Discussion:
Transhumanism is an international cultural and intellectual movement focused on observing the ways that technology is changing the human condition and anticipating the potential challenges and opportunities presented by these changes. Prominent venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, scientists and philosophers identify as transhumanists or share transhumanist sympathies, including Kevin Kelly, Doug Rushkoff, Ray Kurzweil, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Peter Diamandis, Nick Bostrom, and Aubrey de Grey.
Perhaps transhumanism's greatest contribution is Ray Kurzweil's law of accelerating returns, which demonstrates that technological innovation has generally followed an exponential rate of progress. This exponential growth is unintuitive to humans, resulting in some surprising predictions, including innovations in genetics, nanotechnology and robotics that transhumanists claim will lead to radically enhanced human capabilities, including indefinite lifespans and the eradication of global poverty within our lifetimes.
Transhumanists are also concerned about the impending existential risks that humanity faces, as technological progress increases our destructive capacity and presents even stranger and more unexpected threats.
Transhumanism is an international cultural and intellectual movement focused on observing the ways that technology is changing the human condition and anticipating the potential challenges and opportunities presented by these changes. Prominent venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, scientists and philosophers identify as transhumanists or share transhumanist sympathies, including Kevin Kelly, Doug Rushkoff, Ray Kurzweil, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Peter Diamandis, Nick Bostrom, and Aubrey de Grey.
Perhaps transhumanism's greatest contribution is Ray Kurzweil's law of accelerating returns, which demonstrates that technological innovation has generally followed an exponential rate of progress. This exponential growth is unintuitive to humans, resulting in some surprising predictions, including innovations in genetics, nanotechnology and robotics that transhumanists claim will lead to radically enhanced human capabilities, including indefinite lifespans and the eradication of global poverty within our lifetimes.
Transhumanists are also concerned about the impending existential risks that humanity faces, as technological progress increases our destructive capacity and presents even stranger and more unexpected threats.
Carl will share a brief 10 minute presentation introducing some important concepts in transhumanism and then we'll open the floor for questions and discussion. Participants are encouraged to prepare in advance for this discussion by perusing the following materials. Most of the articles are fairly short. The videos are about 20 minutes each. The especially ambitious can read one of the books. Carl is not expecting people to read all of this—just trying to provide a diverse selection of quality options.
About Carl:
Articles
Carl has been an avid technology enthusiast since early childhood, and has been earning a living as a software engineer since 1997. He was a Mormon missionary for two years in Brazil, where his newfound aptitude for language led him to eventually get a degree in Portuguese from Brigham Young University, and later a masters in Computer Science from the University of Washington. He currently works as Chief Information Officer of The World Table LLC in Orem, Utah.
Carl's struggle to apply his faith meaningfully in today's rapidly-changing world led him to co-found The Mormon Transhumanist Association in 2006, where he currently serves as a director and Chief Operations Officer. Carl is passionate about science, technology, religion, philosophy and the performing arts.
Articles
"There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom" by Richard Feynman
"The Fable of the Dragon Tyrant" by Nick Bostrom
"Existential Risk Prevention as a Global Priority" by Nick Bostrom
Videos
The next species of human, TED talk by Juan Enriquez
Progress is not a zero-sum game, TED talk by Robert Wright
What Technology Wants, TED talk by Kevin Kelly
The accelerating power of technology, TED talk by Ray Kurzweil
A philosophical quest for our biggest problems, TED talk by Nick Bostrom
The surprising decline in violence, TED talk by Steven Pinker
Abundance by Peter Diamandis
Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers and Strategies, by Nick Bostrom
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