extropianzealot

Links For 2019-01-22

• Eris in Retrograde is a surprisingly sober postmortem for the ludicrously ambitious 'Origin Project'. There's still some cringe in this post, but a lot less cringe in relative terms than thinking you'll take over the world with your blog. I'll be keeping my eye on the authors growth from here.


• A History of Transhumanist Thought by Nick Bostrom (2005)
  
  An interesting history. I definitely wouldn't have guessed the term 'transhumanist' dates back to the early 20th century.



• I was recently stunned by Ted Nelson's Eulogy for Douglas Engelbart. In addition to its chilling delivery it has a laughing audience (and it's not funny) as the backdrop to exasperation about death and the state of the world. At first it's okay, the beginning is meant to be laughed at. The rest has to be seen to be believed.



• Genetic Diseases to Guide Digital Hacks of the Human Genome
  
  This talk on genetic engineering isn't exactly new, but it's so terrifying and so well done that at 7800 views I don't think it's gotten nearly the attention it deserves.



• Deadly deficiency at the heart of an environmental mystery
  
  If you didn't know, wildlife and bug populations have been declining at frightening rates. (See: Monarch butterfly population collapse, overall losses in bug biomass so staggering it's a wonder we're not dead, etc) This vitamin deficiency is an interesting piece of the puzzle.



• I'm skeptical about this persons credibility, but I have to say I admire their 'live in a warehouse for a decade furiously studying x-risk solutions' approach to EA.



• The Artificial Intelligence That Deleted A Century
  
  Wonderful video from computerphile on AI risk, equally parts creepy and absurd, while being short enough not to lose people to short attention spans.