Bostrom responds to TechRev attacks on Aubrey de Grey; TR editor responds to H community outrage
19 years, 3 months ago
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Posted on Jan 17, 2005, 9 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
The February 2005 issue of Technology Review has a cover story reviewing the research and advocacy for life extension of Aubrey de Grey, founder of the Methusaleh Mouse prize, the WTA
The February 2005 issue of Technology Review has a cover story reviewing the research and advocacy for life extension of Aubrey de Grey, founder of the Methusaleh Mouse prize, the WTA’s 2004 HG Wells award winner and a fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. The article by Sherwin Nuland argues a bioconservative line that life extension is bad for human dignity. But far more offensive is the lead editorial by editor Jason Pontin “Against Transcendence.” Pontin says that believing in the transcendent possibilities offered by technology turns people into “troolls” and points to Aubrey de Grey’s beard and the lines on his face as evidence. The transhumanist community has responded passionately to these ad hominem attacks, and below is a letter from WTA chair Nick Bostrom to Pontin, and his response.
