Archive

1809 - 1859 - 2009

The Mormon Transhumanist Association congratulates and expresses support for the new directors of our affiliate, Humanity+. The following five candidates have been elected to the five 2009-2010 board seats:

Sonia Arrison George Dvorsky Ben Goertzel Todd Huffman Mike LaTorra

These three board members will serve 2009 terms:

Patri Friedman Jonas Lamis Mike Treder

All voting members of the Mormon Transhumanist Association are voting members of Humanity+, and were eligible to participate in the election of these new directors.

The board of directors of our affiliate, Humanity+ (formerly the World Transhumanist Association), has announced^[1][1] that Richard Leis has accepted appointment as the Executive Director of Humanity+.

Richard Leis Jr is Operations Specialist for the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) at the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona. He is co-founder of two transhumanist clubs in Arizona and founded an affiliation of transhumanist and related local clubs. He founded and writes for the Frontier Channel, and hosted the RADIO Frontier Channel podcast.

The Mormon Transhumanist Association congratulates and expresses support for Richard.

Online journal Re-public invites contributions for its upcoming special issue entitled “Transhumanism?.” Is there a new challenge about to dominate our world? A challenge that appears more pressing than the fight against climate change, as demanding as the one against “terrorism” or poverty, more complex than our current questions around bioethics. Are we in a position to redefine, to drastically transform our very human nature?

Humanity+ (WTA) Board members set policy goals and oversee their implementation, contributing with their experience and expertise to the WTA’s work. We’ve got a very full agenda for the coming year, setting up our new website, revising the Transhumanist Declaration, fundraising, building our network of chapters and student groups, and publishing our new H+ magazine.

Humanity+ (formerly known as the World Transhumanist Association) is accepting applications for the position of Executive Director. The Executive Director is responsible for managing the affairs of H+ under the Direction of the Board of Directors, including:

• directing the work of the Assistant Director

• maintaining the website

• fundraising

• managing H+ Magazine, mailing lists, a newsletter, and member communications

- maintaining contact with chapters and organizing committees, and facilitating chapter growth

- maintaining contact with affiliates around the programmatic agenda outlined by the Board

• representing H+ and transhumanism in the media and other fora

Andy West is stepping down from his position as a director of the Mormon Transhumanist Association. On behalf of the association, I’d like to thank Andy for his service on the board of directors. Andy is a founding member of the association, was one of the original directors, and organized our monthly roundtable discussions in Salt Lake City. Although we will miss his participation on the board of directors, Andy plans to continue his support for and contributions to the purpose of the Mormon Transhumanist Association. Thank you, Andy!

The Mormon Transhumanist Association will be hosting the next in their series of monthly round table discussions on 18 October 2008. Subsequent discussions will be held on the third Saturday of each month. October’s discussion will be focused on Krista Tippets’ “Speaking of Faith” podcast entitled “Quarks and Creation” an interview with John Polkinghorne. The podcast can be downloaded here. Andrew West, Director of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, will moderate the discussion.

On November 15-16, 2008, the world’s most dangerous ideas will collide in Mountain View, California. Convergence08 examines the world-changing possibilities of nanotech and the life-changing promises of biotech. It is the premier forum for debate and exploration of cogtech ethics, and ground zero of the past and future infotech revolution. Convergence08 is an innovative, lively unconference, the first and only forum dedicated to NBIC (Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno) technologies.

Convergence 08 is sponsored by Humanity+ (the World Transhumanist Association), which is an affiliate of the Mormon Transhumanist Association.

The Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies in the School of Religion at Claremont Graduate University is pleased to sponsor a conference on:

Parallels and Convergences: Mormon Thought and Engineering Vision

Location:Claremont Graduate University, 150 E. 10th Street, Claremont, CA 91711

Important Dates:Abstract deadline: 2008 December 1 (extended abstract)Conference: 2009 March 7 (Saturday)