Susan Schneider, Adam Goldstein, Àlex Gómez-Marín and Zoltan Istvan debate transhumanism.
Is it the world's most dangerous idea?
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We have for centuries sought technological progress. But now some are making the radical claim that technology is the future of the human race. 'Effective accelerationists' have won high-profile Silicon Valley support and claim we should accelerate technology to "usher in the next evolution of consciousness." Alongside, transhumanists such as Yuval Harari and Ray Kurzweil claim "Homo sapiens is an obsolete algorithm" and that soon "there won't be a distinction between humans and technology." Others go further, arguing eternal life is an achievable, biological, scientific goal, and the creation of an artificial general intelligence, "a digital God", can solve human suffering. But critics fear this proposed future, calling transhumanism "the world’s most dangerous idea”.
Is the future one where technology is not merely a source of innovation but the basis for a new account of what it is to be human? Does this new vision offer potential or disaster for the human race? Or are claims of eternal life and new forms of intelligence just fanciful nonsense?
#transhumanism #transhumanisme #transhumanismo #tech
Zoltan Istvan is a transhumanist, futurist, entrepreneur, and former US Presidential candidate. He has spearheaded the effort to transform transhumanism into a thriving worldwide phenomenon.
Àlex Gómez-Marín is a theoretical physicist, neuroscientist, and director of the Pari Center in Italy. He explores the nature of consciousness, human experience, and the limitations of mainstream science.
Susan Schneider is an American philosopher and cognitive scientist, known for her work on the nature of consciousness, artificial intelligence, and the future of mind. She is the founding director of the Center for the Future Mind at Florida Atlantic University.
Adam Goldstein is the Co-Founder, Chairman, and Head of Research at Softmax, a company that seeks to engineer AI that scales through coordinated diversity rather than imposed control.
Hosted by Jay Shapiro.
00:00 Intro
00:24 Zoltan Istvan
02:00 Àlex Gómez-Marín
03:56 Susan Schneider
06:43 Adam Goldstein
08:27 Does technology have the power to change human nature?
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