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Reports

Books by Lifeboat Foundation Advisory Board members

 

Biotech/Medical

Brave New World? A defense of paradise-engineering by David Pearce – 2007
 
The Future of Digital Surveillance and Healthcare: A Conversation with World Leading Philosopher Stefan Lorenz Sorgner by Dinorah Delfin – 2020
 
Getting Ready for the Coming Bio-Economy: An Advance Survey with Ten Practical Tips by Scott Borg – 2000
 
Human Body Version 2.0 by Ray Kurzweil – 2003
 
Lifeboat Foundation Virgin Atlantic Report by Lifeboat Foundation Scientific Advisory Board – 2005
 
Neurotechnology and Society (2010–2060) by Zack Lynch – 2004
 
The Ultimate Right to Life Debate: Synthetic biologists know the meaning of life, but do they know the meaning of synthetic biology? by Alan H. Goldstein – 2006
 
Utopian Surgery: Early Arguments Against Anesthesia in Surgery, Dentistry, and Childbirth by David Pearce – 2006
 
Want to Live Forever? by David Brin – 2002
 
What is Human Enhancement, and why is it good for our society? by Guido Putignano – 2020
 
With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Time for the synthetic biology community to acknowledge three responsibilities by Roger Brent – 2006
 

Book Excerpts/Reviews

A Beginner’s Guide to Immortality by Clifford A. Pickover – 2007
 
The Age of Virtuous Machines by J. Storrs “Josh” Hall – 2007
 
It Takes a Giant Cosmos to Create Life and Mind by James Gardner – 2007
 
Kinds of Minds by J. Storrs “Josh” Hall – 2007
 
The Survival Imperative: Using Space to Protect Earth: Chapter Eight by William E. Burrows – 2006
 
Technology’s Promise: a Book Review by José Luis Cordeiro – 2009
 

Cosmology

It Takes a Giant Cosmos to Create Life and Mind by James Gardner – 2007
 

Ethics

Preparing for our Posthuman Future of Artificial Intelligence by David Brin – 2016
 

Existential Risks

The Case for Survival Colonies: Soliciting Colonists by Willard Wells – 2013
 
Classifying Extinction Risks by Michael Anissimov – 2007
 
The End of the World and Architecture (PDF) by Michael A. Richards – 2010
 
Let’s Lift the Earth! by David Brin – 2014
 
On the Principles of Economics & Evolution: A Survival Guide for the Inhabitants of Small Islands, Including the Inhabitants of the Small Island of Earth (5 MB PDF) by Matt Funk – 2010. The 88 MB PDF digital supplement for this report is also online.
 
Preparing for our Posthuman Future of Artificial Intelligence by David Brin – 2016
 
The Principles of Economics & Evolution II: In Search of Evolutionarily Stable Banking, Finance, & Alternative Investment Strategy (14.5 MB PDF) by Matt Funk – 2010 Condensed version.
 
The Principles of Economics & Evolution III: In Search of Evolutionarily Stable Central Banking & Alternative Investment Strategies (0.4 MB PDF) by Matt Funk – 2010
 
Risking Human Extinction by John Leslie – 1999
 
SHOUTING AT THE COSMOS…Or How SETI has Taken a Worrisome Turn Into Dangerous Territory by David Brin – 2006 (last update on 2008)
 
Warning Signs for Tomorrow by Anders Sandberg – 2006
 
Welcome to the Age of Weapons Containment by George Dvorsky – 2006
 

Futurism

10 Futuristic Materials by Michael Anissimov – 2008
 
23 Things Science Can Tell Us about Life, the Universe, and Everything by Daniel D. Brown – 2008
 
A Future of Fewer Words?: Five Trends Shaping the Future of Language by Lawrence Baines – 2012
 
A New Renaissance by José Luis Cordeiro – 2020
 
Big Chronology of Life on Earth by José Luis Cordeiro – 2019
 
Brain-Computer Interfaces for Manipulating Dreams by Michael Anissimov – 2008
 
The Great Matrix of Big History by William Grasse – 2017
 
Immortalist Utilitarianism by Michael Anissimov – 2004
 
Interstellar Travel and Post-Humans by Martin Rees – 2017
 
Law of Accelerating Returns by Ray Kurzweil – 2001
 
Loosening the Linkages Between Language and the Land by Lawrence Baines and Gul Nahar – 2018
 
Must-know terms for the 21st Century Intellectual by George Dvorsky – 2007
 
On Tech Unemployment and the Labor vs Capital Balance of Power by Nikola Danaylov – 2018
 
Our Future is being formed around one simple question, “what’s missing?” by Thomas Frey – 2020
 
Singularities and Nightmares: Extremes of Optimism and Pessimism About the Human Future by David Brin – 2006
 
Sir Arthur C. Clarke in 3001: Don’t Panic! by José Luis Cordeiro – 2008
 
The Strategic Brain by Natasha Vita-More – 2005
 
Technological Evolution by José Luis Cordeiro – 2006
 
Top Ten Cybernetic Upgrades Everyone Will Want by Michael Anissimov – 2007
 
Top Ten Transhumanist Technologies by Michael Anissimov – 2007
 
Warning Signs for Tomorrow by Anders Sandberg – 2006
 
What are the Benefits of Mind Uploading? by Michael Anissimov – 2009
 
What is Human Enhancement, and why is it good for our society? by Guido Putignano – 2020
 

Internet

Minding the Planet: The Meaning and Future of the Semantic Web by Nova Spivack – 2006
 
Web 3.0: The Third Generation Web is Coming by Nova Spivack – 2007
 

Nanotechnology

Considering Military and Ethical Implications of Nanofactory Level Nanotechnology by Brian Wang – 2006
 
Corporate Cornucopia: Examining the Special Implications of Commercial MNT Development by Michael Vassar – 2006
 
First-Stage Nanoproducts and Nanoweaponry by Michael Anissimov – 2006
 
Flexible Automated Manufacturing by Michael Vassar – 2004
 
I, Nanobot by Alan H. Goldstein – 2006
 
Molecular Manufacturing: Too Dangerous to Allow? by Robert A. Freitas Jr. – 2006
 
The (Needed) New Economics of Abundance by Steve Burgess – 2006
 
Some Limits to Global Ecophagy by Biovorous Nanoreplicators, with Public Policy Recommendations by Robert A. Freitas Jr. – 2000
 

New Money Systems

Bitcoin for Beginners (PDF) by Clayton Rawlings – 2019
 

Nuclear

Crash Test Cities: Protecting Against Nuclear Blasts and Other Disasters by Wil McCarthy – 2005
 

Robotics/AI

The Age of Virtuous Machines by J. Storrs “Josh” Hall – 2007
 
AI and Sci-Fi: My, Oh, My! by Robert J. Sawyer – 2002
 
AI Meets the Metaverse: Teachable AI Agents Living in Virtual Worlds by Ben Goertzel – 2007
 
Can a machine be conscious? How? by Stevan Harnad – 2003
 
Interstellar Travel and Post-Humans by Martin Rees – 2017
 
Jurisprudence of Artilects: Blueprint for a Synthetic Citizen by Frank W. Sudia, JD – 2004
 
Kinds of Minds by J. Storrs “Josh” Hall – 2007
 
Preparing for our Posthuman Future of Artificial Intelligence by David Brin – 2016
 
Rise of the Machines: How, When and Consequences of Artificial General Intelligence by Richard J. Terrile – 2019
 
What are the Benefits of Mind Uploading? by Michael Anissimov – 2009
 

Space Settlement

Achieving Human Commitment to Space Colonization: Is Fear the Answer? by Sylvia Engdahl – 2006 (last update on 2019)
 
Apollo 11 50th Anniversary by Martin Rees – 2019
 
Breaking Out from Earth’s Shell by Sylvia Engdahl – 2019
 
Building Musk’s path to Mars by John K. Strickland, Jr. – 2022
 
Let’s Lift the Earth! by David Brin – 2014
 
Dipping a Toe into the Sea of Space: Are we Columbus or Erikson? by Gregory Benford – 2005
 
Interstellar Travel and Post-Humans by Martin Rees – 2017
 
Rethinking the Mars Terraforming Debate by John K. Strickland, Jr. – 2018
 
The Survival Imperative: Using Space to Protect Earth: Chapter Eight by William E. Burrows – 2006
 
To Food and Beyond: How Synthetic Biology will Revolutionize the Space Food Sector in the Future by Guido Putignano – 2021
 
Why the Moon? Human survival! by Robert Shapiro – 2007
 
The SLS: too expensive for exploration? by John Strickland – 2011
 

Sustainability

The “Energularity” by José Luis Cordeiro – 2011
 
Energy 2020: A Vision of the Future — A report retrieved from the year 2020 via a wormhole. by José Luis Cordeiro – 2006
 
Screw Sustainability: The Age of the Tornado Tamers Busting the Bubble of Spaceship Earth by Howard Bloom – 2005
 
To Food and Beyond: How Synthetic Biology will Revolutionize the Space Food Sector in the Future by Guido Putignano – 2021
 

Transparency and Privacy

The Future of Digital Surveillance and Healthcare: A Conversation with World Leading Philosopher Stefan Lorenz Sorgner by Dinorah Delfin – 2020