Lincoln Cannon is a technologist and philosopher, and leading voice of Mormon Transhumanism.
Dorothée and I usually watch a show together before bed. Presently, we’re watching a science fiction show with a narrative that revolves around time travel. It’s entertaining, especially the recreations of historical events that bump into modern sensibilities. But it’s also incoherent in many ways. My work sometimes invites questions about time travel, for at least a couple reasons. First,…
We often speak of identity as if it were atomic, in the strict sense of the word: a fixed kernel you either have or don’t. We imagine a self that persists whole or perishes entire, with nothing between. But identity isn’t atomic. Identity is organized. It admits of more and less. It can be distinguished or obscured, aggregated or dispersed, robust or fragile, complex or simple, and empowered or…
One relatively unique aspect of Mormon theology is the concept of the veil. We typically understand the veil to be something like a curtain drawn over our premortal memory. It separates us from clear awareness of God, so that mortal life can serve as a genuine test. And we commonly imagine it descending upon us, either suddenly or gradually, around the time of our mortal birth. We associate the…
The New God Argument is a logical argument for faith in God, based on moral and practical assumptions that are consistent with current science and emerging technology trends. It doesn’t prove that God exists. Rather, it proves that if we trust in the superhuman potential of our civilization then we should also trust in that which may qualify as God. And atheism may entail distrust in our…
Five years ago, when I interviewed OpenAI GPT 3 about Mormon Transhumanism , it was among the most advanced AI models. Things have changed, of course. OpenAI and its competitors, notably Anthropic, have continued to develop newer and more capable models. Among the most capable models today is Anthropic Claude Fable 5. Today, I interviewed Fable 5 about Mormon Transhumanism. The interview began…
The scriptures say a lot about God . God is the greatest intelligence (Abraham 3:19). God has a tangible body (D&C 130:22). God works within a community of Gods (Abraham 4:1). And God is present in and through the world itself (D&C 88:6). God is courageous (Moses 7:28). God is compassionate (1 John 4:16). And God is creative (Moses 1:33). Crucially, God is not (or at least particular Gods are not)…
Dr. R. Michael (Mike) Perry was a gentle, principled, and thoughtful man who devoted decades of his life to Alcor and the cryonics movement. He also engaged broadly in the religious Transhumanist movement, including membership in the Christian Transhumanist Association, Terasem, Church of Perpetual Life, Society for Venturism, and Society for Universal Immortality. I first met him when he joined…
Yesterday and today, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met for our worldwide general conference. The Saturday morning session was a solemn assembly in which we sustained our new Church president, Dallin H. Oaks. Oaks succeeded former Church president Russell M. Nelson upon the latter’s death, as is our custom. The act of sustaining a new Church president is an expression…
At Easter, Christians celebrate the Atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ – the culminating expressions of the compassionate and creative power of God in the exemplary life of Jesus. Arguably, at least from a theological perspective, Easter is more important than Christmas. Easter ultimately realizes that which Christmas originally envisions. But too many of us, too often, celebrate the…
A Comment Magazine article, “ Which Future Do We Want? ”, presents its perspective on three competing visions of humanity’s future: anti-humanism, Transhumanism, and Posthumanism. It then positions “Christian humanism” as the corrective to all three. But it mistakes a conservative pit stop for the destination. And it mischaracterizes the tradition most capable of bridging the tensions it…