We may be only a membrane away – a few years away – from a technological watershed which could liberate us all and take us to places unimagined, or, with roughly equal chance, destroy us just when the prize of transcendence is in sight. It seems that a “crisis portal” may be coming into view for humanity, offering the options of paradise and Armageddon.

How should we react to that prospect? How can we jump through that portal safely, without being killed in the process? Is the very idea exaggerated and over-excited? Or are there solid reasons to anticipate an unprecedented transition happening within perhaps one or two generations?

These were the questions that started a wide-ranging discussion between the two hosts of Humanity Unshackled, Rusty Burridge and David Wood, in the ninth episode of the show.

To listen to this episode, click on the audio player at the top of this page.

Alternatively, listen to this episode on Soundcloud, or visit the corresponding Radio Hydrogen page.

To dig more deeply into some of the ideas in this episode, and the projects mentioned in it, take a look at:

• The Vital Syllabus initiative to create and curate videos with key educational material
• The book RAFT 2035: Roadmap to Abundance, Flourishing, and Transcendence
• The book Vital Foresight: The Case for Active Transhumanism
• Episode 7 of Humanity Unshackled, featuring Dean Bubley
• Social Enterprise UK
• John Lewis as an employee-owned partnership
• A short video about the tragedy of the commons
• Confectionary companies run by Quakers: Frys, Cadburys and Rowntrees
• The history of the word “Capitalism” – and reasons why that word is disliked
• Video documentary about a genetic editing treatment for Sickle Cell Anaemia
• Episode 6 of Humanity Unshackled, featuring David Pearce
• NBIC – four quadrants of radical change
• Video introduction to the idea of Superdemocracy (USTP Virtual Enlightenment Salon)
• The significance of the DeepMind AlphaFold protein folding breakthrough
• New antibiotic Halicin discovered by AI
• Video: What If We Could Build a Replica of the Sun on Earth?
• “DeepMind Has Trained an AI to Control Nuclear Fusion”
• AI that displays intuition
• “The Coming Storm: QAnon and the plot to break reality” – BBC Sounds series
• Keeping first things first
• The Transcension Hypothesis: a compelling solution to the Fermi Paradox

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For a complete listing of Humanity Unshackled episodes, see the Future Surge Media page.

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Credits:

Music: “Far Away 6,” written and performed by Sean Anthony Brennan.

Technology, Legals, and Australian FM Radio Network Liaison: Chris John Doe.

Radio Hydrogen Artwork: Eleanor O’ Donnell.

Radio Hydrogen Website: Sara Bowles & Chris Doe.

Thanks also to Bob Evans and all at Tribe 91.1 Willunga.

Originally published on 16 June 2022.