Writer

Feb

2015

Show Info 2-13-2015 – News, Guests R U Sirius and Jay Cornell

February 13

News and Guests

2015

Second Hour Guest

Jay Cornell. Image credit: Bart Nagel

In the second hour, JD is joined by authors R.U. Sirius and Jay Cornell for a discussion about their latest book, Transcendence, which is a fantastic read about our inevitable slide toward the singularity when humans and machines will merge and the era of the post-human will begin.

Jay Cornell is a writer, editor, web developer, and little-known semi-iconoclast. He is the former managing editor of h+ magazine, and the former associate publisher of Gnosis magazine. He is currently senior web developer at Landkamer Partners, and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Lifeboat Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to defending humanity from existential risks. Email him, but note that spammers and scammers will be found and consumed by swarms of nanobots.
Full Bio: https://redpillreports.com/guests/jay-cornell/

Ken Goffman. Image credit: Bart Nagel

Ken Goffman aka R. U. Sirius is a writer, editor and well-known digital iconoclast. He was co-publisher of the first popular digital culture magazine, MONDO 2000, from 1989-1993 and co-editor of the popular book, MONDO 2000: A User’s Guide to the New Edge. He has written about technology and culture for Wired, The Village Voice, Salon, BoingBoing, Time, S.F. Chronicle, Rolling Stone, and Esquire, among other publications.
Full Bio: https://redpillreports.com/guests/ken-goffman-aka-r-u-sirius/

Website: http://www.transcendencethebook.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StealThisSingul
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/transcendencethebook/
Articles: http://disinfo.com/2015/01/transhumanism-longevity-immortality/
http://disinfo.com/2015/01/criticisms-transhumanism/
Book: Transcendence: The Disinformation Encyclopedia of Transhumanism and the Singularity

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First Hour News with JD

World News

Toxic orange cloud spreads over Catalonia after chemical blast
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/12/toxic-orange-cloud-spreads-over-catalonia-after-chemical-blast-spain

Start-up Muslim party eyes local ballots to make its name in France
http://www.france24.com/en/20150212-france-new-muslim-party-local-elections-bobigny-udmf/

US Prepares To Send Billions Of Dollars And Fighter Jets TO Ukraine
http://www.trueactivist.com/us-prepares-to-send-billions-of-dollars-and-fighter-jets-to-ukraine/

Obama: ‘We have to twist arms when countries don’t do what we need them to’
https://www.intellihub.com/obama-twist-arms-countries-dont-need/

UN official calls for lifting Israel’s Gaza Strip siege
http://wearechange.org/un-official-calls-lifting-israels-gaza-strip-siege/

Paris mayor gets green light to sue Fox over ‘Muslim no-go zones’
http://rt.com/news/231659-paris-lawsuit-fox-muslim/

Kerry: US may roll back Russia sanctions if Minsk agreements enacted
http://rt.com/news/231827-us-sanctions-russia-minsk/

Norwegians take command in ISIS, pose threat to Norway – security official
http://rt.com/news/231751-norwegians-isis-command-threat/

Air Force sending ‘tankbuster’ jets back to Europe
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/12/world/a-10-jets-to-europe/index.html

UN Security Council adopts resolution to block funding source of terrorism forces
http://www.iraqinews.com/features/un-security-council-adopts-resolution-to-block-funding-source-of-terrorism-forces/

US News

Ban On Interstate Handgun Transfer Is Illegal, Judge Rules
http://yournewswire.com/ban-on-interstate-handgun-transfer-is-illegal-judge-rules/

Ominous Tweet From Matt Drudge About Obama: “Like He Knows Something Terrible Coming… Very Unsettling”
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/ominous-tweet-from-matt-drudge-about-obama-like-he-knows-something-terrible-coming-very-unsettling_022015

Cop points gun at 14-year-old boy on balcony, “accidentally” pulls trigger, shoots him
https://www.intellihub.com/cop-points-gun-14-year-old-boy-balcony-accidentally-pulls-trigger-shoots/

LAWYER MOVED HALLIBURTON SUBSIDIARY BRIBES THROUGH SECRET SWISS HSBC ACCOUNTS
http://www.blacklistednews.com/Lawyer_moved_Halliburton_subsidiary_bribes_through_secret_Swiss_HSBC_accounts/41785/0/38/38/Y/M.html

U.S. DROPS TO 49TH IN WORLD PRESS FREEDOM RANKINGS, WORST SINCE OBAMA BECAME PRESIDENT
http://www.blacklistednews.com/U.S._Drops_to_49th_in_World_Press_Freedom_Rankings%2C_Worst_Since_Obama_Became_President/41792/0/38/38/Y/M.html

FBI director calls for national conversation on racism — both inside and outside of law enforcement
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/fbi-director-calls-for-national-conversation-on-racism-both-inside-and-outside-of-law-enforcement/

CNN Anchor: ‘Our Rights Do Not Come From God’
http://www.cnsnews.com/blog/curtis-kalin/cnn-anchor-our-rights-do-not-come-god

Man shot dead by police in Washington State after throwing rocks
http://rt.com/usa/231759-pasco-police-fatally-shoot/

IRS Seizes Nearly $19K From Widow Who Deposited Late Husband’s Savings In Increments
http://benswann.com/irs-seizes-from-widow-deposited-increments/

New Texas Bill Allows Greater Power to Enforce Immediate Mandatory Quarantines
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/new-texas-bill-allows-greater-power-to-enforce-mandatory-quarantines_022015

Economic News

Business Inventories Grow At Slowest Pace Since May 2013, Inventory-To-Sales Worst Since Lehman
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-12/business-inventories-grow-slowest-pace-may-2013-inventory-sales-worst-lehman

Dry bulk owners scrap more vessels, as market reaches historical lows
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/dry-bulk-owners-scrap-more-vessels-as-market-reaches-historical-lows/

When will Bitcoin Crash?
http://newsbtc.com/2015/02/12/will-bitcoin-crash/

LBMA: Ounces Of Gold Transferred In January Rises From December
http://www.kitco.com/news/2015-02-12/LBMA-Ounces-Of-Gold-Transferred-In-January-Rises-From-December.html

British Mint Sees Strong Gold Coin Demand From Greece As Nation Prepares For ‘Grexit’
http://www.kitco.com/news/2015-02-12/British-Mint-Sees-Strong-Gold-Coin-Demand-From-Greece-As-Nation-Prepares-For-Grexit.html

WGC: India Beats China As Top Gold Consuming Nation For 2014
http://www.kitco.com/news/2015-02-12/WGC-India-Beats-China-As-Top-Gold-Consuming-Nation-For-2014.html

IMF ANNOUNCES $17.5BN BAILOUT DEAL FOR UKRAINE
http://www.infowars.com/imf-announces-17-5bn-bailout-deal-for-ukraine/

The Case of the Mysteriously Missing Export-Import Bank Data
http://reason.com/blog/2015/02/12/the-case-of-the-mysteriously-missing-exp

First negative interest rate in Sweden, buys bonds to counter deflation
http://rt.com/business/231791-sweden-cut-deflation-qe/

Retail Sales Plunge Twice As Much As Expected. Worst Back-To-Back Drop Since Oct 2009
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-12/retail-sales-plunge-twice-much-expected-worst-back-back-drop-oct-2009

USD sales in CBI rise
http://www.iraqinews.com/business-iraqi-dinar/usd-sales-in-cbi-rise/

Science & Technology

All US carriers now required to unlock off-contract cell phones
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/199164-all-us-carriers-now-required-to-unlock-off-contract-cell-phones

Harvard Scientists Invent A Bionic Leaf That Makes Rubbing Alcohol
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/02/12/harvard-scientists-invent-bionic-leaf-makes-rubbing-alcohol/

The four main roadblocks holding up self-driving cars
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530082.100-the-four-main-roadblocks-holding-up-selfdriving-cars.html?cmpid=RSS|NSNS|2012-GLOBAL|online-news

BAN DRONES FROM YOUR AIRSPACE WITH NOFLYZONE
http://www.popsci.com/noflyzone-company-offers-opt-drone-free-skies

DDoS attack takes Dutch government sites offline for 10 hours
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2883092/ddosattack-takes-dutch-government-sites-offline-for-10-hours.html

Report: HTC’s wearable to launch without Android Wear, work with iOS and Android
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2882704/report-htcs-wearable-to-launch-without-android-wear-work-with-ios-and-android.html

Feds Hold Hearing On Whether They Should ‘Regulate’ Sites Like Drudge, Infowars And The Economic Collapse Blog
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/feds-hold-hearing-whether-regulate-sites-like-drudge-infowars-economic-collapse-blog

Stopping a Smart TV From Eavesdropping On You Could Be a Felony
http://libertycrier.com/stopping-smart-tv-eavesdropping-felony/

Feds Unveil New Surveillance Tool Developed by DARPA that Could Kill the ‘Dark Web’
http://www.activistpost.com/2015/02/feds-unveil-new-surveillance-tool.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ActivistPost+%28Activist+Post%29

Tesla to unveil new battery to power homes, says Elon Musk
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/tesla-to-unveil-new-battery-to-power-homes-says-elon-musk/

Health News

Unemployment causes 45,000 suicides each year
http://www.zmescience.com/medicine/mind-and-brain/suicide-unemployment-12022015/

Turmeric Compound May Fight Root Cause Behind ‘Thousands of Diseases’
http://naturalsociety.com/turmeric-compound-may-fight-root-cause-behind-thousands-diseases/

New website exposes poisons in the food supply: NutritionalAnarchy.com
http://www.naturalnews.com/048606_Nutritional_Anarchy_food_supply_poisons.html

Studies Show 81% Of Dollar Store Products Are Filled With Cancer Causing Chemicals
http://www.trueactivist.com/studies-show-81-of-dollar-store-products-are-filled-with-cancer-causing-chemicals/

98% Vaccinated Involved in Whooping Cough Outbreak
http://www.activistpost.com/2015/02/98-vaccinated-involved-in-whooping.html

Big Sugar’s scandalous sweetheart deal with public health experts exposed
http://rt.com/uk/231639-sugar-industry-health-scandal/

Featured Video

WORLD CHAMPION RC Helicopter pilot Demonstrates his Awesome Skills
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5FqYiZb_5s

Feb

2015

Jay Cornell

Image credit: Bart Nagel

Jay Cornell is a writer, editor, web developer, and little-known semi-iconoclast. He is the former managing editor of h+ magazine, and the former associate publisher of Gnosis magazine. He is currently senior web developer at Landkamer Partners, and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Lifeboat Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to defending humanity from existential risks. Email him, but note that spammers and scammers will be found and consumed by swarms of nanobots.

Website: http://www.transcendencethebook.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/transcendencethebook/

An Interview With Jay Cornell

1. What got you interested in transhumanism?
I’ve read science fiction since I was in elementary school, and both are concerned with technology and the future. The idea that humans can and should use science and technology to improve our bodies and brains and direct our own future evolution, is intriguing and appealing. While science fiction is ultimately fiction, and often not intended to be predictive, transhumanism really is happening now. Scientists are working on synthetic life, self-replicating robots, artificial intelligence as smart as humans, and many other “science fiction” ideas.

2. Is it all really going to happen?
There are no guarantees, but I’m cautiously hopeful. As I said in my introduction, history is filled with great ideas and future plans that didn’t pan out or ended in disaster. In the 1960s, we thought we’d have flying cars and a Moon colony by now. We laugh about it, but some people thought that inventions like the telegraph, dynamite, and the airplane would end war. So when a starry-eyed transhumanist claims that nanotechnology will end scarcity, or that we’ll be able to upload our brains to computers and be happily immortal, it’s only sensible to raise an eyebrow. As promising as these developments are, we should keep in mind the history of similar claims.

3. Which developments do you think will happen soon, and which won’t?
There’s little doubt that materials scientists will turn graphene and related carbon-based materials into amazing things in the near future. Of course computers will continue to get faster and more powerful, though whether we’ll reach the Singularity any time soon is more arguable. Robots are progressing pretty well, so I believe we’ll be seeing those on battlefields and elsewhere. Medical knowledge and breakthroughs continue to accelerate, so we will see cures for diseases and longer lives.

Farther out, while private industry is making strides in getting people into orbit, permanent space colonization is still farther away than I would like, because the economic barriers are so great. Mind-uploading, while a fascinating concept, still seems to me to be either unlikely or far more difficult than some transhumanists think. If that happens within 30 years, I’ll be (pleasantly) surprised.

4. Isn’t a lot of this dangerous, or at least socially disruptive?
There are real dangers, which we don’t ignore, but everyone is already aware of many of them, because we’ve seen the movies! Thanks to Hollywood, when we think of intelligent computers, we think of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Intelligent robots? The Terminator. Talk about increasing intelligence, and people think of the movie Charly and maybe Planet of the Apes. Genetic engineering has destroyed civilization or turned people into zombies in more movies than I can count.

Progress is always socially disruptive, but usually the positive effects outweigh the negative ones, or at least balance them out. Take surveillance: government use of computer databases and surveillance cameras to watch citizens can make it seem like 1984 was prescient, but it’s being counteracted by “sousveillance,” citizens using cellphone cameras and the internet to keep track of police.

5. So overall, you’re optimistic.
Yes, and I think it’s important to talk about the positive. Too often we take technology for granted. You see it all the time online: people using their laptops and smartphones to complain about technology. Note that they’re not writing these complaints with a fountain pen in a letter they mail to the newspaper. Focusing too much on problems and potential dangers can be counterproductive when technology can make people in wheelchairs walk again, cure Alzheimer’s, and alleviate poverty around the world.

On balance, I’m a techno-optimist.

Feb

2015

Ken Goffman aka R. U. Sirius

Image credit: Bart Nagel

Ken Goffman aka R. U. Sirius is a writer, editor and well-known digital iconoclast. He was co-publisher of the first popular digital culture magazine, MONDO 2000, from 1989-1993 and co-editor of the popular book, Mondo 2000: A User’s Guide to the New Edge. He has written about technology and culture for Wired, The Village Voice, Salon, BoingBoing, Time, S.F. Chronicle, Rolling Stone, and Esquire, among other publications. Sirius/Goffman also lectures widely having appeared as part of the Reality Hacking series at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, at the TedX conference in Brussels, and at San Francisco’s popular Dorkbot event.

Website: http://stealthissingularity.com/
Website: http://www.transcendencethebook.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StealThisSingul
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/transcendencethebook/

An Interview With R.U. Sirius

1. How would you describe transhumanism in a few words?
Transhumanism is a movement that is broadly in favor of humans altering themselves using technology and technique.

2. Your book is sometimes sarcastic yet you seem to be in favor of transhumanism. Are you, in fact, in favor of it?
Any ism makes me sarcastic. I view most human behavior as absurd and group behavior is particularly absurd. I’m generally in favor of humans altering themselves. We’ve been doing it since we started wearing glasses or taking birth control pills. I become excited about the possibilities of becoming a different kind of being through biotechnology and neural upgrades and so on and then a giant wave wipes out the Philippines. So my optimism about transhumanity is more contingent than most “true believers.”

3. Why make an “encyclopedia”?
That A – Z approach goes all the way back to Voltaire’s The Philosophical Dictionary. It’s a good way of disciplining the organization of information and also encourages a sort of concision. You’ll see that I acknowledge how many of the topics tend to bleed into one another with the “See Also” notifications.

4. What aspect of the transhuman world of technology makes you most optimistic?
For 27 years, since I first read the book Engines of Creation by K. Eric Drexler, I’ve believed that molecular machines that can make almost anything conceivable out of dirt and sunlight (including more dirt) and keep our insides running in tip top shape was the greatest hope for a future where we don’t struggle with scarcity and disease… if we can only get it to work!

5. Is there a leader of the transhumanist movement that you admire?
There are some good folks like Ben Goertzel and I appreciate the ubiquitous Ray Kurzweil. He’s a nice fellow, but I wouldn’t call myself a follower of anybody. I was influenced by Timothy Leary and the cult writer Robert Anton Wilson. They were both transhumanists and their influence remains with me.

6. What do you think about people who reject technology in favor of nature?
Everything is natural or it couldn’t exist. Still, as I get older, I understand the longing for life in the slow lane. I think most people think of the natural life as bucolic, but most farm labor is so harsh that people actually move to urbanized areas and work in sweatshops. Some of that may be the effects of food colonialism, but living off the land is really tough, as lots of hippies discovered in the 1970s. The ideal is for technology to get good enough where we can live the bucolic life “all watched over by machines of loving grace” as a famous Richard Brautigan poem put it.

7. What’s The Singularity and do you believe in it?
The idea of a technological singularity was first presented by the science fiction writer Vernor Vinge. His idea is that artificial intelligence will supersede human intelligence and that whatever happens after that is way beyond our comprehension. Since then, “singularitarians” have come along to tell us what will happen. There has been talk since of different singularities — a social singularity, a psychedelic singularity. I don’t believe in it and I also don’t believe that it will not happen. I remain agnostic regarding many things and I hope my readers will come away from this book with a healthy regard for uncertainty.

8. What should people do if they want to live longer?
We don’t know yet, other than the usual stuff about getting exercise and watching your eating habits. There’s a company selling nutrients based around Resveratrol (the stuff in red wine that’s good for you) that they sort of claim (only sort of because of government regulations) that taking this substance might get you passed the generally acknowledged limit of around 120 years. Of course, you also have to have a lot of luck. The problem with this is that we have to wait for a bunch of people who may now be in their 30s or 40s to turn 130. By that time, hopefully something better will have come along.

9. You have your own website titled “Steal This Singularity.” What’s that about?
Unlike some technotopians, I think the present will play a big role in defining the future. And right now, there is a rise in plutocratic class domination and authoritarian mega-surveillance governance. I think we need to fight that off now so that the corporate/finance oligarchy doesn’t install their pre-programmed exo-neocortexes in our sad little meat brains as the price for immortality (or even survival)?

10. What does the R.U. in R.U. Sirius stand for?
Reginald Ubermensch Sirius.