James Hughes: Interrogate and Engage the World

Dr. James Hughes is not only the executive director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) but also a well known book author and transhumanist. I enjoyed having him on the show and will probably ask him to come back. During our conversation with Dr. Hughes we cover a wide variety of topics such as: what is the IEET and what does it do; the story behind James’ interest in technology, policy, philosophy and bio/ethics; why transhumanist atheists are often drawn to Buddhism; his first book Citizen Cyborg and his upcoming Cyborg Buddha; transhumanism and his definition thereof; whether optimism is rational; the impact of artificial intelligence on transhumanism; James’ take on the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it; the benefits of biology; moral enhancement and animal uplift.