Transhumanist Anders Sandberg: Embrace Strangeness

Socrates /

Posted on: July 22, 2012 / Last Modified: June 30, 2024

Dr. Anders Sandberg is a well-known transhumanist, futurist, and computational neuroscientist who is currently a research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University. I enjoyed talking to him last time he was on Singularity 1 on 1 and was happy to have him back for another one.

During our second conversation with Anders, we cover a wide variety of topics such as transhumanism and the ethics thereof; the limits of being human; the Epic of Gilgamesh and our quest for immortality; overcoming death and enhancing life; life expectancy and our willingness to take risks; the potential for enhancement arms-races; the likelihood of armed conflict between transhumanists and neo-luddites; the most likely path to human enhancement; personal versus collective enhancement; hive-minds, distributed intelligence, the Borg and individuality; post-humanism and mind uploading.

My favorite quote that I will take away from this interview with Dr. Sandberg is:

That which does not kill us only makes us stranger.

As always, you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down to watch the video interview in full. To show your support, you can write a review on iTunesmake a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon.

 

Who is Anders Sandberg?

Anders Sandberg’s research at the Future of Humanity Institute centers on societal and ethical issues surrounding human enhancement and new technology, as well as estimating the capabilities and underlying science of future technologies. Topics of particular interest include enhancement of cognition, cognitive biases, technology-enabled collective intelligence, neuroethics, and public policy. He has worked on this within the EU project ENHANCE, where he also was responsible for public outreach and online presence. Besides scientific publications in neuroscience, ethics, and future studies he has also participated in the public debate about human enhancement internationally. Anders also holds an AXA Research Fellowship.

He has a background in computer science, neuroscience, and medical engineering. He obtained his Ph.D. in computational neuroscience from Stockholm University, Sweden, for work on neural network modeling of human memory. He has also been the scientific producer for the major neuroscience exhibition “Se Hjärnan!” (“Behold the Brain!”), organized by Swedish Travelling Exhibitions, the Swedish Research Council, and the Knowledge Foundation that toured Sweden 2005-2007. He is co-founder and writer for the think tank Eudoxa.

Browse More

Transhumanist Manifestos and Dilemmas - A Decade and a Half of Reflection

Transhumanist Manifestos and Dilemmas: A Decade and a Half of Reflection

What´s Your Why?

Get Your Why before AI: Technology is The How, Not the Why or What

You're Fired. 3d rendering graphic composition on the subject of "Technological Displacement Of Jobs / Robotization".

From Mutual Dependence to Obsolescence: The Future of Labor in an AI-Driven Economy

Why I went Vegan

Our Future, AI and Veganism: 6 Reasons Why I Went Vegan

Socrates

It’s Ethics. Not Tech Ethics.

Dr. Martin Shaw

Modern Bard Dr. Martin Shaw: Be a Story-maker for Your Times

Kevin-Kelly-by-Christopher-Michel-7

Kevin Kelly on Wisdom and Excellent Advice for Living

Émile Torres Preview

Émile Torres on Transhumanism, Longtermism and Existential Risks