Archive 2016

Our generation is not the first to question the compatibility of religion and science. And our generation would not be the first to reconcile the two. History provides innumerable examples, including that of Christianity, which has repeatedly challenged and embraced science, as the two have evolved together, each affecting the ... Read the article →

Ozy recently published an article featuring me on “The Intersection of Tech and Church.” Sanjena Sathian wrote the article based on interviews over a period of a few weeks. Most of the interviews were done by phone. But there were a couple done in writing by email – mostly fact ... Read the article →

Nootropics are drugs, supplements, and foods that improve mental function. Sometimes people refer to them as smart drugs. They facilitate desired mental functions like memory and focus, and reduce undesired mental states like stress and depression. I’ve been researching and experimenting with them for years. And I’ve found that most ... Read the article →

The present is an age of progress, of change, of rapid advance, and of wonderful revolutions. The very foundations of society — social, political, commercial, moral and religious, seem to be shaken as with a mighty earthquake, from centre to circumference. All things tremble; creation groans; the world is in ... Read the article →

This week, the Mormon Transhumanist Association announced that it will change leadership in March, at the tenth anniversary of its founding. I will continue to serve on the board of directors, as elected by voting members. And the board will appoint a new president to replace me, in accordance with ... Read the article →

Our generation is not the first to question the compatibility of religion and science. And our generation would not be the first to reconcile the two. History provides innumerable examples, including that of Christianity, which has repeatedly challenged and embraced science, as the two have evolved together, each affecting the ... Read the article →

It took me two years to read the 216 pages in Eric Steinhart’s book, Your Digital Afterlives: Computational Theories of Life after Death. Friends know that’s because I’m the world’s slowest reader of philosophical texts that interest me – and just about any text that interests me seems to become ... Read the article →

This is a transcript of my talk at the 2016 Conference of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, held yesterday in the Provo Library. The conference attracted about 65 attendees in person, and hundreds of others watched the livestream from Transfigurism.org. Keynote speakers were Rosalynde Welch and Eric Steinhart, and many family ... Read the article →

The New Yorker recently published an article, variously entitled “How to Become a God” or “The Immortality Upgrade”. It featured the Mormon Transhumanist Association and a few of its leaders, including me. The article was the third most popular on The New Yorker website on the day of its publication. ... Read the article →

A friend wrote to ask about my thoughts on the relation between nootropics and the Word of Wisdom. Nootropics are substances that safely support brain function and improve mental performance. They include foods, supplements, or drugs that improve memory or focus, or support healthy cognitive aging. The Word of Wisdom ... Read the article →

I’ve published version 3.3 of the New God Argument. The changes since version 3.2 are to simplify language in the propositions and to adjust the definitions accordingly. Most are minor. But one change is particularly worth direct attention. I’ve combined “superintelligent posthumanity” into “superhumanity,” reflecting provided definitions of “superintelligence” and ... Read the article →

Celebrity technologist Elon Musk recently suggested that we may be living in a computer simulation. Of course this made technology news headlines around the world. And of course many articles have rushed to reassure their readers that Elon’s suggestion is “outlandish”. Outlandish or not, however, Elon suggested something far more ... Read the article →

This is a transcript of a sermon I gave at the Unitarian Universalist Society of South Valley in Salt Lake City this morning. My friend and fellow religious Transhumanist, Jordan Roberts, invited me to speak on religious Transhumanism and the New God Argument. The congregation was friendly, the music and ... Read the article →

Four weeks ago, Spencer (my oldest son) left home to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years in Montreal, Canada. The rest of my family and I miss him, and we also support him. Dorothee (my wife) and I served as ... Read the article →

When my children were young, Dorothee and I taught them that gratitude is a superpower. Why is that? Well, we all have power to some extent or another to shape the world around us for better or worse. Even if we don’t admit it to ourselves or others, we’re all ... Read the article →

In the spring and fall of each year, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds its annual general conference. Hundreds of thousands of Mormons converge on Salt Lake City for two days of sermons from top leaders of the Church, which with around 16 million members is by ... Read the article →

When others learn that I identify as a Transhumanist, or when they see me reference Moore’s Law or Kurzweil’s Law with enthusiasm, they often assume that I identify as a Singularitarian. That is, they often assume I’m someone who advocates the idea of the Technological Singularity. It’s an idea that ... Read the article →

Bryan Johnson is a rising star among celebrity technologists. After selling Braintree Financial to Ebay for $800M in 2013, Bryan founded OS Fund to encourage development of emerging technologies in the fields of biotechnology, machine intelligence, and space exploration. And he recently launched a new business of his own, Kernel, ... Read the article →

Timothy Killian authored a critique of the New God Argument (NGA). Entitled “An Analytic Review of Lincoln Cannon’s ‘The New God Argument’”, the critique includes some interesting thoughts about NGA’s assumptions. The critique also includes numerous mischaracterizations of NGA, the Simulation Argument (SA), and their relationship. And the critique includes ... Read the article →

Spencer, my oldest son, recently completed training to be a missionary for the LDS Church. As I and many others who have gone through it can attest, the training includes a relatively strong emphasis on obedience. That caught Spencer’s attention. And that’s led me to gather some thoughts on the ... Read the article →

The Bible teaches Christian Transhumanism. Or, in other words, as presented in the Bible, Christianity entails Transhumanism. Of course some Christians would disagree. And some Christians may not understand what that means. But we can make a reasonable case that the Bible teaches Christian Transhumanism nonetheless. To illustrate briefly, here ... Read the article →

Jesus has many titles and corresponding roles, most notably Christ. The English word, “christ”, comes from the Greek word, “kristos”, which has the same meaning as the Hebrew word, “messiah”. A christ or messiah is literally an anointed person, or figuratively someone set apart with a special purpose. We use ... Read the article →