow your stakeholders, and immanentize your eschaton” sense.
Mike Treder: Russia’s Crash Nano Program (Dec 15, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/treder20081216/
Michael Berger, our friendly colleague over at Nanowerk, has done a brilliant job of reviewing and analyzing Russia’s nanotechnology crash program.
Jamais Cascio: Nanopolitics (Dec 12, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/cascio20081212/
Two reports out this week hint at a new political alignment in the coming decades. Both reports focus on nanotechnology, but have implications well beyond.
Mike Treder: Nanotechnology Risk Assessment FAIL (Dec 12, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/treder20081212/
In 2001, the US National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) was established by Congress to: (1) Advance a world-class nanotechnology research and development program. (2) Foster the transfer of new technologies into products for commercial and public benefit. (3) Develop and sustain educational resources, a skilled workforce, and the supporting infrastructure and tools to advance nanotechnology. (4) Support responsible development of nanotechnology.
Jamais Cascio: Legacy Futures (Dec 9, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/cascio20081208/
Reading a talk given by science fiction author Ken Macleod, I came across this bit…
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MULTIMEDIA
The Future of Mac vs. PC (Dec 24, 2008)
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/hardtakeoff/
A True Cure for Human Aging (Dec 19, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/degrey20081219/
Measuring and Quantifying Human Empathy (Dec 18, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/ns200812/
A Weather Machine: Benefits and Risks (Dec 17, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/gcr08hall/
Intro to Global Catastrophic Risks Conf (Dec 17, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/gcr08intro/
Andy on Start of the Week (Dec 15, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/miah20081215/
Long Now Synthetic Biology Debate (Dec 12, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/lnsynbio/
Cognitive Disability, Cognitive Enhancement & Moral Status (Dec 9, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/cdcems08/
10 Ways the World Could End (Dec 9, 2008) http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/qq10wyas/
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ETHICS & TECH IN THE NEWS
FROM IEET-NEWS LIST
Pope attacks blurring of gender
http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-news-10721102.html
Bionic ‘sex chip’ that stimulates pleasure centre in brain developed by scientists http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-news-10710124.html
CFP: H+ politics essays (1500 wds) for Re-Public http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-news-10667289.html
Unnatural Selection - 2009 - ToC
http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-news-10659614.html
Survey: Most countries OK with ART and PID, not with sex selection http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-news-10614089.html
Globalizing social democracy
http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-news-10574645.html
Students use stimulants to study, and like them http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-news-10565162.html
UN statement on sexual orientation & gender identity http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-news-10505495.html
NRC: Emerging Cognitive Neuroscience and Related Technologies (2008) http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-news-10447085.html
FROM EXISTENTIAL RISKS LIST
Getting serious about the threat of nuclear terrorism http://www.mailbucket.org/existential-10586140.html
Climate collapse
http://www.mailbucket.org/existential-10492685.html
Assoc of Space Explorers: UN Action Needed To Stop Asteroid Threat http://www.mailbucket.org/existential-10398430.html
Q&Q: 10 Ways the World Could End
http://www.mailbucket.org/existential-10380551.html
FROM TRANS-SPIRIT LIST
Brain Activity Altered during Religious Experience
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Trans-Spirit/message/1486
Bionic ‘sex chip’ that stimulates pleasure centre in brain developed
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Trans-Spirit/message/1485
Psychiatrists Revise the Book of Human Troubles
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Trans-Spirit/message/1484
The Atheon: A Temple of Science for Rational Belief
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Trans-Spirit/message/1483
Weird Pew poll on “eternal life”
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Trans-Spirit/message/1482
Chalmers on the extended mind
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Trans-Spirit/message/1481
The powerful are less compassionate
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Trans-Spirit/message/1478
Selflessness has neuropsychological connection
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Trans-Spirit/message/1477
FROM LONGEVITY DIVIDEND LIST
Right is worried US will love universal health care too much http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-life-10740145.html
20 Anti-aging Herbs and Spices to Add to Your Diet Now http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-life-10740134.html
Chocolate, Wine And Tea Improve Brain Performance http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-life-10740100.html
FROM BIOCULTURE LIST
4th Global Conference: Visions of Humanity in Cyberculture, Cyberspace and Science Fiction http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-images-10650688.html
Transagriculture: Life & Art
http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-images-10593174.html
CFP - SuperHuman - Melbourne Aus - Nov 22-25, 2009 http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-images-10466353.html
CFP: Steampunk, Science, and (Neo)Victorian Technologies http://www.mailbucket.org/ieet-images-10422353.html
FROM TECHNOPROGRESSIVE LIST
Pope attacks blurring of gender
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/technoprogressive/message/366
Obama’s seven science appts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/technoprogressive/message/365
CFP: H+ politics essays (1500 wds) for Re-Public
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/technoprogressive/message/364
Three rules for technological fixes
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/technoprogressive/message/363
The powerful are less compassionate
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/technoprogressive/message/358
Democrats Vow to Push a Science Agenda
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/technoprogressive/message/356
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IEET SPEAKER EVENTS
Goertzel @ Artificial General Intelligence (AGI-09.org) Arlington, Virginia
2009 Mar 6-9
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/agi09/
Aubrey @ HealthQuake summit
Detroit, Michigan, USA
2009 Jun 8-9
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/aubrey20090608/
Goertzel @ Workshop on Machine Consciousness Hong Kong, China
2009 Jun 15-15
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/iwmc09/
Aubrey @ IdeaCity
Toronto, Canada
2009 Jun 17-19
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/aubrey20090717/
Aubrey @ FutureFest 2009
Cambridge, UK
2009 Jun 23-25
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/aubrey20090623/
Bostrom @ Converging Tech and Philosophy Enschede, The Netherlands
2009 Jul 8-10
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/ctcs09/
Aubrey @ SENS4
Cambridge, UK
2009 Sep 4-7
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/aubreysens4/
ALL EVENTS
Decade of the Mind
Santa Ana Pueblo (Albuquerque), New Mexico
2009 Jan 13-15
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/dom09/
American Association for the Advancement of Science Washington D.C.
2009 Feb 12-16
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/aaas09/
US Basic Income Guarantee Congress
New York City, NY USA
2009 Feb 27-1
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/usbig09/
Goertzel @ Artificial General Intelligence (AGI-09.org) Arlington, Virginia
2009 Mar 6-9
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/agi09/
Tickle Your Catastrophe!
Ghent, Belgium
2009 Mar 6-7
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/tyc09/
Bioethics: The New Issues
Harvard University, Cambridge MA USA
2009 Mar 13-14
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/bioethics_the_new_issues/
Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness Portland, Oregon
2009 Apr 1-5
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/anthcon09/
Somatechnics: The Technologisation of Bodies and Selves New South Wales, Australia
2009 Apr 16-18
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/stbs09/
Philosophical Inquiry into Pregnancy, Childbirth and Mothering University of Oregon
2009 May 14-16
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/motherphil09/
Aubrey @ HealthQuake summit
Detroit, Michigan, USA
2009 Jun 8-9
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/aubrey20090608/
Toward a Science of Consciousness 2009
Hong Kong, China
2009 Jun 11-14
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/tsc09/
Goertzel @ Workshop on Machine Consciousness Hong Kong, China
2009 Jun 15-15
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/iwmc09/
Aubrey @ IdeaCity
Toronto, Canada
2009 Jun 17-19
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/aubrey20090717/
First World Congress on Positive Psychology Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
2009 Jun 18-21
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/pospsycon2009/
CyberTherapy and CyberPsychology Conference (CT14) Lago Maggiore, Verbania-Intra, Italy
2009 Jun 21-23
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/ct14/
Aubrey @ FutureFest 2009
Cambridge, UK
2009 Jun 23-25
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/aubrey20090623/
Ethics for the 21st Century
Edinburgh, Scotland
2009 Jul 2-4
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/ef21c09/
Technological Singularity and Acceleration Studies Barcelona, Spain
2009 Jul 2-4
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/tsas09/
Metaphysics of Science
Melbourne, Australia
2009 Jul 3-5
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/mos09/
Visions of Humanity in Cyberculture, Cyberspace and Science Fiction Oxford, UK
2009 Jul 6-8
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/vhccsf09/
Bostrom @ Converging Tech and Philosophy Enschede, The Netherlands
2009 Jul 8-10
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/ctcs09/
Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
Veronda, VR. Italy
2009 Jul 18-22
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/aimed09/
Science in Society
Cambridge University, United Kingdom
2009 Aug 5-7
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/scisoc09/
Aubrey @ SENS4
Cambridge, UK
2009 Sep 4-7
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/aubreysens4/
Politics of the Life Sciences in an ‘Age of Biological Control’
London, UK
2009 Sep 16-18
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/lse2009/
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Contact:
Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies http://ieet.org/ Executive Director Dr. James J. Hughes Williams 229B Trinity College 300 Summit St.
Hartford CT 06106 USA
Email: director @ ieet.org
Phone: 860-297-2376
________________________________
Emergence is published weekly. Emergence encourages submissions for publication. Please send submissions to: director@ieet.org. Submissions will be reviewed by the IEET staff, and final determinations regarding publication are at the sole discretion of the IEET.
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