Dr. Jay Richards, a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and a friend of the Walter Bradley Center, which publishes Mind Matters, spoke recently at the Acton University conference, discussing both transhumanism and AI. Transhumanists, Richards notes, look at the scope of “cosmic evolution,” see a kind of increasing complexity among the human race, and speculate the next dramatic step: achieving immortality through a mixture of genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence. Richards described the transhumanist ideology as “anti-human,” but cautioned against having a reactionary response to all new technologies that seem to be involved in transhumanism’s vision, noting that some of them, when analyzed specifically, could have benefits (such as AI).

The underlying philosophy of transhumanism, however, should be rejected. It hinges on the assumption that the human body and its limitations need to be escaped, and that our created selves need to be enhanced in order to reach their full potential. To the contrary, the body should be appreciated and embraced, not rejected.

You can watch the full lecture and the following Q & A session here: