Existential Hope and Existential Despair in Ai Apocalypticism and Transhumanism

Drawing on observations from on- and offline fieldwork among transhumanists and artificial superintelligence/singularity-focused groups, this article will explore an anthropology of anxiety around the hoped for, or feared, posthuman future. It will lay out some of the varieties of existential hope a...

Description complète

Enregistré dans:  
Détails bibliographiques
Publié dans:Zygon
Auteur principal: Singler, Beth (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
Vérifier la disponibilité: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
En cours de chargement...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Publié: Wiley-Blackwell [2019]
Dans: Zygon
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Intelligence artificielle / Être humain / Existence / Apocalyptique / Transhumanisme
Sujets non-standardisés:B Transhumanism
B Apocalypse
B Artificial Intelligence
Accès en ligne: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Résumé:Drawing on observations from on- and offline fieldwork among transhumanists and artificial superintelligence/singularity-focused groups, this article will explore an anthropology of anxiety around the hoped for, or feared, posthuman future. It will lay out some of the varieties of existential hope and existential despair found in these discussions about predicted events such as the "end of the world" and place them within an anthropological theoretical framework. Two examples will be considered. First, the optimism observed at a transhumanist event will be examined to emphasize the positive affective aspects of certain apocalypse scenarios, especially those with an implicit eschatological direction. Second, an online location where examples of existential despair can be noted will be explored further to demonstrate the kinds of negative responses to certain superintelligence/singularity ideas. These examples of existential hope and despair will demonstrate the intrinsic role of anxiety in ideas about a future artificial intelligence apocalypse.
ISSN:1467-9744
Contient:Enthalten in: Zygon
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12494