Lifeboat Foundation

British biomedical engineers have developed a new generation of intelligent prosthetic limbs that allows the wearer to reach for objects automatically, without thinking — just like a real hand.

The hand’s camera takes a picture of the object in front of it, assesses its shape and size, picks the most appropriate grasp, and triggers a series of movements in the hand — all within milliseconds.

Continue reading “Deep learning-based bionic hand grasps objects automatically” »

One of my essays is in this excellent new book. Also, many other writers I like are in here. Grab a copy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XB4CT95?tag=lifeboatfound-20?tag=lifeboatfound-20 #transhumanism

How different will the future be from today? As different as we can imagine, and possibly stranger and more wonderful than we ever HAVE imagined. The key is turning our visions for the future into the future itself. And that begins with articulating our visions.

In this collection of essays compiled by the hosts of the popular internet radio series, The World Transformed, world-leading futurists, scientists, authors, artists and others share their visions for changes that are on their way, or that we can bring about, that will transform our world forever. Contributors include Ramez Naam, Brian Wang, PJ Manney, John Smart, J. Storrs Hall, Aubrey de Grey, James Hughes, Jim Elvidge, Alvis Brigis, David Brin, Dave Gobel, Paul Fernhout, Ben Goertzel, Getnet Aseffa, Zheng Cui, Wayne Radinsky, Giulio Prisco, Colin McInnes, Erika Lives, Will Brown, Yiqing Liang, Cosmo Harrigan, Tudor Boloni, Khannea Suntzu, Belle Black, Anyazelie M.

Continue reading “Visions for a World Transformed: 99 Ideas for Making the World a Better Place” »

Israel’s oldest newspaper Haaretz (in #Hebrew) recently translated and published The New York Times Magazine feature story on my radical science and #transhumanism work in their own Sunday magazine. I can’t find the link in Hebrew yet, but here’s the fun 2-page spread of me atop my #ImmortalityBus. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/magazine/600-miles-in-a-c…tself.html

I’m giving a speech this morning in San Diego on #transhumanism. If you’re at this medical device conference, please come listen and say hello after the talk:

The 10x Medical Device Conference is an annual, in-person reuinion for the Medical Devices Group, the world’s largest medical device community.

A nice new write-up on my governor run: https://humanityplus.wordpress.com/2017/04/24/this-transhuma…alifornia/ #transhumanism

It’s a good time to be a transhumanist politician. As faith in the political establishment declines, new technologies, from gene editing to artificial intelligence, are transforming our lives faster than ever. The transhumanist author and politician Zoltan Istvan agrees. He thinks the time is ripe for pro-science and technology governance, and for leaders who will embrace the technologies that could fundamentally transform our conceptions of what it means to be human.

Istvan is a maverick who appears to thrive in an ‘outsider’ role. He self-published a sci-fi novel, The Transhumanist Wager, in 2013, which became a surprise bestseller on Amazon. In 2016, he made an unlikely run for US president as the leader of the Transhumanist Party. Now, he’s making a bid for Governor of California in the 2018 election under a Libertarian Party ticket.

Continue reading “This Transhumanist Politician Wants to be Governor of California” »

Natasha is faculty and Program Lead of Graduate Studies at the University of Advancing Technology. Her book The Transhumanist Reader — Classical and Contemporary essays on the Science, Technology and Philosophy of the Human Future is the most read book on transhumanism. She designed the first whole body prosthetic and establishing groundbreaking science on long-term memory after vitrification of C. elegans. Her creative works have been featured in WIRED, The New York Times, The Observer, MIT Technology Review, U.S. News and World Report, YMAZING smile and in more than a dozen documentaries. She is Chair of Humanity Plus.

Natasha Vita-More World Business Dialogue #facingchange #20thwbdialogue #FutureOfHumanity #wow #ymazing Sam Dawkins

Many people thought I was way too optimistic with my prediction (read the Popular Science article) about artificial wombs in 2004 with my Vice Motherboard story (which went viral). It turns out the tech is coming sooner than many imagined. Enjoy! http://www.popsci.com/artificial-womb-science-fiction #transhumanism

A bag-like device kept lamb fetuses alive longer than anything else has before. What does that mean for human pregnancy? Read on.

Happy #Alien Day. Here’s my trilogy of alien stories for Vice. I’ll start by listing #2 first for those who only have time for one, but they do go in chronological order: 2) https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/why-havent-we-met…ed-into-ai & 1) https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/the-internet-will…wake-it-up & 3) (covered recently by the History Channel): https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/the-language-of-a…cipherable #transhumanism

While traveling in Western Samoa many years ago, I met a young Harvard University graduate student researching ants. He invited me on a hike into the jungles to assist with his search for the tiny insect. He told me his goal was to discover a new species of ant, in hopes it might be named after him one day.

Whenever I look up at the stars at night pondering the cosmos, I think of my ant collector friend, kneeling in the jungle with a magnifying glass, scouring the earth. I think of him, because I believe in aliens—and I’ve often wondered if aliens are doing the same to us.

Continue reading “Why Haven’t We Met Aliens Yet? Because They’ve Evolved into AI” »

My new Vice Motherboard article on interviewing four humanoid robots: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/i-talked-to-four-humanoid-robots #transhumanism

“Human relationships can be hard to define.”

Over the last 18 months, I’ve found myself in the strange habit of hanging out and interviewing English-speaking humanoid robots. I was able to chat with four machines, each which possessed some level of artificial intelligence. Even though none of them could fully carry on normal conversations, they all had something to say. And sometimes, what they say and how they say it, is a piercing glimpse into the future of humanity.

Continue reading “I Talked to Four Humanoid Robots and They’re Mostly Dumb as Doornails” »