Living Forever: not only can we, but should we?
Less than two weeks ago we hosted the latest in our series of Standard Talks, now on their 6th year. Recently our aim has been to shake up the stale panel format and introduce more performative elements to help illuminate some of the most interesting topics today.
This time around, we engaged with several scientists, writers and cultural critics as we speculated about a future where we might not know death anymore.
Ellen Jorgensen from Genspace in Brooklyn raised the question that titles this post. We certainly seem poised for a set of revolutionary breakthroughs that might allow us, through one or a combination of technologies, to live forever. Everything from directly hacking our DNA, to uploading of our minds to the cloud, to artificial limbs and age-defying supplements will aid an era of increased longevity and maybe even something resembling immortality. Through a speculative exquisite-corpse-like exercise, we asked out participants to let their imagination fly.
And so, the scenario started as such:
It’s 2040, a city in North America. It’s a special day: Gi is going to be giving a big presentation at the company. As Gi begins the day, Mother, who passed away in 2035 and whose mind had been uploaded to the cloud, suddenly appears and says, “You’re not gonna wear THAT, are you??”
Make sure to sign up for our Standard Talks invite list in our website
Below are our participants and some press. Thank you to everyone who participated And especially to The Standard for always being an audacious host.
Standard Talks with Sunny Bates invite you to Live Forever: Hacking Death.
Fem Appeal
https://twitter.com/FemAppeal
Zoltan Istvan
https://twitter.com/zoltan_istvan
Sydette Harry
https://twitter.com/blackamazon
Ellen Jorgensen
https://twitter.com/feyscientist
Conor Russomanno
https://twitter.com/russomanno15
Even Transhumanist Elites Are Worried Only the Rich Will Be Able to Hack Death
