Lifeboat Foundation

About 17 years ago, Keven Walgamott lost his left hand and part of his forearm in an electrical accident. Now, Walgamott can use his thoughts to tell the fingers of his bionic hand to pick up eggs and grapes. The prosthetic arm he tested also allowed Walgamott to feel the objects he grasped.

A biomedical engineering team at the University of Utah created the “LUKE Arm,” named in honor of the robotic hand Luke Skywalker obtains in “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” after Darth Vader slices off his hand with a lightsaber.

A new study published Wednesday in the journal Science Robotics explained how the arm revived the sensation of touch for Walgamott. The University of Chicago and the Cleveland Clinic were also involved in the study.

Mr. Epstein’s vision reflected his longstanding fascination with what has become known as transhumanism: the science of improving the human population through technologies like genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. Critics have likened transhumanism to a modern-day version of eugenics, the discredited field of improving the human race through controlled breeding.

Mr. Epstein, the accused sex trafficker, was fascinated by eugenics. He told scientists and others of his vision of using his New Mexico ranch to impregnate women.

In the premiere of the HBO/BBC miniseries Years and Years, two parents are worried. Their teenage daughter Bethany has been hiding behind a 3D animated emoji mask and has scheduled a talk with them. Trying to figure out what they’re up against, they sneak a peek at her internet searches. When they discover that she’s been searching for information about being trans, they’re relieved; they can handle a transgender child.

Except when it comes time for their talk, Bethany tells her parents she’s transhuman and that she wants to “live forever as information.” The show represents transhumanist technology and aspirations, many of which revolve around upgrading and digitizing the human body, as a movement that will bring positive, negative, and downright confusing implications, ultimately changing the human race. The real question is what exactly that means. Humans opened the Pandora’s box of merging technology and biology a long time ago, and we’re now speeding head-on into the consequences, despite not knowing what humanity will become.

Bethany’s “coming out” scene hinges on the fact that the changes she desires are far more dangerous—and, for her parents, far more difficult to stomach—than gender reassignment. Bethany’s excitement at escaping the mortal coil brims with typical teenage naïveté: “Transhumans are not male or female, but better,” she tells her parents. For Bethany, that means no longer being human. “I will be data!” she enthuses.

My new article from Quartz about an annual #Longevity Peace Prize, and why it could help spread anti-aging aims far and wide across the planet:

Lead transhumanist Zoltan Istvan believes creating a major prize can help solve the problem of accessibility to developing longevity sciences.

Click on photo to start video.

Though some computer engineers claim to know what human consciousness is, many neuroscientists say that we’re nowhere close to understanding what it is — or its source.

In this video, bestselling author Douglas Rushkoff gives the “transhumanist myth” — the belief that A.I. will replace humans — a reality check. Is it hubristic to upload people’s minds to silicon chips, or re-create their consciousness with algorithms, when we still know so little about what it means to be human?

Continue reading “Why ‘upgrading’ humanity is a transhumanist myth” »

Are you Cryo-Curious? Learn about the real facts of cryonics at the first Cryonics Symposium International.

The mission of Cryonics Symposium International is to bring leaders in the cryonics community together to learn from each other and promote the emerging science of cryonics.

With master-of-ceremonies Rudi Hoffman, the first time ever assembly of luminaries from different cryonics organizations will be presenting on the concepts behind the science and research of cryonics at the Church of Perpetual Life in Hollywood, Florida on Saturday, July 27th from 10 AM — 5 PM. The Church is located at 1855 McKinley St, Hollywood, FL 33021. This historic event is free-of-charge: donations are graciously accepted. Attendees will enjoy complimentary meals for the duration of the event. Seats are limited. RSVP is required via Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cryonics-symposium-internationa…———-

Here’s my newest #transhumanism article from Metro; a very personal story:

At aged five, she announced she was in love with the robot and wanted to marry it.

My wife and I set up a mock wedding and filmed it. It was all good fun until my wife asked how I’d feel if my daughter wanted to do this as an adult with a robot she loved.

Continue reading “Should I have let my daughter marry our robot?” »

On the Transhumanist Wishlist by Prof George Church, or the genes we have to change to enhance the human body and mind, a new post.

Here are some selections from the so-called Transhumanist Wishlist, drawing upon the philosophical movement of transhumanism that calls for using technology to enhance human physiology and intellect, leading to a transformation of what it means to be human:

Continue reading “‘The Transhumanist wishlist’ – what genes can be enhanced to give us super abilities” »