Biomedical engineer Ritu Raman shares her insights on designing biological robots, how new developments in tissue engineering may allow us to grow organs, and what biofabrication means for the future of food and medicine. Ritu Raman, PhD is the d’Arbeloff Career Development Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. Her lab is centered on engineering adaptive living materials for applications in medicine and machines. The Raman Lab’s current focus is building neuromuscular actuators to restore mobility and power robots. Prof. Raman has received several recognitions for scientific innovation, including being named a Kavli Fellow by the National Academy of Sciences and being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 and MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35 lists. She is the author of the upcoming MIT Press book Biofabrication. She is passionate about increasing diversity in STEM and has championed many initiatives to empower women in science, including being named a AAAS IF/THEN ambassador and founding the Women in Innovation and STEM Database at MIT (WISDM). Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Biofabrication w/ Ritu Raman

Sociologist James Hughes shares his thoughts on how libertarian transhumanism allows for cognitive liberty and bodily autonomy, the ethical implications of using enhancement technologies to amplify human virtues, and the challenge of being a techno-optimist. James Hughes, the Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, is a bioethicist and sociologist who serves as the Associate Provost for Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning for the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB), and as Senior Research Fellow at UMB’s Center for Applied Ethics. He holds a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Chicago where he taught bioethics at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. Dr. Hughes has taught health policy, bioethics, medical sociology and research methods at Northwestern University, the University of Connecticut, and Trinity College. Dr. Hughes is author of Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future (2004) and is co-editor of Surviving the Machine Age: Intelligent Technology and the Transformation of Human Work (2017). In 2005 Dr. Hughes co-founded the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) with Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom, and since then has served as its Executive Director. Dr. Hughes serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Evolution and Technology, and as co-founder of the Journal of Posthuman Studies. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Moral Enhancement Technologies w/ James Hughes

Metahumanist philosopher Stefan Lorenz Sorgner shares his thoughts on the debates surrounding contemporary transhumanism, the possibility of immortality achieved through mind-uploading, and the ethical issues associated with gene editing, digital data collection, and life extension. Prof. Stefan Lorenz Sorgner teaches philosophy at John Cabot University in Rome, whereby he particularly promotes the emerging field of posthuman studies. He is also Director and Co-founder of the Beyond Humanism Network, Fellow at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET), Research Fellow at the Ewha Institute for the Humanities at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, and Visting Fellow at the Ethics Centre of the Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena, where he was also Visiting Prof. during the summer of 2016. He studied philosophy at King's College/University of London (BA), the University of Durham (MA by thesis; examiners: David E. Cooper, Durham ; David Owen, Southampton), the University of Giessen and the University of Jena (Dr. phil.; examiners: Wolfgang Welsch, Jena; Gianni Vattimo, Turin). In recent years, he taught at the Universities of Jena (Germany), Erfurt (Germany), Klagenfurt (Austria) Ewha Womans University in Seoul (South Korea) and Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany). His main fields of research are Nietzsche, the philosophy of music, bioethics and meta-, post- and transhumanism. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

We Have Always Been Cyborgs w/ Stefan Lorenz Sorgner

Psychoanalytic theorist Isabel Millar explains the role psychoanalysis can play in helping us to understand what artificial intelligence means for humanity, what modern science fiction reveals about our fascination with sex-robots, and what is driving a desire to replicate human attributes in silicon. Dr Isabel Millar is a philosopher and cultural critic from London. Her work focuses on AI, sex, the body, film and the future. Her book The Psychoanalysis of Artificial Intelligence was published with the Palgrave Lacan Series in 2021. As well as extensive international academic speaking and publishing across philosophy, psychoanalysis and cultural theory, Isabel has made numerous TV, documentary and podcast appearances including for BBC2 (Frankie Boyles' New World Order), Russia Today (Entrevista), Tomorrow Unlocked (Build me Somebody to Love), Schizotopia, Machinic Unconscious Happy Hour and Parallax Views among others. Isabel has recently been a psychoanalytic script consultant for BBC Drama and interviewed for a book by Ai-Da Robot, the world's first AI artist. She has contributed to the forthcoming AI Glossary, Chimeras: Inventory of Synthetic Cognition for Onassis Publications and is one of 50 global thinkers writing Manifesto - A Struggle of Universalities edited by Nicol A. Barria- Asenjo and Slavoj Zizek. She is a research fellow at The Centre for Critical Thought, the University of Kent and is currently writing her next book Patipolitics. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

The Psychoanalysis of Artificial Intelligence w/ Isabel Millar

Philosopher David Chalmers shares his thoughts on how virtual worlds are challenging our understanding of reality, the possibility that could be living in a simulation, and what techno-philosophy can teach us about the nature of consciousness. David J. Chalmers is University Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director of the Center for Mind, Brain, and Consciousness at New York University. His previous books include The Conscious Mind and Constructing the World. He has given the John Locke lectures and has been awarded the Jean Nicod Prize. He is known for formulating the 'hard problem' of consciousness, which inspired Tom Stoppard's play The Hard Problem, and for the idea of the 'extended mind', which says that the tools we use can become parts of our minds. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Virtual Reality is Genuine Reality w/ David Chalmers

Futurist Martin Ford shares his thoughts on why we should treat artificial intelligence like a utility, the impact a robot revolution will have on the economy, and how machines may enhance our creativity by encouraging new forms of innovation. Martin Ford is a futurist and the author of four books, including Rule of the Robots: How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Everything (2021), the New York Times Bestselling Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future (winner of the 2015 Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award and translated into more than 20 languages), Architects of Intelligence: The truth about AI from the people building it (2018), and The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future (2009). He is also the founder of a Silicon Valley-based software development firm. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Everything w/ Martin Ford

Anthropologist Dr. Beth Singler shares her thoughts on the misconceptions surrounding artificial intelligence, the dangers of treating humans like machines, and whether virtual reality could provide us with quasi-religious experiences. Dr Beth Singler is the Junior Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at Homerton College, University of Cambridge, where she is exploring the social, ethical, philosophical and religious implications of AI. As an associate fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence she is collaborating on the AI Narratives and Global AI Narratives projects, as well as co-organising a series of Faith and AI workshops as a part of the AI: Trust and Society programme. She has also produced a series of short films on the questions raised by AI, and the first, Pain in the Machine, won the AHRC Best Research Film of the Year Award in 2017. Beth has appeared on Radio4’s Today, Sunday and Start the Week, spoken at the Hay Festival as one of the ‘Hay 30’, the 30 best speakers to watch, as well as speaking at New Scientist Live, Edinburgh Science Festival, the Science Museum, Cheltenham Science Festival, and Ars Electronica. She was also one of the Evening Standard’s Progress 1000, a list of the most influential people, in both 2017 and 2018. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

God in the Machine w/ Dr. Beth Singler

Biological anthropologist Prof. Alice Roberts shares her insights on how sequencing ancient DNA can provide new evidence to help us understand our ancestors, what the latest archaeological discoveries reveal about the origins of homo sapiens, and how an appreciation of deep history can help us navigate the future. Professor Alice Roberts is a biological anthropologist, author and broadcaster. She’s interested in the evolution, structure and function of humans, and our place in the wider environment. Having originally studied and practiced medicine, she then became a university lecturer, focusing on biological, evolutionary anthropology. She is passionate about public engagement with university research and teaching, and advocates a wider role for universities in society. She has been Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham since 2012, and has worked extensively with the Wellcome Trust and other institutions in public engagement roles. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Ancestors & Ancient DNA w/ Prof. Alice Roberts

Neuroscientist Anil Seth shares his thoughts on the role of neuroscience in explaining human consciousness, why our perception of reality might be a controlled hallucination, and how psychedelics are challenging our understanding of the mind. Anil Seth is a Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, where he is also the Co-Director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science. Anil is also a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow, Co-Director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Program on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness, and Co-Director of the Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Programme: From Sensation and Perception to Awareness.​ Anil edited and co-authored the best-selling 30 Second Brain (Ivy Press, 2014), was consultant for Eye Benders (Ivy Press, 2013; winner of the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2014) and contributes to a variety of media including the New Scientist, The Guardian, and the BBC. Anil also writes the blog NeuroBanter. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

A New Science of Consciousness w/ Anil Seth

Evolutionary biologists Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying share their thoughts on what happens when human evolution collides with an increasingly ‘hyper-novel’ modern world, how a greater understanding of biology can help us develop technologies that benefit humanity, and how the ability to adapt is our species’ best tool for creating a sustainable and abundant future. Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein are evolutionary biologists who have been invited to address the US Congress, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Education, and have spoken before audiences across the globe. They both earned PhDs in Biology from the University of Michigan, where their research on evolution and adaptation earned awards for its quality and innovation. They have been visiting fellows at Princeton University, and before that were professors at the Evergreen State College for fifteen years. They resigned from Evergreen in the wake of 2017 campus riots that focused in part on their opposition to a day of racial segregation and other college “equity” proposals. They cohost weekly livestreams of the DarkHorse podcast. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life w/ Bret Weinstein & Heather Heying

Founder of NEO.LIFE Jane Metcalfe shares her thoughts on the possibilities offered by the neobiological revolution, how digital technology is changing how we understand and engineer biology, and the important role bio-artists play in helping to navigate the ethical implications of new innovations. Jane Metcalfe is an entrepreneur, publisher, speaker, advisor, manager, and investor. In 2017, she founded NEO.LIFE, a media and events company exploring the radical changes taking place in humans as we harness the tools of engineering and computer science to alter our own biology. Her new book, Neo.Life: 25 Visions for the Future of Our Species, co-edited with Brian Bergstein, was just selected for the AIGA’s 50 Books/50 Covers list. She is best known as the co-founder and former president of Wired Ventures, whose businesses included Wired Magazine (US, UK, and Japanese editions), Wired News, the search engine HotBot, and Wired Books. She is also the former president of TCHO Chocolate. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

The Neobiological Revolution w/ Jane Metcalfe

Author Michael Bhaskar shares his thoughts on how the history of humanity is characterised by big ideas, why the perceived stagnation of economic growth and technological progress may mark the end of breakthrough innovation, and what new tools might help us to develop shocking, sensational or paradigm shifting new ways to see the world. Michael Bhaskar is a writer, publisher, researcher and entrepreneur. He is Co-Founder of Canelo, a new kind of publishing company. Between 2017 and 2019 he was a consultant Writer in Residence at DeepMind, the world’s leading AI research lab. He has written and talked extensively about the future of media and technology around the world. He has been featured in and written for the Guardian, the FT and Wired and on BBC 2, the BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4 and NPR among others. Michael has been a British Council Young Creative Entrepreneur, a Frankfurt Book Fair Fellow and a Visiting Researcher at Oxford Brookes University. He has written a prize-winning monograph, The Content Machine, and Curation: The Power of Selection in a World of Excess. He is also the lead author of the Literature in the 21st Century report and is co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Publishing. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Frontiers of Human Knowledge w/ Michael Bhaskar

Author Jeremy Lent shares his insights into the importance of developing alternatives to the modern western worldview, how recognising our deep interconnectedness to all life could lead towards a new ecological civilisation, and how integrating science and traditional wisdom might help us avoid the global crises threatening humanity. Jeremy Lent is the award-winning author of The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning. A former internet company CEO, he is founder of the non-profit Liology Institute dedicated to fostering an integrated, life-affirming worldview. He lives in Berkeley, California. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Pathways to a Flourishing Future w/ Jeremy Lent

Philosopher Philip Goff shares his thoughts on a radical new understanding of consciousness called panpsychism, the relationship between consciousness and the material world, and the implications of this new theory on the modern scientific method. Philip Goff is a philosopher who teaches at Durham University. He is the author of Consciousness and Fundamental Reality and has published more than forty academic papers. His writing has also appeared in many newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian and The Times Literary Supplement, and he has guest-edited an issue of Philosophy Now. He lives in Durham, England. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Mysteries of Consciousness w/ Philip Goff

Comedian Robin Ince shares his thoughts on the fascinating role science plays in our everyday lives, how we can avoid becoming too dogmatic about our belief systems, and the incredible importance of being interested. Robin Ince is co-presenter of the award-winning BBC Radio 4 show, The Infinite Monkey Cage. He has won the Time Out Outstanding Achievement in Comedy, was nominated for a British Comedy Award for Best Live show, and has won three Chortle Awards. He has toured his stand up across the world from Oslo to LA to Sydney, both solo and with his radio double act partner, Professor Brian Cox. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Being Interested w/ Robin Ince

Philosopher Patricia MacCormack shares her insights into how the ‘ahuman’ might provide a solution to the growing ecological crisis, why self-extinction should be considered a compassionate act, and why antinatalism, abolitionist veganism, and occultism might be our best strategies for combatting human exceptionalism. Patricia MacCormack is Professor of Continental Philosophy at Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge. She has published extensively on feminism, the philosophies of Deleuze, Guattari, Lyotard, Serres and Bataille, posthuman theory, teratology, animal rights, European horror films, chaos magick, Lovecraft and other trajectories of alterity. She is the author of Cinesexuality (2008), Posthuman Ethics (2012), The Ahuman Manifesto: Activism for the End of the Anthropocenethe (2020), co-editor of Deleuze and the Schizoanalysis of Cinema (2008), The Animal Catalyst: Toward Ahuman Theory (2014). Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

A World Without Humans w/ Patricia MacCormack

Designer Dani Clode and researcher Paulina Kieliba share their insights into designing a robotic Third Thumb, how the human brain supports and integrates augmentation devices, and how we can begin to use advanced prosthetics to extend our abilities in new and unexpected ways. Dani Clode is an upper-limb prosthetic, augmentation and product designer, the founder of Dani Clode Design and a Senior Research Technician at the Plasticity Lab. Dani has a multi-disciplinary approach to her work that investigates the future architecture and perception of our bodies. Incorporating new materials and design processes, the mechanics of the human body and robotics, Dani works to challenge the perception and boundaries of prosthetic design and extend the human form. Alongside neuroscience research with the Plasticity Lab, Dani’s Third Thumb augmentation and prosthetic work has been exhibited world-wide, including four permanent museum displays – in the German Museum of Technology, Museum of Applied Arts Vienna, Futurium Berlin and the National Museum of Scotland. Paulina Kieliba is a neuroscientist and engineer working in the Plasticity Lab at UCL. She is interested in combining the strengths of technology and neuroscientific research to best help individuals suffering from motor deficits. In particular, she explores opportunities for improving the usability and design of artificial limbs. In her research, she is looking at the extra robotic fingers as an alternative to traditional prosthetic devices and studies the changes in the sensorimotor systems associated with hand augmentation. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Robotic ‘Third Thumb’ Augmentation w/ Dani Clode & Paulina Kieliba

Neuroscientist Dr. Dave Rabin shares his insights on how to hack our biology to cope with the demands of modern life, the importance of heart-rate-variability (HRV) in managing our stress response, and the role biofeedback will play in the design of the next-generation of wearable devices. Dr. David Rabin is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist, Neuroscientist, and inventor who studies resilience and the impact of chronic stress in our day-to-day lives. Dr. Rabin and his extraordinary care team at the Apollo Clinic collaborates with clients, empowering them to take control of their mental and physical health by tapping into our conserved abilities to adapt and heal ourselves. In addition to focusing on integration therapy, plant and natural medicines, couples therapy and medicine-assisted psychotherapy, Dr. Rabin specializes in treatment-resistant mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychosomatic disorders, personality disorders, chronic pain disorders, insomnia, and substance use disorders using minimal and non-invasive treatment strategies. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Mood-Altering Wearables w/ Dr. Dave Rabin

BioViva CEO Liz Parrish shares her insights into developing gene therapies to end ageing, the ethics of taking a proactionary approach to experimental treatments, and the growing importance of preventative healthcare. Elizabeth is the Founder and CEO of BioViva, is a humanitarian, entrepreneur, innovator, author, and a leading voice for genetic cures. As a strong proponent of progress and education for the advancement of regenerative medicine modalities, she serves as a motivational speaker to the public at large for the life sciences. She is actively involved in international educational media outreach. BioViva is currently working on the development of tools to help people monitor their health over time, and is funding a research project at Rutgers University to develop a therapy to address time-incurred cell damage. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

Gene Therapies to End Ageing w/ Liz Parrish

Artist Taryn Southern shares her insights into how collaborating with robots can unlock new creative possibilities, the experimental processes behind developing your own artificially intelligent clone, and the tools we can use to preserve our digital legacy and animate our ancestors. Taryn Southern is an award-winning artist, storyteller and strategist whose work explores the intersection of emerging technology and human potential. Some of her projects include: I AM HUMAN, a 2019-Tribeca Film Festival documentary exploring the future of the brain, the world’s first AI-composed pop album to hit the radio charts, an award-winning Google VR series, and the world’s first Ethereum-enabled song token. From biotech to blockchain, Taryn’s work has been featured in publications like Vanity Fair, Fast Company, Wired, TechCrunch, Business Insider, Forbes and more. Find out more: futurespodcast.net CREDITS Produced by FUTURES Podcast Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason FOLLOW Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast  Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

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