When you and I start to delve into the World of transhumanism, what do we bring to the dinner table for conversation?
- My friends have no idea how advanced humanoid androids are in Japan.
- My friends have no sense of BCI’s and progress with prosthetics.
- My friends wonder about Nanotechnology but really have no concept of how extraordinarily minuscule that World is, nor how vast and powerful it’s potential in our World
- My friends don’t know where to start when it comes to thinking about the ethics and philosophy of Transhumanism.
So, how might you and I talk about our day, our interests, about Transhumanity?
Thankfully, people more experienced, more imaginative, more skilled and more knowledgeable than myself exist!
I lean on these people every working day, as I look to increase my knowledge, look to find answers to my own questions, look to even try and figure out what the next question might be.
Each week as I learn, I invariably auspiciously trip over something that is suitable for the person who knows nothing but is perhaps willing to be tempted to know more – that person being my friend. And I file that information away, and at night, when the working day is done, I share that information.
Having done that for the last few months I’ve started to get a sense of what resonates with my friends; they who know just a little less of nothing than I do.
I’ve learnt
- what inspires them,
- what creates “wow” moments, even “Urgh” moments,
- and what inspires questions and conversation.
So, I thought that each week, I’d collate those same discoveries here, into one article that you yourself might find fascinating, and might want to utilize to inspire the curiosity of others.
Wishing you many happy wows and endless thought-provoking considerations!
1. This Week’s Book – Bewilderment – Richard Powers. (Fiction)
I actually found this gem all by myself. I had read Richard’s preceding book, “Overstory” (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2019) and was so taken by it that I looked Mr. Powers up.
At the time, “Bewilderment” was on the “Coming Soon” list. Darn it.
I waited, and then on a recent holiday, I had it sent ahead of me, waiting for me.
As a general rule, I only read fiction when on holiday;
Overstory during a week in Paris (book and city recommended),
and voila, Bewilderment during an outback week in the Sierra Norte National Park, an hour north of Seville, Spain, just a few weeks ago.
Space, a child, and the uploading of … consciousness … that can then be downloaded to another human.
The premise is fascinating and beautifully conveyed.
Seven weeks have passed.
I’m wondering if I shall have time in this lifetime to re-read it. I think I would like to.
That’s probably one of the highest accolades I could award to any book.
2. Timelapse of Artificial Intelligence (2028 to 3000+) – Video
This YouTube video is just shy of 14-minutes in length, and is so thought-provoking that since I first encountered it, my mind has returned to it time and again (and been shared with numerous friends that have zero interest in Transhumanity, but do have an innate curiosity about the future)
Those of us immersed in AI and Transhumanity will recognise that many of the seeds for the ideas in this video already exist – but the question is, is this the direction in which those seeds will grow? …
3. Need a Doctor or Vet? AI Dr Gupta, and colleague Dr McGrath here to help – Website
Launched by the contentious Martin Shkreli (“Pharma Bro who hiked medication price”), this is an interesting platform, and potentially knocks the infamous “Dr Google” right off its perch.
What do you think?
4. Once Upon a Time…
Once upon a time, I would have had to conduct niche, targeted searches for anything in the Transhumanity realm. These days it pops up even as adverts:
5. ChatGPT-3 Can Reason – Article
“Language learning models are just trying to do word prediction so we’re surprised they can do reasoning,”
An interesting read from UCLA but let me not add any spoilers!
C M, a seasoned editor, journalist, and consultant, is deeply fascinated by the convergence of technology, space, and the future of humanity.
With a particular interest in transhumanism, futurology, and the philosophical and ethical dimensions of these domains, C M serves as the lead contributor to TranscendSphere and SpaceSpotlight.
When not penning insightful articles on these rapidly evolving fields, C M indulges in their love for podcasts and books, proudly embracing their status as a ‘Happy Nerd Extraordinaire!’
