Professor Steve Fuller “You Shall Be As Gods: Transhumanism, Posthumanism, And Everything Human In Between.”
Ep. 56
On today’s episode of Team Human, Douglas is joined by Professor Steve Fuller. Fuller teaches Sociology at the University of Warwick. In his recent book, Humanity 2.0, Fuller embraces a future vision in which technological and medical advancement will enable humans to evolve beyond our current physical and mental limitations. Steve will use this concept to teach us what distinguishes transhumanist from posthumanist projects, and why such thinking should be taken seriously. While Rushkoff and Fuller may come from very different perspectives, they share common ground in questioning whether living as gods – longer, faster, stronger, smarter – will serve humanity or merely further existing inequality, injustice, and environmental catastrophe.
To open this show, Rushkoff looks at the ways being human is a team sport. It’s a future vision that recognizes collaboration, not competition, as the cornerstone of evolution. We’ll explore how this squares with the transhumanist project and more.
If you enjoy this conversation, Rushkoff shared the stage with Steve Fuller in 2015 at a conference held at IBM Watson, featured in Team Human Episode 53. An extended video version is available exclusively to Patreon subscribers
Special thanks to Luke Robert Mason of Virtual Futures Podcast for coordinating this interview and recording Professor Fuller’s side of the conversation from the UK.
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Today’s show features music thanks to Mike Watt, Stephen Bartolomei, and Fugazi.
Steve’s Photo By Andy Miah (https://www.flickr.com/photos/andymiah/5854556599/) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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Credits
Hosted by Douglas Rushkoff
Produced by Josh Chapdelaine
Audio Edited & Mixed by Stephen Bartolomei.
Community Manager is Michael Bass.
Music by Fugazi (On this Episode you heard “Foreman’s Dog” in the intro – thanks to the kindness of the band and Dischord Records.)
Team Human is a Production of the Laboratory for Digital Humanism at Queens College.
