David Pearce

The Fate of the Meat World

 

Some transhumanists speculate about a future of post-biological superintelligence, and even "uploading" ourselves to a less perishable medium. This involves some fairly radical metaphysical assumptions. Viable or otherwise, universal "destructive" uploading is sociologically implausible to say the least. So what will be the fate of old-fashioned organic robots in the primordial biosphere? This talk explores a more bioconservative scenario - a future of superintelligent, supersentient and superhappy organic life in a cruelty-free global ecosystem. What are the pitfalls and opportunities of using biotechnology to abolish suffering throughout the living world?

David is an independent researcher based in Brighton UK. In 1995, he wrote "The Hedonistic Imperative", a plea for the use of biotechnology to abolish suffering in all sentient life. In 1998, David and Nick Bostrom founded the World Transhumanist Association - now Humanity Plus - to promote the use of technology to overcome our biological limitations.

A selection of David's latest work can be found on abolitionist.com