Is the next great era one of whole brain emulations? Robin Hanson makes the case.

The inimitable Robin Hanson regales us with a startling picture of the future—one in which human emulations, or ems, are the dominant form of mind. Hmm. I suppose he’s only inimitable for now. Once brain scanning is mature, he’ll be v imitable. And yeah, I say “v” now. What of it? On with the show!

Notes

• If you want to know more about the age of em, you should probably read The Age of Em. The Age of Em website is also very useful. It has nifty summaries of each chapter in the book, as well as links to em-related talks and media.
• And it’s not too early to check out the website for Robin’s forthcoming book—with Kevin Simler—The Elephant in the Brain.
• Robin’s paper on government by prediction markets: “Futarchy: Vote Values, But Bet Beliefs”
• Robin’s paper on the fantasies of futuristic autonomy: “Dreams of Autarky”

Media Mentions

Scott

• The Age of Em (obvs)
• The Complete Guide to Fasting by Jason Fung
• Logan

Zach

• The Grapplearts Radio Podcast—especially the recent episodes with Daniele Bolelli and Rabbi Mordecai Finley (AKA the Wrassling Rabbi)

Robin

• The Great Leveler by Walter Scheidel
• Billions