The End of Suffering – Genome Reform and the Future of Sentience – David Pearce
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The End of Suffering – Genome Reform and the Future of Sentience – David Pearce

A talk by David Pearce for the Stepping into the Future conference 2022. Synopsis: No sentient being in the evolutionary history of life has enjoyed good health as defined by the World Health Organization. The founding constitution of the World Health Organization commits the international community to a daringly ambitious conception of health: “a state…

Are we fit for the future?
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Are we fit for the future?

Panelists: James Hughes, PJ Manney (both at IEET), and Pramod Nayar (Hyderabad Uni) discuss humanities fitness for the future – covering important points including: Are we morally equipped to deal with humanities grand challenges? If the majority population of a democratic state were morally deficient, would it be okay to morally enhance the population, or…

The Aesthetic of the Meta-Aesthetic: the Meaning Nexus Between Memeplexes – Andrés Gómez Emilsson
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The Aesthetic of the Meta-Aesthetic: the Meaning Nexus Between Memeplexes – Andrés Gómez Emilsson

Are there facts about whether something is beautiful, or good art, or are such things purely a matter of opinion? A Future Day talk by Andrés Gómez Emilsson Audio: Synopsis: In the spirit of fostering a collaborative relationship between the memeplexes that currently occupy the minds of the post-political intelligentsia, Andrés shares a conceptual framework…

The Goodness of the Universe: Outer Space, Inner Space, and the Future of Networks /w John Smart
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The Goodness of the Universe: Outer Space, Inner Space, and the Future of Networks /w John Smart

A talk for the ‘Stepping into the Future‘ conference (April 2022). Synopsis: Does the History, Dynamics, and Structure of our Universe give any evidence that it is inherently “Good”? Does it appear to be statistically protective of adapted complexity and intelligence? Which aspects of the big history of our universe appear to be random? Which…

James Hughes – Cyborg Virtues: Using BCIs for Moral Enhancement
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James Hughes – Cyborg Virtues: Using BCIs for Moral Enhancement

James Hughes discusses the neuroanatomy of moral cognition, and the potential for brain stimulation and brain-computer interfaces to modulate moral emotions, cognition and behavior. This talk was part of the ‘Stepping Into the Future‘ conference.   Video here. Audio: Synopsis: Links between brain structures and cognition began with studies of victims of brain injuries, and…

Stepping Into the Future – April 23rd-24th, 2022

Stepping Into the Future – April 23rd-24th, 2022

What will the future look like? See complete info here We are excited to announce that we have a great line up of topics and speakers this year! When? April 23rd – 24th, 2022. More details to come. Speakers/panelists confirmed: Anders Sandberg (Future of Humanity Institute) Andres E. Gomez (Qualia Research Institute), Ben Goertzel (OpenCog)…

Robin Hanson – UFOs what the hell?
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Robin Hanson – UFOs what the hell?

Robin Hanson gives a talk (starting at 5:31) and addresses questions afterwards on building a plausible story (although perhaps unlikely) of UFA/UFO aliens. Yes, the universe looks completely dead; we see no signs of life outside Earth, even though over millions of years advanced aliens could have made some big visible changes. Some possible explanations:…

Artificial Intelligence – Will it be Smarter than You in Your Lifetime?

Artificial Intelligence – Will it be Smarter than You in Your Lifetime?

Adam Ford argues for the position that Artificial Intelligence Will Be Smarter Than Humans in the lifetime of a young adult (sometime before the end of this century). This was one side of a debate put on my Melbourne University for a philosophy course. Adam discusses reasons why AI becoming smarter than human level intelligence…