Episode #2: James Hughes on the Transhumanist Political Project

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This is the second episode in the Algocracy and Transhumanism project podcast. In this episode I interview Dr. James Hughes, executive director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and current Associate Provost for Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning for the University of Massachusetts Boston. James is leading figure in both transhumanist thought and political activism. He is the author of Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future. I spoke to James about the origins of the transhumanist project, the political values currently motivating transhumanist activists, as well as some more esoteric and philosophical ideas associated with transhumanism. You can download the podcast here. You can listen below. You can also subscribe on Stitcher and iTunes.

Show Notes

0:00 - 1:00 - Introduction to James  

1:00 - 11:00 - The History of Transhumanist Thought (Religious and Mythical Origins) 

11:00 - 17:00 - Transhumanism and the Enlightenment Project  

17:00 - 25:30 - Transhumanism and Disability Rights Movement  

25:30 - 34:30 - The Political Values for Hiveminds and Cyborgs  

34:30 - 41:00 - The Dark Side of Transhumanist Politics  

41:00 - 43:00 - Technological Unemployment and Technoprogressivism  

43:00 - 51:00 - Building Better Citizens through Human Enhancement  

51:00 - 1:01:55 - The Threat of Algocracy?  

1:01:55 - 1:07:55 - Internal and External Moral Enhancement   

Links

• The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies

• Citizen Cyborg by James Hughes

• 'A History of Transhumanist Thought' by Nick Bostrom

• The Cyborg Buddha Project - by James Hughes

• 'A Strategic Opening for a Basic Income Guarantee' by James Hughes

• 'Valuing Disability, Causing Disability' - by Elizabeth Barnes

• 'Disability and Mere Difference' - by Julian Savulescu and Guy Kahane

• 'Are we heading for a Borg-like Society?' - John Danaher

• 'We are Borg! Human Assimilation in the Cellular Society' - by Ronnie Lipschutz and Rebecca Hester

• The Transhumanist Wager by Zoltan Istvan

• 'Betting Against the Transhumanist Wager' by Rick Searle

• Debate between James Hughes and Zoltan Istvan at the Harvard Kennedy School

• 'Opposing leaders of the Transhumanist Movement Got Salty in a Debate' by Alex Pearlman

• James's series of posts on 'Enhancing Virtues' (recommended)

• 'The Threat of Algocracy: Reality, Resistance and Accommodation' by John Danaher

• 'Outsourcing your Mind and Intelligence to Computer/Phone Apps' by Evan Selinger