IEET affiliate scholar Steve Fuller recently spoke on ‘Transhumanism and the Future of Capitalism’ to the Centre for Contemporary Philosophy of Technology at the University of Birmingham, UK. The video of the talk, including the Q&A, may be found here

IEET affiliate scholar Steve Fuller has just published ‘Transhumanism and the Dialectics of Progressivism’ on The Sociological Review website, which considers transhumanism as a struggle between ‘Liberalism 2.0’ and ‘Socialism 2.0’ for the soul of progressive politics.

It is a noticeable feature of intellectual life that many people research the same topics, but do so using different conceptual and disciplinary baggage, and consequently fail to appreciate how the conclusions they reach echo or complement the conclusions reached by others.

Three minutes ago you were in a traffic jam, one of dozens of drivers impatiently waiting for their cars to reboot and shake off whatever piece of malware had infected them through the city network. Now you’re moving.

“I’m also very much of a germaphobe, by the way, believe me.”

Try not to think too much about the story that led to this comment from the President-Elect of the United States. It’s not easy, I know. We’re only human, after all, and that story is so ... so out there. It’s hard to turn away.

Let’s veer from either science fiction or politics into our politically science-fictional new world of light. Starting with a reminder that my new anthology (with Stephen Potts) Chasing Shadows, is released this week by Tor Books, featuring contributions by William Gibson, James Gunn, Neal Stephenson, Vernor Vinge and many others, offering stories and insights into a future when light flows almost everywhere. Prepare yourself!  This might be a good start.

Hi. I am Art Caplan from the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University Langone School of Medicine in Manhattan.

We have a newly elected president, Donald J. Trump. He will be making many changes to the policies of the Obama years. What will his election mean for healthcare? What will it mean for ethical issues that come up in the context of healthcare?

Vivre beaucoup plus longtemps en bonne santé : est-il raisonnable d’y croire ? Et pour quoi faire ?

Published on 16 November 2016 on Technoprog

Not the mental health of the people living in smart cities, but that of the cities themselves. Why not? We are building smart cities to be able to sense, think, and act; their perceptions, thoughts, and actions won’t be remotely human, or even biological, but that doesn’t make them any less real.

In response to my post, “Yes, America Is Descending Into Totalitarianism,” the computer game designer Chris Crawford, shared some good news in yesterday’s post—Trump may be impeached. Later he shared his bad news:

The age of solar energy is upon us. Last year alone, we witnessed solar energy prices drop lower than that of coal. As we move along into 2017, how might this ever-expanding industry continue moving along its own current of change.

Yesterday’s post, “Yes, America Is Descending Into Totalitarianism,” elicited a thoughtful response from Chris Crawford. I will publish his reply in two parts.

The year 2016 has been rife with unexpected deaths by some of our most beloved celebrities. Whether it’s Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds, comedian Ricky Harris, or pop star George Michael, there has been no shortage of death this year that has left our hearts aching. Many (including myself) have turned this into a meme of sorts, blaming these deaths on the year 2016 itself.

“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. … Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie …

Cognitive Easing is the aim of much of our endeavor, whether explicit or implicit. We have never wavered from trying to create a life of ease, enjoyment, and fulfillment. The definition of Cognitive Easing is spending less mental effort to achieve a result.

Donald Trump a promis de ramener ses emplois à l’Amérique profonde. Mais qui les a vraiment “volé” ? Et si c’était en fait un faux problème ?

Published on 15 November 2016 on Technoprog

The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. Power is not a means; it is an end … The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power”~ George Orwell

In the age of robotics, the question of life continues to be a puzzling matter of debate. As creatures of biological code, are we more alive than those made up of digital code? Questions like this are debated more so today than at any other time in history.

“Is ours a government of the people, by the people, for the people, or a kakistocracy rather, for the benefit of knaves at the cost of fools?” ~ James Russell Lowell

For the past few weeks, I have been reviewing articles about the trend toward authoritarianism in the USA. Unfortunately, articles appear faster than I can read and review them, so I’ll have to stop and move on soon. With this in mind, I list a few of the pieces I won’t get to, followed by excerpts from some other good ones.

It’s that time of the month where we all come together and exchange gifts. Keeping this in mind, DARPA showed some holiday spirit when it provided Walter Reed National Military Medical Center the greatest gift the 21st century can offer: LUKE – the most revolutionary bionic arm available to date!