Faculty Seminar:

Syllabus

Bibliographies:

Transhumanism Bibliography

Neurosciences and Human Nature Bibliography

Human Nature and the Beginning/End of Life Bibliography

Bioethics and Law Bibliography

Ethics, Genetics, and Reproductive Technologies

Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Related Projects at ASU:

Center for Biology and Society

Bioethics Club

Wearable Robotics

Biomolecular Nanotechnology Graduate Program

Studies in Artificial Intelligence

Consortium for Science Policy Outcomes: Nanotechnology and Society

Relevant Journals:

Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology

Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology examines the ethical and legal issues that arise from emerging technologies. Topics include biotech, nanotech, neurotech, IT, weapons, energy and fuel, space-based technology, and new media and communications. Articles explore the synergy between law and ethics, and provide a robust policy response to technology's opportunities and challenges.

Transhumanism:

World Transhumanist Association
Contains news, upcoming events, art, and further resources on transhumanism around the world. This website also explains the basics of transhumanism, technological projections, how the movement relates to society and politics, nature, and the practicalities of the movement.

Extropy Institute
A think tank within the transhumanism philosophical movement, this website contains the guiding principles of the Extropy Institute. The Proactionary Principle, born out of the Extropy Institute's Vital Progress Summit, argues for the necessity of technological progression.

Nick Bostrom's Home Page
Co-founder of the WTA, Bostrom is dedicated to the philosophical pursuit of the questions of transhumanism. His site contains a myriad of excellent resources and papers.

KurzweilAI.net
Homepage of Ray Kurzweil. The site addresses the apparent exponential growth in various fields, how this impacts the development of human and machine intelligence, and attempts to expose the inevitable push toward their merger - the singularity.

MaxMore.com
Dr. Max More is a futurist whose writings address the challenges and practical applications of emerging technologies. Concerned that our ways of thinking cannot keep up with our rapidly developing technologies, More attempts to explore cognitive strategies to help address these technological issues.

Journal of Evolution and Technology
JET is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal, publishing academic-quality research, which pursues subject matters that relate to the future prospects of the human species and its descendants.

Blog on Studies in the Transhuman
This site is a collaborative project to discuss the implications of efforts to scientifically identify what it is to be human as well as attempts to transcend that condition. Any and all comments are welcome as contributions to an ongoing conversation about the future of the human animal.

Mormon Transhumanist Association
An international nonprofit organization that promotes charitable and working faith in physical salvation, to support both Transhumanist efforts at large and their members' personal religious affiliations, encouraging them to adapt Transhumanism to their unique situations.


Artificial Intelligence and the Singularity:

Vernor Vinge and the Singularity
The first man to coin the term singularity to describe the arguably inevitable unity of human and machine intelligence. Vinge projects rapid advancements in various fields of technology, how far they may take us, and what it will mean for human beings as a species. Possibilities of how the singularity might occur are analyzed.

The Turing Test Page
Developed by famous mathematician Alan Turing, the Turing Test is a proposed method for determining and indentifying machine intelligence. The site features various links to information about the Turing Test and various Artificial Intelligence projects aimed at exploring the issues of Turing's work.

jabberwacky.com
Jabberwacky is a conversational AI with a witty touch and a sharp sense of humor. Have a conversation, review logs, or sponsor your own chat bot.

Bioengineering and Nanotechnology:

Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
This webpage presents an online brochure regarding human cloning, stem cells, genetic engineering, stemline engineering, and germline engineering.

Human Germline Engineering: Implications for Science and Society
A useful FAQ specific to the topic of germline engineering. The document examines predictions, ethical concerns, and societal impacts in a realistic light.

Our Food: Database of Food and Related Sciences
A discussion of genetic modification as it applies to produce, how different countries are approaching the issue, and what it means for society.

National Nanotechnology Initiative
Organization dedicated to the U.S. development of nanotechnology for medical science, economic development, and national security. Contains information relevant to current research and global impact.

Miscellaneous:

Ray Kurzweil Hacks Mind, Body, and Eternity
Vaughan at www.mindhacks.com offers a brief but pithy analysis of Ray Kurzweil's attempts at imortality.

FuturePundit
One blogger shares his views on transhumanist effortsand their possible repurcussions in the world at large.

God is the Machine
A Wired.com article about Ed Fredkin and his ideas. Fredkin applies the simple binary logic of 0s and 1s to the universe as a whole, drawing analogies between the operations of our world and digital computations.

ITConversations
Dr. Moira Gunn interviews Ray Kurzweil in this podcast. They discuss Kurzweil's book, The Singularity is Near. Kurzweil also addresses various questions pertaining to the contents of his text.