Want to live to 200? Being a cyborg has advantages
November 2, 2001 by Garry Barker
Ray Kurzweil predicts that human identity will be called into question by the massive computers of the future.… read more
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An Inventive Author
May 25, 2001 by Harriet Barovic
A look at Raymond Kurzweil’s roots and beginnings in becoming an innovator.… read more
Interview with Michael Behar for a story in WIRED on Tactical Mobile Robots
February 26, 2002 by Michael Behar
Ray Kurzweil discusses how robots will think on their feet with the help of virtual reality and other technological advances.… read more
Evolution and the Internet: Toward A Networked Humanity?
February 26, 2001 by Danny Belkin
Integration of human and machine will lead to an interconnected “organism”–the next major evolutionary step forward for humanity, says immunology PhD candidate Danny Belkin.… read more
Exploring the ‘Singularity’
June 6, 2003 by James John Bell
The point in time when current trends may go wildly off the charts–known as the “Singularity”–is now getting serious attention. What it suggests is that technological change will soon become so rapid that we cannot possibly envision its results.… read more
Technotopia and the Death of Nature
May 22, 2002 by James John Bell
There is something missing from the discussion of the technological singularity, says James Bell: the true cost of progress will mean the unprecedented decline of the planet’s inhabitants — an ever-increasing rate of global extinction, some warn.… read more
Is the business cycle in your DNA?
July 4, 2010 by Howard Bloom
From The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism by Howard Bloom, Prometheus Books, 2009. Reprinted with permission.
Why bankers are like bacteria
What has tumbled you and me into the pit of the Great Recession of 2008-2010? What causes boom and bust? Does economic catastrophe come from a perverse monetary system, from capitalism, speculators, overpaid CEO’s and greed? Does it come from conspiracies of… read more
Raymond Kurzweil: Great Inventions
May 31, 2001 by Jerry Borrell
Since age 17, Ray Kurzweil has built companies, authored books and advised startups. UPSIDE magazine Editor in Chief Jerry Borrell recently caught up with this innovative thinker.… read more
Existential Risks: Analyzing Human Extinction Scenarios and Related Hazards
May 29, 2001 by Nick Bostrom
Nick Bostrom defines a new category of risks that could threaten humanity and intelligent life with extinction: existential risks. The future could be a dangerous place indeed.… read more
Nanoethics and Technological Revolutions: A Precis.
May 5, 2006 by Nick Bostrom
If we believe that nanotechnology will eventually amount to a technological revolution, and if we are going to attempt nanoethics, we should consider some of the earlier technological revolutions that humanity has undergone and how our moral principles and technology impact assessment exercises would have fared.… read more
The Transhumanist FAQ
April 30, 2001 by Nick Bostrom
This FAQ, written by Nick Bostrom (with the help of others—see endnote), outlines the principles of transhumanism and provides definitions of transhumanist terms and resources. This is one of many versions of the “Transhumanist FAQ” that can be found on many websites, per organization or individual.… read more
When Machines Outsmart Humans
April 30, 2001 by Nick Bostrom
Artificial intelligence is a possibility that should not be ignored in any serious thinking about the world in 2050. This article outlines the case for thinking that human-level machine intelligence might well be appear in that time frame. It then explains four immediate consequences of such a development, and argues that machine intelligence would have a revolutionary impact on a wide range of the social, political, economic, commercial, technological, scientific and environmental issues that humanity will face in the next century.… read more