Giulio Prisco

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Giulio Prisco
Giulio Prisco.jpg
Giulio Prisco, picture by David Orban
Born1957 (age 6667)
Naples, Italy
NationalityItalian
Occupation(s)Information technology consultant, virtual reality consultant, writer, futurist, transhumanist, cosmist
Known forAdvocacy of cryonics, contributions to transhumanism

Giulio Prisco (born in Naples in 1957) is an Italian information technology and virtual reality consultant; [1] [2] [3] as well as a writer, futurist, [4] transhumanist, [5] and cosmist. [6] [7] He is an advocate of cryonics [8] and contributes to the science and technology online magazine Tendencias21. [9] He produced teleXLR8, an online talk program using virtual reality and video conferencing, and focused on highly imaginative science and technology. [10] [11] He writes and speaks on a wide range of topics, [12] including science, information technology, emerging technologies, virtual worlds, space exploration and futurology. [13]

Contents

Prisco's ideas on virtual realities, technological immortality, mind uploading, and new scientific religions are extensively featured in the OUP books Apocalyptic AI - Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality [14] and Virtually Sacred - Myth and Meaning in World of Warcraft and Second Life. [15] Prisco's ideas are also extensively featured in the 2017 book Dynamic Secularization - Information Technology and the Tension Between Religion and Science [16] and the 2019 book Transhumanism - Engineering the Human Condition: History, Philosophy and Current Status, [17] both published by Springer.

Formerly a researcher at CERN, a staff member at the European Space Agency, and a senior manager at the European Union Satellite Centre, Prisco is a physicist and computer scientist. He served as a member on the board of directors of World Transhumanist Association, of which he was the executive director, and the board of directors of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, [18] from which he resigned in 2021. [19] He is currently the president of the Associazione Italiana Transumanisti. [20] He is also a founding member of the Order of Cosmic Engineers, and the Turing Church, [21] [22] fledgling organizations which claim that the benefits of a technological singularity, which would come from accelerating change, should or would be viable alternatives to the promises of major religious groups. [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]

Prisco has been repeatedly at odds[ citation needed ] with technocritic Dale Carrico who argues that transhumanism is technological utopianism turned into a new religious movement. [29] Prisco agrees but counters that transhumanism is an “unreligion” because it offers many of the benefits of religion without its drawbacks. [30]

Published works

Books

Prisco has published two books. The first, published in 2018 and again in 2020 with its second edition, is titled "Tales of the Turing Church: Hacking religion, enlightening science, awakening technology". [31] The second book, published in 2021, is titled Futurist spaceflight meditations. [32]

Book chapters

Prisco has also written the chapter "Transcendent Engineering" for the 2013 book The Transhumanist Reader: Classical and Contemporary Essays on the Science, Technology, and Philosophy of the Human Future [33] and the chapter "Future Evolution of Virtual Worlds as Communication Environments" in the 2010 Springer book Online Worlds: Convergence of the Real and the Virtual. [34]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Posthumanism</span> Class of philosophies

Posthumanism or post-humanism is an idea in continental philosophy and critical theory responding to the presence of anthropocentrism in 21st-century thought. Posthumanization comprises "those processes by which a society comes to include members other than 'natural' biological human beings who, in one way or another, contribute to the structures, dynamics, or meaning of the society."

Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that advocates the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available new and future technologies that can greatly enhance longevity, cognition, and well-being.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mind uploading</span> Hypothetical process of digitally emulating a brain

Mind uploading is a speculative process of whole brain emulation in which a brain scan is used to completely emulate the mental state of the individual in a digital computer. The computer would then run a simulation of the brain's information processing, such that it would respond in essentially the same way as the original brain and experience having a sentient conscious mind.

The Omega Point is a theorized future event in which the entirety of the universe spirals toward a final point of unification. The term was invented by the French Jesuit Catholic priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955). Teilhard argued that the Omega Point resembles the Christian Logos, namely Christ, who draws all things into himself, who in the words of the Nicene Creed, is "God from God", "Light from Light", "True God from True God", and "through him all things were made". In the Book of Revelation, Christ describes himself three times as "the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end". Several decades after Teilhard's death, the idea of the Omega Point was expanded upon in the writings of John David Garcia (1971), Paolo Soleri (1981), Frank Tipler (1994), and David Deutsch (1997).

The term superhuman refers to humans, human-like beings or beings with qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. The related concept of a super race refers to an entire category of beings with the same or varying superhuman characteristics, created from present-day human beings by deploying various means such as eugenics, euthenics, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and/or brain–computer interfacing to accelerate the process of human evolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Pearce (philosopher)</span> British transhumanist

David Pearce is a British transhumanist philosopher. He is the co-founder of the World Transhumanist Association, currently rebranded and incorporated as Humanity+. Pearce approaches ethical issues from a lexical negative utilitarian perspective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humanity+</span> International non-profit organization

Humanity+ is a non-profit international educational organization that advocates the ethical use of technologies and evidence-based science to improve the human condition.

Singularitarianism is a movement defined by the belief that a technological singularity—the creation of superintelligence—will likely happen in the medium future, and that deliberate action ought to be taken to ensure that the singularity benefits humans.

Morphological freedom refers to a proposed civil right of a person to either maintain or modify their own body, on their own terms, through informed, consensual recourse to, or refusal of, available therapeutic or enabling medical technology.

The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) is a technoprogressive think tank that seeks to "promote ideas about how technological progress can increase freedom, happiness, and human flourishing in democratic societies." It was incorporated in the United States in 2004, as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, by philosopher Nick Bostrom and bioethicist James Hughes.

Techno-progressivism, or tech-progressivism, is a stance of active support for the convergence of technological change and social change. Techno-progressives argue that technological developments can be profoundly empowering and emancipatory when they are regulated by legitimate democratic and accountable authorities to ensure that their costs, risks and benefits are all fairly shared by the actual stakeholders to those developments. One of the first mentions of techno-progressivism appeared within extropian jargon in 1999 as the removal of "all political, cultural, biological, and psychological limits to self-actualization and self-realization".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian cosmism</span> Russian philosophical and cultural movement

Russian cosmism, also cosmism, is a later term for philosophical and cultural movement that emerged in Russia at the turn of the 19th century, and again, at the beginning of the 20th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a burst of scientific investigation into interplanetary travel, largely driven by fiction writers such as Jules Verne and H. G. Wells as well as philosophical movements like the Russian cosmism.

Many of the tropes of science fiction can be viewed as similar to the goals of transhumanism. Science fiction literature contains many positive depictions of technologically enhanced human life, occasionally set in utopian societies. However, science fiction's depictions of technologically enhanced humans or other posthuman beings frequently come with a cautionary twist. The more pessimistic scenarios include many dystopian tales of human bioengineering gone wrong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natasha Vita-More</span> American artist and transhumanist

Natasha Vita-More is a strategic designer in the area of human enhancement and life extension. Her interests are located within the ethical uses of science and technology and socio-political implications of revolutionary advances impacting humanity's future.

Posthuman or post-human is a concept originating in the fields of science fiction, futurology, contemporary art, and philosophy that means a person or entity that exists in a state beyond being human. The concept aims at addressing a variety of questions, including ethics and justice, language and trans-species communication, social systems, and the intellectual aspirations of interdisciplinarity.

<i>The Transhumanist Wager</i> 2013 science fiction novel by Zoltan Istvan

The Transhumanist Wager is a 2013 science fiction novel by American author Zoltan Istvan. The novel follows the life of Jethro Knights, a philosopher whose efforts to promote transhumanism ultimately lead to a global revolution. It was a first-place winner in visionary fiction at the International Book Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoltan Istvan</span> American writer, futurist, philosopher and transhumanist

Zoltan Istvan Gyurko, professionally known as Zoltan Istvan, is an American transhumanist, journalist, entrepreneur, political candidate, and futurist.

The Transhumanist Party is a political party in the United States. The party's platform is based on the ideas and principles of transhumanist politics, e.g., human enhancement, human rights, science, life extension, and technological progress.

Transhumanist politics constitutes a group of political ideologies that generally express the belief in improving human individuals through science and technology. Specific topics include space migration, and cryogenic suspension. It is considered the opposing ideal to the concept of bioconservatism, as Transhumanist politics argue for the use of all technology to enhance human individuals.

<i>Immortality or Bust</i> 2021 documentary film by Barry Daniel Sollinger

Immortality or Bust is a 2019 feature documentary focusing on the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign of Transhumanist Party nominee Zoltan Istvan. Directed by Daniel Sollinger, it won two awards at film festivals - the Breakout Award at the 2019 Raw Science Film Festival and Best Biohacking Awareness Documentary at the GeekFest Toronto 2021. It is distributed by Gravitas Ventures.

References

  1. "Mi otra vida virtual, El Pais".
  2. "Mondes virtuels, Web de demain ?". Le Monde .
  3. "SECOND LIFE : PUBLICIDAD DE PÍXEL". Archived from the original on 2007-11-02.
  4. "The Ci'NUM Designers of Tomorrow". Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  5. "Giulio Prisco's blog".
  6. Sirius, R.U. Transcendence: The Disinformation Encyclopedia of Transhumanism and the Singularity. ISBN   978-1938875090.
  7. "Everything That Rises".
  8. "La eternidad no empieza aquí… por ahora". Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  9. "Tendencias21".
  10. "TeleXLR8 wants to be the "TED" for virtual worlds".
  11. "MIND and MAN: Getting Mental with Giulio Prisco".
  12. "Future and You podcast, Feb 20th 2008".
  13. "Globalization and Open Source Nano Economy". Archived from the original on 2008-06-29.
  14. Geraci, Robert M. Apocalyptic AI - Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality. ISBN   978-0-19-539302-6.
  15. Geraci, Robert M. Virtually Sacred - Myth and Meaning in World of Warcraft and Second Life. ISBN   9780199344697.
  16. Bainbridge, William Sims. Dynamic Secularization - Information Technology and the Tension Between Religion and Science. ISBN   978-3-319-56502-6.
  17. Manzocco, Roberto. Transhumanism - Engineering the Human Condition: History, Philosophy and Current Status. ISBN   978-3-030-04958-4.
  18. "Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies bio page for Giulio Prisco".
  19. "I have resigned from the IEET Board of Directors".
  20. "Associazione Italiana Transumanisti: Umanesimo Scientifico: intervista a Giulio Prisco".
  21. "Turing Church - WRSP".
  22. Singler, B. (2020). "'Blessed by the algorithm': Theistic conceptions of artificial intelligence in online discourse (2020)". AI & Society. 35 (4): 945–955. doi:10.1007/s00146-020-00968-2. PMC   7191134 . PMID   32355422.
  23. "Order of Cosmic Engineers". Archived from the original on 2008-09-14.
  24. "Secondhand Smoke: Give Me That New Transhumanist Religion".
  25. "Giulio Prisco To Present in Second Life Conference on the Future of Religion". Archived from the original on 2008-08-20.
  26. "Un universo paralelo (y digital)". Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  27. "Technological Transcendence: An Interview with Giulio Prisco".
  28. "Ten Cosmist Convictions (Mostly by Giulio Prisco)".
  29. "Amor Mundi: Giulio Prisco's Defense of Superlative Nonsense".
  30. "Transhumanist spirituality, again".
  31. Prisco, Giulio. Tales of the Turing Church: Hacking religion, enlightening science, awakening technology. ISBN   979-8610545066.
  32. Prisco, Giulio. Futurist spaceflight meditations. ISBN   979-8514323104.
  33. More, Max. The Transhumanist Reader: Classical and Contemporary Essays on the Science, Technology, and Philosophy of the Human Future. ISBN   978-1118334317.
  34. Bainbridge, William Sims. Online Worlds: Convergence of the Real and the Virtual. ISBN   978-1-84882-825-4.