In 'Global Brain Singularity,' Cadell Last explores the convergence of human evolution and the technological singularity, arguing that humanity is at a collision point between biochemical and techno-cultural evolution. The book examines the global brain hypothesis, which posits that humanity is evolving into a single, interconnected cognitive system. Last delves into the consequences of language, technology, and self-consciousness on the human future. The work proposes an anthropological theory of evolution that challenges traditional Darwinian perspectives by emphasizing the uniqueness of human beings and the dynamics of evolutionary processes. This theory offers insights into the challenges and opportunities presented by the accelerating pace of technological change.
This week’s guest is Cadell Last, the creator of Philosophy Portal, author of Global Brain Singularity and Real Speculations, and organizer of myriad conferences, anthologies, and collaborative volumes exploring biocultural evolution, the mind-matter relation, and speculative futures. Cadell has been the director of psychedelic research at Psirenity, a researcher at the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science, a science writer on primatology and paleoanthropology for Scientific American, and the founder, writer, and researcher for The Advanced Apes at PBS Digital Studios.
In this episode, we discuss self-actualization and self-transformation in our age of magical technologies — the domestication of the human being by AI and institutions, how to live in a future of hyper-social neuroplasticity, navigating hybrid physical-virtual relationships, the importance of intergenerational learning, and how we can make a better argument for culture to the social systems that only perceive measurable value. In the climax of this conversation, Cadell makes a case for “staying with the lack” and “working the cracks in being” as ways of cultivating our agency in a highly-automated world.
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Cadell’s Links
Website (with research and social media links)Philosophy PortalYouTube
(+ My recent appearance as a guest on Cadell’s Philosophy Portal show)
Relevant Papers
Human Evolution: Life History Theory and the End of Biological ReproductionSelf Actualization in the CommonsGlobal Commons in the Global BrainGlobal Brain and the Future of Human SocietyInformation-Energy Metasystem ModelAbstraction, mimesis and the evolution of deep learningLandian Exit and Hegelian LoveSystems & Subjects: Thinking the Foundations of Science & PhilosophyLogic for the Global Brain: Singular Universality as Perfect Opposition
Mentions
Kevin KellyLawrence SteinbergNick LandNora BatesonJessica FlackThomas PicketyMichel BauwensLayman PascalDavid JayPhilip K. DickYanis VaroufakisChris CutroneAndrew TateBenjamin StudebakerGordon BranderAlan TuringKate Raworth
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