Has Mainstream Futurism Become Indistinguishable from Transhumanist Discourse? Saturday, May 2 2009
futurism and transhumanism 9:32 pm
Checking out the Twitter feed of The Futurist, the publication of the World Future Society:
# Drexler: how nanotechnology (better protein design) will cure Alzheimer’s http://tinyurl.com/ca3cx2 about 15 hours ago
# European Parliment to debate transhumanism, the proper definition of “human.” http://tinyurl.com/ddq3xg 1 day ago
# Ai researcher and futurist Ben Goertzel discusses the self-aware Internet. http://tinyurl.com/cfsuku 1 day ago
It just goes on like this. Naturally, the front-page story is about the Seasteading Institute. My May 2008 interview with Patri Friedman broke the story to the larger community (including WIRED’s Alexis Madrigal). Has transhumanism become the epicenter of all futurism?
the future transhumanism is interested in is the future most humans are interested in.
even the ones who oppose it, will have an interest in knowing about it.
plus exciting headlines are obviously always good for business.
I personally have noticed that where in the past some of the subjects I have spoken to friends and family about have been roundly ridiculed or dismissed, they are now being met with some head-nodding, if not outright acceptance.
I just ran a marathon in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Their mission is to have cured blood cancer by 2015. Ten years ago such a goal would have been laughed at. Now, it is being actively discussed.
So yes, I would say there is a fair amount of what was once considered “fringe Transhumanism”in today’s mainstream “Futurism”