12.31.06
Posted in Future, Transhumanism at 7:21 am by rheil
Overcoming Bias: (“How can we better believe what is true? While it is of course useful to seek and study relevant information, our minds are full of natural tendencies to bias our beliefs via overconfidence, wishful thinking, and so on. Worse, our minds seem to have a natural tendency to convince us we that are aware of and have adequately corrected for such biases, when we have done no such thing.
In this forum we discuss whether and how we might avoid this fate, by spending a bit less effort on each specific topic, and a bit more effort on the general topic of how to be less biased. Here we discuss common patterns of bias and self-deception, statistical and other formal analysis tools, computational and data-gathering aids, and social institutions which may discourage bias and encourage its correction. Other topics may be discussed to the extent they exemplify important biases and correction issues.
This forum is brought to you by the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, and consists of posts and comments on posts. We allow open comments on most posts, but are selective about who can post.”)
Permalink
12.30.06
Posted in AI / Singularity, Transhumanism at 11:06 am by rheil
(»David Brin
Singularities and Nightmares: Extremes of Optimism and Pessimism about the Human Future
By Lifeboat Foundation Scientific Advisory Board member David Brin, Ph.D.
OVERVIEW
In order to give you pleasant dreams tonight, let me offer a few possibilities about the days that lie ahead — changes that may occur within the next twenty or so years, roughly a single human generation. Possibilities that are taken seriously by some of today’s best minds. Potential transformations of human life on Earth and, perhaps, even what it means to be human.
For example, what if biologists and organic chemists manage to do to their laboratories the same thing that cyberneticists did to computers? Shrinking their vast biochemical labs from building-sized behemoths down to units that are utterly compact, making them smaller, cheaper, and more powerful than anyone imagined. Isn’t that what happened to those gigantic computers of yesteryear? Until, today, your pocket cell phone contains as much processing power and sophistication as NASA owned during the moon shots. People who foresaw this change were able to ride this technological wave. Some of them made a lot of money. [...]«)
Permalink
Posted in Transhumanism, Transhumanists at 10:53 am by rheil
Metamagician and the Hellfire Club: (»I am an Australian writer, philosopher, and critic. I am currently a graduate student and sessional lecturer in the School of Philosophy and Bioethics, Monash University. As a creative writer, I specialise in science fiction and fantasy. Some examples are my Terminator trilogy and and my recent novel, Kong Reborn … a sequel to the original King Kong movie. My non-fiction work frequently deals with issues involving the human, or posthuman, future. I am interested in the ethics, and possible regulation, of emerging technologies, and the future of religion, morality, art, literature, political organisation, and human nature itself. I have a particular interest in the history and current state of the science fiction genre – and where it may be headed. Some of my articles are available on my web site. My formal qualifications include First Class Honours degrees in Arts and Law, a Ph.D on the supposed return to myth in contemporary literature, and a Master of Bioethics degree. I’m now completing a second Ph.D (in philosophy); this may seem extravagant, but I have my reasons!«)
Permalink
Posted in Transhumanism, Transhumanists at 7:45 am by rheil
Andart – (»Another lobe of Anders Sandberg’s distributed brain: essays on technology, science and the human condition.«)
Permalink
Posted in Transhumanism, Transhumanists at 7:39 am by rheil
Present Day Views of My Posthuman Past: (»Not so random musings about our present state and our future fate.«)
Permalink
Posted in Transhumanism, Transhumanists at 6:49 am by rheil
(“Transumanar is a transhumanist blog – online magazine on science, politics and culture, edited by Giulio Prisco. See Introduzione (Italiano) and About (English).
Transumanar is meant as a transhumanist reference in the Italian cultural and media world, an accessible website to explain the transhumanist worldview and our opinions on the important scientific, cultural, social and political trends of our time.
Italian is the main language, but some articles meant for a wider audience are in English.
Transumanar does not wish to propose a monolithic view of transhumanist thinking but, on the contrary, covers different points of view.”)
Permalink
12.29.06
Posted in Future, Nanotechnology, Technology, Transhumanism, Transhumanists at 9:51 am by rheil
Our Technological Future: (“About upcoming technologies such as nanotechnology/molecular manufacturing, artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology. All of these are accelerating exponentially. The implications are vast.”)
Permalink
Posted in AI / Singularity, Politic, Transhumanism at 9:34 am by rheil
UPWINGER – News from The Singularity: (“Daily human social developments including political, economic and global events forecast by Buckminster Fuller, RCW Ettinger, FM 2030, Ray Kurzweil and other early “upwingers,” transhumanists and singularitarians.”)
Permalink
Posted in Transhumanism, Transhumanists at 9:25 am by rheil
Sentient Developments: (“Transhumanist and technoprogressive perspectives on science, philosophy, ethics, and the future of intelligent life.”)
Permalink
Posted in Human Enhancement, Politic, Transhumanism, Transhumanists at 9:18 am by rheil
Cyborg Democracy (“is a nexus for techno-progressives, transmitting a sexy, high-tech vision of a radically democratic future.”)
Permalink
Posted in Transhumanism, What is Transhumanism? at 9:01 am by rheil
Transhumanism promotion: (»The idea for this project emerged when I realised how poorly the spreading of transhumanist memes is organised (see Status quo). First I thought about preparing a small “teaching manual” or “brainwashing manual” that would be helpful for fellow transhumanists to “convert” their friends and even strangers. Then I realised that there are more unanswered questions related to promotion of H+. Even if nobody else contributes, I will be gradually dumping here my ideas and copypasting selected ideas of others. But it doesn’t have to be just me alone. By all means, if you have something to say, go ahead and add your ideas.«)
Permalink
Posted in Organisations, Transhumanism at 7:37 am by rheil
Extropy Institute (“Extropy Institute (ExI) has grown from a groundbreaking futurist organization to a worldwide incubator for solutions. Having spent the last 15 years building the grid for transhumanity, ExI is now moving forward in designing the means for resolving technological and cultural issues of transhumanity. ExI’s approach is to design thinking systems and solutions for the future that affect everyone around the world. Extropy Institute is a networking organization which advocates the Proactionary Principle in addressing social issues. Extropy Institute does not support any one political agenda.”)
Permalink
Posted in Organisations, Transhumanism at 7:36 am by rheil
World Transhumanist Association (“The World Transhumanist Association is an international nonprofit membership organization which advocates the ethical use of technology to expand human capacities. We support the development of and access to new technologies that enable everyone to enjoy better minds, better bodies and better lives. In other words, we want people to be better than well. “)
Permalink
Posted in Organisations, Transhumanism at 7:35 am by rheil
Russian Transhumanist Movement (“The Russian Transhumanist Movement was organised in December 2003 with the goal of readying the Russian society for the emergence of transhumanist technologies. Since then the members of the Movement has participated in several scientific conferences, presenting papers on different aspects of transhumanism. The Movement is promoted at related seminars with immortalist and transhumanist materials distributed.”)
Permalink
Posted in Organisations, Transhumanism at 7:35 am by rheil
Asociatión Transhumanista (Spanish webpage in Spanish for the transhumanist groups in Latin America and Spain.)
Permalink
Posted in Human Enhancement, Organisations, Transhumanism at 7:34 am by rheil
Betterhumans > Create the Future™ (“Betterhumans helps people understand, anticipate and create the future. Through the production and aggregation of informative and provocative editorial and the creation and application of enabling communications technology, Betterhumans aims to get more people thinking about and discussing the future, inspire people into assuming a proactive and participatory role in its creation and build, lead and support a community of informed forward thinkers.”)
Permalink
Posted in Human Enhancement, Organisations, Transhumanism at 7:31 am by rheil
Immortality Institute (“Main Mission: The mission of ImmInst is to conquer the blight of involuntary death. Umbrella Organization ImmInst shall function as an umbrella organization to help its members succeed in working towards the possibility of human physical immortality. This Institute shall serve as a platform for the exhibition, exchange, debate, and creation of concepts and methods toward that end as well as to disseminate any and all relevant information for the purpose of human physical immortality.”)
Permalink
Posted in Anti-Aging, Human Enhancement, Organisations, Transhumanism at 7:31 am by rheil
Life Extension Foundation – Highest Quality Vitamins And Supplements (“The Life Extension Foundation is a nonprofit organization, whose long-range goal is the radical extension of the healthy human lifespan. In seeking to control aging, our objective is develop methods to enable us to live in health, youth and vigor for unlimited periods of time. The Life Extension Foundation was officially incorporated in 1980, but the founders have been involved in antiaging research since the 1960′s. “)
Permalink
Posted in Anti-Aging, Human Enhancement, Organisations, Transhumanism at 7:30 am by rheil
The Longevity Meme – pointing the way to a longer, healthier life (“Aging is an enemy. It saps our strength, cripples and eventually kills us. The lack of information, advocacy and awareness of anti-aging and healthy life extension research is a terrible thing. Much of the general public thinks of aging as inevitable and natural, rather than as a medical condition that may one day be curable. Comparatively few people know that the effects of aging can be slowed with diet and lifestyle choices, just as for many other medical conditions. The Longevity Meme is a non-profit organisation, founded in mid-2001. Our goal is to encourage achievable technologies, lifestyles and other means that will help people live comfortably, healthily and capably for as long as they desire, well beyond the current limits of mortality. We aim to ensure that the means and potentials of healthy life extension become commonly accepted throughout the world.”)
Permalink
Posted in Cryonic, Organisations, Technology, Transhumanism at 7:28 am by rheil
Cryonics Institute: Cryonic Suspension Services (” “Your Last Best Chance For Life–and Your Family’s.” The Cryonics Institute offers cryonic suspension services and information. As soon as possible after legal death, a member patient is prepared and cooled to a temperature where physical decay essentially stops, and is then maintained indefinitely in cryostasis. When and if future medical technology allows, our member patients hope to be healed and revived, and awaken to extended life in youthful good health.
Permalink
12.28.06
Posted in Cryonic, Human Enhancement, Organisations, Technology, Transhumanism at 4:26 pm by rheil
Cryonics: Alcor Life Extension Foundation (“The Alcor Life Extension Foundation is the world leader in cryonics, cryonics research, and cryonics technology. Cryonics is the science of using ultra-cold temperature to preserve human life with the intent of restoring good health when technology becomes available to do so. Alcor is a non-profit organization located in Scottsdale, Arizona, founded in 1972.”)
Permalink
Posted in Human Enhancement, Organisations, Transhumanism at 4:24 pm by rheil
Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS): A practical way to cure human aging (“SENS ist ein detailierter Plan, den menschlichen Alterungsprozess umzukehren. SENS ist in dem Sinne ein Projekt der Ingenieurswissenschaften, in dem auch die Medizin ein Teilgebiet der Ingenieurswissenschaften ist. Der Schlüssel zu SENS ist es, das Altern aufzufassen als eine Menge schrittweise fortschreitender Veränderungen der Körperzusammensetzung auf molekularer und zellulärer Ebene, die als Nebenwirkung wichtiger Stoffwechselprozesse auftritt. Diese Veränderungen denkt man sich daher am besten als Anhäufung von “Schäden”, die erst dann besonders pathologische Symptome verursachen, wenn sie einen gewissen Schwellenwert überschreiten. Der traditionelle gerontologische Ansatz zur Lebensverlängerung, nämlich der Versuch diese Anhäufung von Schäden zu verlangsamen, ist irreführend.”) Die Seite bietet eine grosse Zahl von Texte zum Download an.
Permalink
« Previous entries Next Page » Next Page »