Advisory Board

Dr. Russell Blackford

Russell Blackford, Ph.D., Dip.Ed, LLB (Hons) is a Fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and a columnist for Betterhumans. In Australia, he is best known for his frequent articles in the high-profile journal of ideas, Quadrant Magazine where his articles cover such subjects as the prospect of computer superintelligence; post-modernist theory and its problems; the role of the universities; cyberspace; bioethical issues, including cloning, stem cell research, and genetic engineering; radical life extension; religion and science; contemporary issues in philosophical ethics; and debates about a wide range of social and political issues, including free speech, racism, and refugee policy. These articles include Singularity Shadow, Who’s Afraid of the Brave New World?, Genetics, Ethics and the State, Stephen Jay Gould on Science and Religion, and Women and Physics, Philosophy and Cyberspace.
 
Russ is an Australian writer, critic, and sessional lecturer at the School of Philosophy and Bioethics, Monash University. He is based in Melbourne, Victoria. As a creative writer, he specializes in science fiction, fantasy and horror. His non-fiction work frequently deals with issues involving science and society, particularly philosophical bioethics, cyberculture, and the history and current state of the science fiction genre.
 
His books include Dark Futures (Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles, Book 1), An Evil Hour (Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles, Book 2), Times of Trouble (Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles, Book 3), Kong Reborn, and he coauthored Strange Constellations : A History of Australian Science Fiction (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy). He won the Aurealis Award and the Ditmar Award for The Sword of God.
 
Russ earned first class honors degrees in both Arts (University of Newcastle) and Law (University of Melbourne), a Ph.D. on the supposed return to myth in modern fiction at the University of Newcastle and a Master of Bioethics degree at Monash University. He earned a Dip.Ed from the University of Newcastle and a LLB (Hons 1) from the University of Melbourne.