Into the Transhumanist Rabbit Hole
Into the Transhumanist Rabbit Hole
A mini-compilation of blogs, news, podcasts, and other bookmark resources for the tech progressive learning about transhumanism.
This is essay 6 of 6 essays for 1729 Writers Cohort #1. Apply to 1729 today at https://www.1729.com.
This post is the sixth of a series of essays that try to reflect on issues related to aspects of transhumanism, which can arguably be defined as the enhancement of the human condition through technology to achieve more longevity, cognitive abilities, emotional states, and other previously seemingly impossible feats. These series of essays hopefully serve as notes and logs on reflection points as I try to learn more about relevant issues.
The series started with a part 1 and part 2 exploration of some potential impacts of anti-aging and life extension, in realms such as work, education, life planning, family, and society. Next, it went into a “sci-fi” rabbit hole exploring the mapping, emulation, and uploading of the mind into a digital substrate to potentially achieve some form of “digital immortality.” It then took snapshots of cyborg art, a movement embracing seeming “sci-fi” but ultimately real forms of expression achieved through embedding technology into the human form. Afterwards, the series delved into transhumanist politics and examined transhumanist movements in the context of the 21st century great power games and changing world order.
For the final piece of the series, I had originally planned to write more about anti-aging tech, but given that this is — for now — the last of a series, I would like to switch gears a little and dedicate this post to a compilation of learning and reading resources for the tech progressive learner and reader. If you are a curious-minded tech progressive beginning to delve into the rabbit hole exploring various transhumanist topics, then I hope this piece provides you with some additional blogs and posts you could bookmark. This is not an exhaustive list, so I welcome additional suggestions in the comments section.
One of the recommended starting points for folks wanting to learn more about transhumanism is arguably the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, which hosts research, publications, tools, forums, and contacts for those interested in the big ideas about humanity's future as well as their applications. The Institute offers a wealth of resources and papers for the intellectually minded. Those interested in getting a primer on transhumanism can start with this paper published by Nick Bostrom, the institute's founder, on transhumanist values.
Nick Bostrom. Source: Future of Humanity Institute (under Creative Commons Attribution License)
Humanity+ started in 2002 as the World Transhumanist Association by Nick Bostrom and David Pearce to globally advance transhumanist ideas and initiatives. It has since expanded to many local chapters around the world, including in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Japan, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. One has the option of getting a Humanity+ community membership to become a part of their mailing list, which includes the H+ Newsletter and invitation to attend the H+ Academy Roundtable.
Singularity Hub is the blog site for Singularity University, co-founded by Peter Diamandis and Ray Kurzweil to tackle some of humanity's biggest problems and embrace exponential technology. Those interested in brain-computer interactions and mind emulation can delve into its section in Neuroscience. And those interested in longevity or other transhumanist technologies can explore its section on Biotechnology. Singularity University holds a special place in my heart. When the pandemic-related lockdowns started, I was looking for an online tech progressive community to stay connected, and the Singularity University Global Community, which hosts weekly online meetups, became a go-to place. This was before I became a dedicated member of the 1729 Community.
A compilation of readings and blogs on transhumanism feels incomplete without a reference to Ray Kurzweil, renowned futurist and transhumanist who was behind the founding of Singularity University. Checkout the latest from Kurzweil here.
Ray Kurzweil. Source: Michael Lutch (under Creative Commons Attribution License)
I love transhumanist.com. It gives a comprehensive A-Z list of transhumanist resource links, including sites of researchers, books, papers, and interviews. That said, I wish the platform could give brief introductions to each resource link, which would make things easier for the beginner in transhumanism.
Wired has a variety of technology news. Arguably, it is a good source for aggregating technology news on bionics.
Science Daily is a comprehensive aggregator of the latest news and updates on research in a variety of science and technology fields. I particularly love its aggregation of news on technological developments in brain-computer interface.
Longevity.Technology is one of my favorites, in terms of it being a go-to resource blog for finding out new technologies and investments in the anti-aging and life extension spaces. I've recently connected with the platform's chief editor. Those looking to follow the smart money and boost an investment portfolio to include cutting-edge anti-aging and life extension bets could potentially follow their Investment Section (disclaimer: I am not a finance professional and this is not investment advice). Check out this primer into the 2021 longevity funding market.
Backed by the Life Extension Advocacy Foundation, Lifespan.io is one of the most comprehensive blogs on anti-aging and life extension. It is similar to Longevity.Technology in terms of being an aggregator of news on research, technology, and investments. In addition to that, it features a Knowledge Hub that introduces key terms and learning points in anti-aging and longevity, a who's who list of key researchers and investors in this field, and webinars for those wanting to learn even more.
Signals is a decent blog for those interested in learning more about the latest news on stem cell research and regenerative medicine.
Mayo Clinic is another great source for learning about the latest in regenerative medicine. Check out their regenerative medicine blog, which identifies cutting edge research in that area.
The Age of Transition Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by filmmaker Aaron Franz, and it largely delves into transhumanism and other social topics. Previous podcast episodes include explorations of mind uploading and other topics of interest.
Road to Transhumanism Podcast, hosted by Elio Gereige, invites various speakers from diverse fields and looks at human evolution from multidisciplinary angles.
The Future Thinkers Podcast, co-hosted by Mike Gilliland and Euvie Ivanova, delves into the cutting edge intersections between emergent technology and society. Transhumanism is one of the key topics explored.
The Futures Podcast, with Luke Robert Mason, features researchers, technologists, artists, and thinkers on topics and developments that advance the human condition.
Concluding Thoughts
This is by no means an exhaustive list of resources, blogs, news, and podcasts on transhumanism. I hope this can be a start. Everyone is welcome to add more suggestions on sites, links, aggregators, podcasts, blogs, and other resources via the comments section. Thank you.
This post is purely for reflection and information purposes, and it does not constitute any advocacy for any political, scientific, legal, or ethical position. For earlier posts and musings, please visit whatifwhatif.substack.com.