Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Tagtranshumanism

dog and human faces
rhodesian ridgeback
Type
post
Author
Peter Biles
Date
September 16, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Human exceptionalism
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Human Exceptionalism is a Central Theme for Novelist Dean Koontz

Bestselling author Dean Koontz talks fiction, human exceptionalism, and transhumanism with Wesley J. Smith in new podcast episode (Part II)
Peter Biles
September 16, 2022
6
Arts & Culture, Human exceptionalism

In Part I of this two-part series, we looked at Dean Koontz’s remarks on the purpose of art and the unique role of the novelist in today’s “everything is political” environment. But that’s not all he and Smith discussed on the Humanize Podcast on September 12th. Both had a lot to say about human exceptionalism, authoritarianism, and also…dogs! Koontz spoke about his love for the pups at the end of the episode, but first, discussed how the “animal rights” movement has gone wrong, and how a materialistic worldview can lead to despair.   Smith commented how human exceptionalism is a central theme in Koontz’s novels and asked the reason, to which Koontz responded, “There’s no civilization if we don’t recognize…

surreal-3d-illustration-of-multiple-faces-in-a-wall-concept-of-post-human-and-transhumanism-ideas-stockpack-adobe-stock
Surreal 3d illustration of multiple faces in a wall. Concept of post-human and transhumanism ideas.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
January 27, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Transhumanism
Tagged
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Is Transhumanism Really a Form of Liberation?

The central transhumanist doctrine is that the body can be dispensed with. What are the consequences?
News
January 27, 2022
4
Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Transhumanism

Libby Emmons, editor-in-chief at The Post Millennial, Canada’s non-Woke “young” media outlet, offered some unexpected thoughts on transhumanism, the idea that we must take charge of the evolution of our species — sometimes expressed in the idea that we can upload ourselves as digital entities and live forever. Emmons is not sure that transhumanism is really a form of liberation. She acknowledges the value of, for example, prostheses controlled by thoughts alone. But she asks us to consider what full-blown transhumanism entails: With the widespread acceptance of human augmentation, bio-tech, AI, and transgenderism, we are removing agency from the human body, and granting it entirely to the mind. But our humanity lies not in our consciousness, but in the biological…

greatThinker
Type
post
Author
J.R. Miller
Date
January 13, 2022
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Transhumanism
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Eugenics, Transhumanism, and Artificial Intelligence

If we were to succeed at creating an ethical decision-making AI, whose ethics would it abide by?
J.R. Miller
January 13, 2022
6
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Transhumanism

In his article for the Digital Journal, Saratendu Sethi argues that to build a sustainable global supply chain requires the humanization of AI. This technological revolution, he says, includes “truly autonomous and self-correcting supply chains” that will replace the flawed capital-driven decision making of humans. Sethi defines this utilitarian mission of serving the “greater good” through what he calls a “sustainable, ethical and responsible world that puts equity for all at the center.” His motive of helping everyone while protecting the environment is commendable, yet the larger question remains, whose ethic will drive the logic used by this AI? When resources are limited, how will this AI decide who gets food and who gets medicine? Based on my own study, Sethi’s…

neon city
Neon night in a futuristic city. Photorealistic 3D illustration. Wallpaper in a cyberpunk style. Empty street with neon lights reflecting in a water. Beautiful night cityscape. Grunge urban landscape.
Type
post
Author
J.R. Miller
Date
January 1, 2022
Categorized
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Transhumanism
Tagged
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With Transhumanism, What Happens to Human Rights?

The transhumanist accepts suffering for the individual if suffering can advance the evolution of the species toward immortality and singularity
J.R. Miller
January 1, 2022
6
Ethics, Philosophy of Mind, Transhumanism

The 2018 Netflix series, Altered Carbon, depicts a future society where people hope to live forever by digitizing their consciousness and storing it in a “cortical stack.” This technological marvel is then inserted into any number of interchangeable bodies when the old “sleve” dies. But what you and I may watch for entertainment is for many scientists, philosophers, and theologians a life’s mission. This dream of life without end through technology is called transhumanism. Transhumanism (Humanity+ or hereafter H+) is a 20th– century endeavor grounded in rational humanism that trusts technological advances to answer two key questions of human existence: “What does it mean to be human?” and “What is the future of humanity?” For the transhumanist, these two questions…

Machine learning , artificial intelligence , ai, deep learning blockchain neural network concept. Brain made with shining wireframe above multiple blockchain cpu on circuit board 3d render.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
February 28, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy, Religion, Surveillance
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Why Oxford’s John Lennox Wrote a Book on AI Promises and Threats

His book 2084 leans on George Orwell’s 1984 but takes its inspiration from C. S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength
News
February 28, 2021
12
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy, Religion, Surveillance

Recently, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed Oxford mathematician John Lennox on his latest book 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity (2020). He focused on why Lennox chose that theme and how far we have caught up with George Orwell’s 1984. Here are some excerpts from the combined interviews in “John Lennox on Artificial Intelligence and Humanity”: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-123-John-Lennox.mp3 A partial transcript follows, along with highlights, Show Notes, and Resources: Robert J. Marks (starting at roughly 1:40 min): Many of Orwell’s predictions about communism were proven. So what will be the effects of AI a century later in the year 2084? Replacing George Orwell is Dr. John Lennox who has written 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future…

wireframed-robot-hand-making-contact-with-human-hand-on-dark-3d-rendering-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Wireframed Robot hand making contact with human hand on dark 3D rendering
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
February 25, 2021
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Bingecast: John Lennox on Artificial Intelligence and Humanity

Robert J. Marks
February 25, 2021
2

In this bingecast episode, Robert J. Marks talks with Dr. John C. Lennox, professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford, about all things artificial intelligence. Should robots have rights? What are A.I.’s advantages and threats to humanity? And does theology have anything to say about all of this? Listen in as they discuss Dr. Lennox’s book 2084, and wrestle…

robot-in-shopping-mall-in-kyoto-stockpack-unsplash.jpg
Robot in Shopping Mall in Kyoto
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
July 9, 2020
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John Lennox: False Assumptions in the Hype over AI

Robert J. Marks
July 9, 2020
1

Much of the hype over artificial general intelligence seems to be based on false assumptions and presuppositions. Will robots become human? Robert J. Marks and Dr. John Lennox discuss artificial general intelligence, transhumanism, and Dr. Lennox’s book 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity. Show Notes 00:25 | Introducing Dr. John Lennox, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University…

artificial-intelligence-and-transhumanism-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Artificial Intelligence and Transhumanism - illustration
Type
post
Author
News
Date
July 7, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Technocracy, Transhumanism
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John Lennox: Transhumanism Is Not a New Idea

News
July 7, 2020
2
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Technocracy, Transhumanism

In his just-published book, 2084, Oxford mathematician John Lennox points out that, in the 20th century, both the Communists and the Nazis had attempted transhumanist projects. For example, In the former Soviet Union, attempts were made to use science to create a “New Man.” In 1924, Leon Trotsky wrote: “Man will make it his purpose to master his own feelings, to raise his instincts to the heights of consciousness, to make them transparent, to extend the wires of his will into hidden recesses, and thereby to raise himself to a new plane, to create a higher social biologic type, or, if you please, a superman.” What that program of eugenics involved is explained by historian Andrey Zubov as cited by…

machine-learning-technology-diagram-with-artificial-intelligence-aineural-networkautomationdata-mining-in-vr-screenbusinessman-hand-working-with-modern-technology-and-digital-layer-effect-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpeg
Machine learning technology diagram with artificial intelligence (AI),neural network,automation,data mining in VR screen.businessman hand working with modern technology and digital layer effect.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
April 21, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind
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Can Human Minds Be Reduced to Computer Programs?

In Silicon Valley that has long been a serious belief. But are we really anywhere close?
News
April 21, 2020
6
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind

Computer scientist Selmer Bringsjord recalls, “I remember asking James Moor, the Dartmouth professor who’s written quite a bit on AI: “You know. Jim, you really are a true believer in this stuff but can you tell me how much time you’re willing to give these AI people? I mean, if we give them another thousand years, and we still don’t have cognition as I’ve characterized it… Are you going to be skeptical now?” He was, I suppose, as an academic, predictably clever and evasive, but the bottom line is, we don’t have this cognition captured.

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virtual-reality-AdobeStock_201971753
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
February 16, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Social Media, Technocracy, Transhumanism
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Is Transhumanism Uncomfortably Tempting?

An ethicist asks us to stop and reflect
Denyse O'Leary
February 16, 2020
6
Artificial Intelligence, Natural Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Social Media, Technocracy, Transhumanism

Jacob Schatzer identifies three issues in the essay, “The Allure of Transhumanism,” that might prompt some queasy recognitions in all of us, at times.

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Face made of shiny metal cubes. Looking Down.3d render
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
December 27, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Programming, Transhumanism
Tagged
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2019 AI Hype Countdown #5: Transhumanism never grows old

The idea that we can upload our brains to computers to avoid death shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the differences between types of thinking
Jonathan Bartlett
December 27, 2019
5
Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Programming, Transhumanism

Computers are very effective but they operate with a very limited set of causal abilities. Humans work from an entirely different set of causal abilities. Uploading your brain to a computer is not a question of technology. It can’t work in principle.

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Robot's body
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post
Author
News
Date
December 3, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind
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Would You Want Immortal Life as a Cyborg?

Would you give up your right arm for a robotic device that performs better? Think about it
News
December 3, 2019
8
Artificial Intelligence, Medicine and Health, Philosophy of Mind

Transhumanism can mean uploading one’s mind into cyberspace. But some transhumanists hope to slowly morph into “immortal cyborgs” with endlessly replaceable parts. Five years ago, we were told, we were all turning into cyborgs: Did you recently welcome a child into the world? Congratulations! An upstanding responsible parent such as yourself is surely doing all you can to prepare your little one for all the pitfalls life has in store. However, thanks to technology, children born in 2014 may face a far different set of issues than you ever had to. And we’re not talking about simply learning to master a new generation of digital doohickeys, we’re talking about living in a world in which the very definition of “human”…

Artificial Intelligence and Transhumanism - illustration
Type
post
Author
News
Date
November 19, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion, Transhumanism
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Transhumanism—Is It a Dangerous Idea?

Some Silicon Valley greats hope to merge with machines to live forever. But what then?
News
November 19, 2019
7
Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Religion, Transhumanism

The late philosopher Jerry Fodor (1935—2017) said that the reason “we’re all materialists” is that the alternatives seem even worse. Transhumanism, had he lived to see it develop, would give him pause for further reflection. 

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Detail of cyborg eye and robot.3d illustration
Type
post
Author
News
Date
November 6, 2019
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind, Religion, Technocracy
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But Could Techno-Immortality Ever Be the Real Thing?

Oxford mathematician John Lennox looks at Ray Kurzweil’s techno-immortality from a Christian perspective
News
November 6, 2019
8
Philosophy of Mind, Religion, Technocracy

In these excerpts from the podcast, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks talks with John Lennox about an AI immortality where we are told, for example, that we won’t need tongues because we can tap right into our taste buds.

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lennox-london-2
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
October 31, 2019
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Bingecast: John Lennox on the Promise and Threat of AI

Robert J. Marks
October 31, 2019
1

Natural and artificial intelligence can be discussed from a number of viewpoints, including philosophically, technically and theologically. Robert J. Marks and Dr. John Lennox address AI from all of these points of view today on Mind Matters. Show Notes 01:10 | Introducing Dr. John Lennox 03:33 | Bacon and Erdős numbers 05:38 | Should we fear artificial intelligence? 06:10 |…

COSM-Ray-Kurzweil-screens
Ray Kurzweil presenting via teleconference at COSM 2019
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
October 30, 2019
Categorized
Philosophy of Mind
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Tech pioneer Ray Kurzweil: We Will Merge with Computers by 2045

For computers, “Even the very best human is just another notch to pass,” he told the COSM Technology Summit
Denyse O'Leary
October 30, 2019
5
Philosophy of Mind

Advocates point to the success of Kurzweil’s past predictions as evidence that his Singularity is indeed Near, as his 2005 book predicts or Nearer, as his forthcoming one (June 2020) does. But questions bubbled to the surface.

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dylan-nolte-1266978-unsplash
Blurred lights coming from above
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
May 27, 2019
Categorized
Religion, Social Factors, Technocracy
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Silicon Valley’s Strange, Apocalyptic Cult

Key Valley figures hope to beat death the transhumanist way. Oh, by the way, YOU are doomed
Denyse O'Leary
May 27, 2019
4
Religion, Social Factors, Technocracy

Everything has a history, including Silicon Valley. According to a new media theorist, an influential Valley philosophy might underlie the current attitudes, values, and beliefs: There is a Silicon Valley religion, and it’s one that doesn’t particularly care for people — at least not in our present form. Technologists may pretend to be led by a utilitarian, computational logic devoid of superstition, but make no mistake: There is a prophetic belief system embedded in the technologies and business plans coming out of Google, Uber, Facebook, and Amazon, among others. Douglas Rushkoff, “The Anti-Human Religion of Silicon Valley” at Medium In an excerpt from his new book, Team Human (2019), Rushkoff traces the history to a post-Cold War collaboration centered on…

avantgarde-concept-725471-unsplash
Eyeball with ring light reflection in pupil
Type
post
Author
Wesley J. Smith
Date
April 8, 2019
Categorized
Ethics, Religion, Technocracy, Transhumanism
Tagged
, ,

Transhumanism, the Lazy Way to Human ‘Improvement’

Transhumanists don’t seem much interested in such real improvements in the human condition. They want quick, easy technological fixes
Wesley J. Smith
April 8, 2019
4
Ethics, Religion, Technocracy, Transhumanism

The transhumanist movement swoons over increasing intelligence. If I had to choose between increasing the intelligence of the human race versus enhancing our capacity to love, the human race would be far better off embracing the latter than the former. There is no brain implant for that.

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John Lennox
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
April 4, 2019
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John Lennox on AI: What is Trans-Humanism?

Nothing is New Under the Sun
Robert J. Marks
April 4, 2019
1

Show Notes 00:46 | Introduction; Dr. John Lennox 01:47 | Trans-humanism 03:00 | Kurzweil and Human Enhancement 06:24 | Chips and Biometrics 07:35 | Trans-humanism and Gnosticism 09:25 | Nothing New Under The Sun 11:15 | More Than Exceptional 13:50 | Forthcoming Book 14:30 | Economy and Personal Security

woman reflection in broken mirror
Shattered visage
Type
post
Author
News
Date
March 12, 2019
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Social Factors
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, , , ,

Will AI shatter human exceptionalism?

Proving that humans are just another animal might help save the planet, writer says
News
March 12, 2019
4
Artificial Intelligence, Social Factors

The advantage of adding talk of evolution to transhumanism is that it turns a perennial tale of immortality just out of reach into a chronicle of inevitable ascent, like the fabled “Ascent of Man.”

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