What if we could bioengineer our bodies to live forever, would we and should we? What if we could avoid all the awkward bits of sex and just neatly copulate with a robot? And what if we never had to go through the bother and pain of pregnancy and could instead use artificial external wombs? Would we? And should we?
Transhumanists say these are moot questions because the superhuman or post-human train has well and truly left the station. We’re only decades from these altered, souped up realities. Oxford transhumanist scholar Elise Bohan and I roll our sleeves up to discuss the litany of moral questions that arise from this, like why the hell were we not consulted on this before the train took off? Has anyone stopped to ask if this is what humanity wants or can handle morally? We chat about the singularity, the particularly worrying effects on men and dating and Elise posits a timeframe for AI intelligence taking over from human smarts (!). If ever there was a conversation in history to get us talking about what matters and makes for a flourishing existence, this is it. Take a deep breath…
Grab Elise’s book, Future Superhuman: Our Transhuman Lives in a Make-or-Break Century
I refer to the book Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
And we reference previous podcast chats with William Macaskill
.....
If you need to know a bit more about me… head to my "about" page.
Subscribe to my Substack newsletter for more such conversation.
Get your copy of my book, This One Wild and Precious Life
Let’s connect on Instagram! It’s where I interact the most.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
MARK O’CONNELL: Meet the apocalypse preppers
WILLIAM MACASKILL: On “longtermism” and moral responsibility
ROB HENDERSON: Woke “luxury beliefs” are the new Birkins and Bentleys
Ask Me Anything: In which British National Treasure Melissa Hemsley fires your questions at me
KATHERINE MAY: The power of “Wintering”
DAVID FULLER: Sensemaking 101
DAVID WALLACE-WELLS: “The climate crisis might not be as bad as we thought” (a slight retraction)
KYLIE MOORE-GILBERT: How to survive 804 days captured and tortured by Iranian militants
JOSEPH HENRICH: You are weird! Here’s the scientist who can explain why
LECH BLAINE: The death of "blokes" (strap in for this one!)
JULIA CAMERON: How to live the artist's way
PROF GEORGE PAXINOS: Are our brains "good" enough to save the planet?
SHEENA IYENGAR: How to choose the best option
THIS WILD ELECTION: EP 12, Last thoughts…with Betoota Advocate
THIS WILD ELECTION: EP 11, Why we must vote for a First Nations Voice, with Prof Megan Davis
THIS WILD ELECTION: EP 10, How will a hung Parliament work? Will it be chaos? Tony Windsor sets us straight
THIS WILD ELECTION: EP 9, Who has the best policies for women with Jane Caro and CheekMedia's Kristen Perissinotto
THIS WILD ELECTION: EP 8, How to #voteclimate, with Richie Merzian
THIS WILD ELECTION: EP 7, A dead simple guide to voting (tag and share!)
THIS WILD ELECTION: EP 6, What if Anthony Albanese becomes PM? with Karen Middleton
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Hamish & Andy
The Howie Games
Motley Fool Money
Just the Gist
The Briefing