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Super-intelligent Machines May be Conscious, but Not Like We Are
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Super-intelligent Machines May be Conscious, but Not Like We Are

During my most recent UN speaking engagement in Shanghai, I wasn’t able to access Google (or my email), and was left with only a few books and the tabs I…

Lotus Eaters vs World Eaters – A Fork in the Road in the Transhuman Transition
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Lotus Eaters vs World Eaters – A Fork in the Road in the Transhuman Transition

Human nature has always been to gain control over the physical world — both in maximizing its output for our benefit (farming, mining, etc), and in lessening the risks it…

Artificial Intelligence Job Loss is a Comparatively Minor Concern
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Artificial Intelligence Job Loss is a Comparatively Minor Concern

How can you keep artificial intelligence from taking over your job? In my latest TEDx talk, I explore what I’ve learned (from hundreds of interviews) about job security in the…

What Black Mirror’s San Junipero Got Right and Wrong
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What Black Mirror’s San Junipero Got Right and Wrong

I’ve been cajoled into watching Netflix’s Black Mirror, and a friend of mine recommended watching the San Junipero episode next. As I mentioned in my last Black Morror reflection, and I…

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With VR and Neurotech, the Future of Sex May Be Just as Disturbing as the Present

I don’t watch fiction, and I don’t read fiction, almost as a rule. While I respect it as a medium, and consider it valuable in fleshing out future scenarios that…

Tinkering with Consciousness – The Great Ethical Precipice We Face
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Tinkering with Consciousness – The Great Ethical Precipice We Face

In the coming decades ahead, we’ll likely augment our minds and explore not only a different kind of “human experience”, we’ll likely explore the further reaches of sentience and intelligence…

The Epitome of Freedom – The Only Viable Post-Human Future for Human Consciousness?
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The Epitome of Freedom – The Only Viable Post-Human Future for Human Consciousness?

I am still of the belief that two of the most important conversations we can have with regards to the future of humanity and of sentient life in general are…