Written in 1931 and published in 1932, 'Brave New World' is a dystopian novel set in a futuristic World State where humans are bred in vitro and predestined into a rigid social hierarchy. The novel explores themes of technological advancement, social conditioning, and the loss of individuality and freedom. The story revolves around characters such as Bernard Marx, an Alpha who questions the society, Mustapha Mond, the World Controller, and John, a 'Savage' from a reservation who introduces elements of emotion and individuality into the highly controlled World State. The novel critiques the optimism of technological progress and its potential to create a society that values stability and happiness over humanity and freedom[2][4][5].
In this book, Toby Ord argues that humanity is in a uniquely dangerous period, which he terms 'the Precipice,' beginning with the first atomic bomb test in 1945. Ord examines various existential risks, including natural and anthropogenic threats, and estimates that there is a one in six chance of humanity suffering an existential catastrophe within the next 100 years. He advocates for a major reorientation in how we see the world and our role in it, emphasizing the need for collective action to minimize these risks and ensure a safe future for humanity. The book integrates insights from multiple disciplines, including physics, biology, earth science, computer science, history, anthropology, statistics, international relations, and moral philosophy[1][3][5].
In this book, William MacAskill advocates for longtermism, the idea that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority. He argues that future people count, there could be many of them, and we can make their lives better. MacAskill discusses various threats to humanity, including climate change, AI misalignment, and pandemics, and proposes strategies to ensure civilization's survival and improve its trajectory. The book explores moral and philosophical issues surrounding longtermism, including the risks of human extinction, civilizational collapse, and technological stagnation, while offering a measured optimism about the future's potential for human flourishing[1][5][4].
Novum Organum, written in Latin and published in 1620, is a key work by Francis Bacon that critiques traditional deductive reasoning and Aristotelian logic. It proposes a new method of scientific inquiry based on inductive reasoning, emphasizing the importance of empirical observation and experimentation. The book is part of Bacon's larger, unfinished work, Instauratio Magna (The Great Instauration), and it introduces the concept of 'idols' that mislead human reasoning. Bacon's method involves meticulous observation, the removal of biases, and the systematic gathering of data to form conclusions, laying the groundwork for the modern scientific method[1][2][5].
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Dr. Alexander Thomas is a Senior Lecturer in Media Production and Film at the University of East London. He is the author of The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism: Techno-Human Evolution and Advanced Capitalism.
In this episode, we focus on The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism. We start by discussing what transhumanism is, its tenets, different kinds of transhumanism, enhancement, hierarchy and elitism, and arguments against transhumanism. We delve into advanced capitalism, longtermism, accelerationism, effective altruism, TESCREALism, the politics of transhumanism, and eugenics. We also talk about data totalitarianism, the consequences of a cybernetic approach to the human mind, artificial general intelligence (AGI), and posthumanism. We discuss whether transhumanism can be a religious movement. Finally, we talk about the risk of dehumanization, and how we can ethically approach a potential transhuman future.
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