Meridian Magazine positions itself as a publication for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest Mormon denomination. I don’t know much about Meridian or the people behind it. But today I learned that they’re willing to publish a fear-mongering distortion of Transhumanism, “Human 2.0 Is Here — And You Didn’t Even Notice” by Alexis Tarkaleson. Despite their positioning, I wish to make make clear that such behavior is not aligned with the values that the Church advocates.
Tarkaleson says “mind uploading” is an outlandish tale. What’s her take on tales of transfiguration and resurrection? Are those equally outlandish? Surely she’s aware that those doctrines require the possibility of mind (or spirit body) moving from one physical body to another, consistent with hypotheses of mind uploading.
How about cryonics, yet another outlandish tale she identifies? I’m curious to know what she thinks about the Church’s advocacy to collect genealogy and preserve family history, with intent to facilitate redemption of the dead. And what about proxy rituals that we perform for the dead? Most of the world probably thinks the Church’s practices in these areas are at least as outlandish as those of cryonicists.
We live at a time when humanity has never experienced such a rapid pace of change. We’re in the midst of unprecedented technological change, cultural change, political change, and philosophical change.
Some observers predict that the pace of change will slow down, but others anticipate that it will in fact increase — largely due to artificial intelligence leaping forward in capability, to the point where it exceeds human cognitive capabilities in every dimension.
How credible is such a possibility? How should humanity prepare for it? What values should guide us in our reactions and proactions to various new opportunities and potential threats that seem to be emerging almost daily?
The guest in this London Futurists webinar, Ben Goertzel, has arguably thought longer, harder, more creatively, and more boldly, about these questions, than anyone else on the planet. But he’s not just a thinker; Ben is very much also a doer — an organiser, an entrepreneur, an architect, an engineer, and a leader of too many initiatives to mention them all individually.
But let’s briefly highlight: • Ben’s role as the long-time champion of the concept of AGI, artificial general intelligence; • his role as the founder and leader of SingularityNET, with its mission to create a decentralized, democratic, inclusive and beneficial AGI; • his leadership roles at Humanity+, the international transhumanist organisation, where he has served since 2008 as either Vice Chair or Chair; • and his commitment to the writing and publication of mind-expanding ideas, such as his 2010 book \.
Human cyborgs are individuals who integrate advanced technology into their bodies, enhancing their physical or cognitive abilities. This fusion of man and machine blurs the line between science fiction and reality, raising questions about the future of humanity, ethics, and the limits of human potential. From bionic limbs to brain-computer interfaces, cyborg technology is rapidly evolving, pushing us closer to a world where humans and machines become one.
When AI agents have the ability to create and promote their own cryptos, will humans still control monetary systems? It’s a question we should be thinking about, says Zoltan Istvan, a leading transhumanist thinker.
It’s difficult to build devices that replicate the fluid, precise motion of humans, but that might change if we could pull a few (literal) strings. At least, that’s the idea behind “cable-driven” mechanisms in which running a string through an object generates streamlined movement across an object’s different parts. Take a robotic finger, for example: You could embed a cable through the palm to the fingertip of this object and then pull it to create a curling motion.
While cable-driven mechanisms can create real-time motion to make an object bend, twist, or fold, they can be complicated and time-consuming to assemble by hand. To automate the process, researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed an all-in-one 3D printing approach called “Xstrings.” Part design tool, part fabrication method, Xstrings can embed all the pieces together and produce a cable-driven device, saving time when assembling bionic robots, creating art installations, or working on dynamic fashion designs.
In a paper to be presented at the 2025 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI2025), the researchers used Xstrings to print a range of colorful and unique objects that included a red walking lizard robot, a purple wall sculpture that can open and close like a peacock’s tail, a white tentacle that curls around items, and a white claw that can ball up into a fist to grab objects.
James Fodor discusses what he is researching, mind uploading etc.
As of 2020, James Fodor, is a student at the Australian National University, in Canberra, Australia. James’ studies at university have been rather diverse, and have at different times included history, politics, economics, philosophy, mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, and biology. Eventually he hopes to complete a PhD in the field of computational neuroscience.
James also have a deep interest in philosophy, history, and religion, which he periodically writes about on his blog, which is called The Godless Theist. In addition, James also has interests in and varying levels of involved in skeptical/atheist activism, effective altruism, and transhumanism/emerging technologies. James is a fan of most things sci-fi, including Star Trek, Dr Who, and authors such as Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov.
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“The Future of Human Evolution: AI, Genetic Engineering, and the Rise of Post-Human Civilization”
What happens when human evolution is no longer shaped by nature but by artificial intelligence and genetic engineering? This story explores the rise of AI-enhanced humans in a futuristic medieval world, where the fusion of bioengineering, AI consciousness, and neural implants creates a post-human era. As civilizations embrace transhumanism, traditional humanity faces extinction, replaced by a new species of synthetic life. Will this AI-driven society achieve ultimate enlightenment, or will it lose the essence of what makes us human? The battle between future civilization, advanced technology, and those clinging to the past intensifies as digital immortality reshapes the meaning of existence. This cybernetic future forces us to question our identity—can genetic modification and AI singularity coexist with the soul of humanity? Witness the evolution of intelligence, the struggle between AI vs humanity, and the uncertain fate of a world where consciousness itself is no longer biological.
0:00 — Introduction: The Future of Human Evolution. 8:25 — AI & Genetic Engineering: Unlocking Human Potential. 16:50 — Ethical Dilemmas of Genetic Modification. 25:15 — The Rise of Engineered Intelligence. 33:40 — Genetic Enhancements & Social Stratification. 42:05 — AI in Education, Work, and Society. 50:30 — The Quest for Longevity & Immortality. 58:55 — Resistance Movements Against Enhancement. 1:07:20 — The First AI-Integrated Humans. 1:15:45 — The Breakdown of Traditional Humanity. 1:24:10 — Post-Human Civilizations & Digital Consciousness. 1:32:35 — The Divide Between Organic & Artificial Life. 1:41:00 — The Singularity & The End of Natural Evolution. 1:49:25 — What Comes After Humanity?
Sources. Bostrom, N. (2014). Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. Oxford University Press. Harari, Y. N. (2017). Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. Harper. Kurzweil, R. (2005). The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. Penguin. Tegmark, M. (2017). Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Knopf. Goertzel, B. (2020). Artificial General Intelligence: Concept, State of the Art, and Future Directions. Springer.
