Invent Utopia Now, Transhumanist Suggestions for the Pre-Singularity Era

By Hank Pellissier

Invent Utopia Now - transhumanist suggestions for the pre-Singularity era is unique: it's a startling, controversial collection of essays by pundit/provocateur Hank Pellissier promotes his hedonist-transhumanist-egalitarian vision of the future. The articles - backed with substantial data and optimistic imagination - examine numerous bio-ethical and politically flammable topics: sexbots, in-vitro meat, Israel, parent licenses, women-only leadership, public nudity, artificial wombs and cryonics.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilcox Publishing
• Release date: Jun 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466007017

Hank Pellissier

Hank Pellissier is the Managing Director of the Institute for Ethics in Emerging Technology, a techno-progressive think tank (http://IEET.org). He's the author of "Why is the IQ of Ashkenazi Jews so High? - scientific factors that influence intelligence" and "Invent Utopia Now: Transhumanist Suggestions for the Pre-Singularity Era" both available on this page or at http://wilcoxpublishing.com/published Hank has written dozens of often-controversial futurist articles for IEET, H+ Magazine, the World Future Society, and other publications, occasionally under his nom de plume, “Hank Hyena.” He lectured at the H+ Summit in Harvard on “Global Transhumanism,” and co-authored the “Extropist Manifesto.” A journalist, Hank is a frequent contributor to http://GreatSchools.org where he writes about brain functionality and education. He's also a blogger for the world Future Society. Past work includes a weekly column entitled "Local Intelligence" for the New York Times / Bay Citizen, a daily column for Salon.com (“Naked World”), two weekly columns for http://SfGate.com (“Urban Animal” and “Odd Barkings”), and a monthly column for SF Metropolitan (“Frisco Utopia”), plus numerous features. Hank is the founder/director of two non-profit organizations, the Hyena Comedy Institute - where he trained stand-ups and produced 80+ shows - and The Kids’ Co-op Inc., a non-profit that launched two SF preschools and donated funds, food, and school supplies to ten foreign locales, primarily the Philippines, where seven hectares of agricultural land were purchased to enable a Mangyan tribal village to self-subsist. In the 1990's he was an edgy comic monologuist; the SF Chronicle labeled him, “San Francisco’s performance-art bad boy.” His poetry is anthologized in "The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry," he’s been a SF Poetry Slam co-champion, and his performance pieces have toured eleven states and six international countries. As an events producer, he instigated the SF DADA Festival, the SF Buddhist Festival, the Bay Area Muslim Performance Festival, the world’s first Atheist Film Festival, and North Beach Street Utopia. Hank has a BA in History and an MA in Humanities/Religious Studies. He enjoys forecasting trends, illustrating scenarios, and propounding solutions. His hobbies include traveling and exercising with his triathlete wife and two hyperactive daughters, but mostly, he prefers to just research, write, and argue online with readers who dispute his essay’s contentions. Hank is available for writing assignments and speaking engagements. ----- Some comments he's received: "perversely charming, delightfully outrageous" - San Francisco Chronicle "witty, quirky, with a knack for the provocative twist" - San Francisco Examiner "trenchant, witty, with a cogent political analysis" - Bay Area Reporter "written with brains and balls" - Factsheet Five

Book preview

Invent Utopia Now

Transhumanist Suggestions for the Pre-Singularity Era

~

Hank Pellissier

Smashwords Edition, Published by eBookEditor.net

Copyright 2011, Hank Pellissier

Cover: The Garden of Earthly Delights, central panel, by Hieronymus Bosch (ca. 1450–1516) {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}

License Notes, Smashwords Edition

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

Estrogen Rising

Feminism’s Social Side Effects

Ova-Fusion and the Elimination of the Male

Women-Only Leadership – would it prevent war?

Vagina Dentata and the Annihilation of Rape

Artificial Wombs Will Spawn New Freedoms

Future-Friendly Nations

The Next Global Super-Power Is … Korea?

Israel’s Value to Transhumanism

Brazil: Future Farm of the Planet

Happiness, Freedom, Equality, Rudeness – Welcome to Denmark!

Lifestyle Tomorrow

Eight Ways In-Vitro Meat Will Change Our Lives

Sexbots Will Give Us Longevity Orgasm

Hey Kids, Don’t Forget To Take My Brain Out of the Freezer

Get Naked: It’s Good for Your Brain

Happy Morning In Hedonistia – 2050

Predictions & Proposals

State-by-State Gay-Marriage Acceptance

Human GPS and Microchipping: Embrace it or ban it?

Tax the Churches and Give the Revenue to Hungry Children

Egalitarian Planet: Proposals to Elevate Society by Reducing Disparity

Ban Baby-Making Unless Parents Are Licensed

Author’s Biography

Foreword

I read and enjoyed Hank Pellissier's writings before we first met, but our first meeting was less than fortuitous. At the H+ conference in Harvard, a filmmaker invited us to be interviewed together on the topic of seasteading—this immediately set me into fight-or-flight mode. I put on my best spittle-spraying leftist attack-dog attitude, accusing one and all of being spineless libertopians and screwers of the poor. To his great credit, Hank found my performance more amusing and intriguing than off-putting. He inquired about the nonprofit I help run, the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, and we quickly signed Hank on as a contributing writer and Affiliate Scholar.

Over the last year, Hank has written most of the hit magnets that we have put on our site, including essays in this collection. He has an unerring sense for putting his finger on volatile and important issues, and giving them a 90-degree spin. His writing is so humorous and deft that the reader finds it difficult to take offense, and has to focus on the issue instead. Why is Denmark better off than the US? Why is Brazil's embrace of genetically-engineered crops of global importance? When will Mississippi embrace gay marriage? Why is Israel in the vanguard of techno-progress? Is being tagged with a GPS chip really such a bad idea?

Hank's feminism is radical, but he does not stay within the narrow definitions of the politically correct. Artificial wombs aren't patriarchal tools for the elimination of women, but liberatory technologies which might help make men unnecessary. Leaning on Africans to stop female genital mutilation isn't imperialism, its international solidarity with vulnerable girls.

In the last six years as I have worked with many public intellectuals to promote public thought and discussion. During this time, I have rarely found anyone with as deft a style of writing as Hank, combined with his clear, consistent sense of values, foresight, and understanding of what is truly important. I believe the readers of this volume will find these essays as delightful and thought-inducing as I have.

James Hughes, PhD.

Executive Director, Institute of Ethics and Emerging Technology

Preface

The essays in this collection are not to be regarded as representing the transhumanist canon—they are merely proposals and predictions by an individual who defines himself as H+.

Many of the articles were previously published either at Institute for Emerging Ethics & Technologies (IEET) or H+ Magazine - where they received critical scrutiny via thousands of comments.

Several essays were greeted by explosions of derision and wrath, notably: Israel’s Value to Transhumanism, Women-Only Leadership—will it prevent war? and Ban Baby-Making Unless Parents are Licensed.

Readers rejected my assertion that Israel illustrates transhumanist values by perhaps an 80%-20% margin, and a survey was taken at IEET that determined that only 26% of readers aligned themselves with the Women-Only Leadership reform. Another poll of the Parent Licensing proposal revealed that a 60-80% majority of readers also strongly disagreed with that.

My other feminist articles Feminism's Social Side Effect and Ova-Fusion and the Elimination of the Male were also hooted down by a significant percentage of readers. In truth, every article here found both blistering opponents and enthusiastic proponents, and that's healthy, because transhumanism is a big enough tent to enclose a wide variety of viewpoints.

Recent events have also partially dated some of my essays. South Korea, In-Vitro Meat, SexBots, and other topics have received considerable mainstream press attention since I wrote my articles on the topics. My essay on gay marriage was also written prior to an election that would have impacted my analysis.

Nonetheless, the bulk of what I have written has certainly not transpired.

*****

My gracious thanks to everyone who encouraged and helped me –

RU Sirius – my first transhumanist editor who commissioned me to write seven of these essays while he was at hplusmagazine.com.

Alex Lightman – for inviting me to lecture at the H+ Harvard Summit, and for providing topic ideas via his inspiring Facebook page.

James Hughes – for inviting me to write for IEET.org, (Institute of Ethics and Emerging Techology).

Mike Treder – my helpful and amusing editor at IEET, where I published the majority of these articles.

David Pearce – for his humane and moral philosophy.

Ilia Stambler, Joern Pallenson, Peg Tittle, Nikki Olson – for helping me write several articles, and for aligning with me in the subsequent arguments.

Valkyrie Ice, iPan, dor, post-post futurist, Peter Wicks, CyngusX1, Fred James, summerspeaker, antifeminist, rascheR duB, Giulio Prisco, and many others – my regular, opinionated readers at hplus and IEET, I respect and appreciate you, especially when you’re trashing my articles with scathing critique.

Alan Wilcox – my editor, for enticing me to forge ahead and complete this project.

I hope everyone finds the topics at least half as enjoyable to read as I found them to research, write, and argue about. Don't hesitate to contact me if you find yourself wanting to express your own opinion.

Sincerely,

Hank Pellissier

[e-mail]

San Francisco, CA

June 2011

Estrogen Rising

Feminism’s Social Side Effects

I am an International Top Ten junkie—I love to examine lists that rank all the countries of the world. My obsession is motivated by progressive and transhumanist desires—I’m seeking a formula of societal ingredients that aims a populace at Utopia.

Recently, I discovered the most essential element in the recipe for bettering humanity: Feminism.

Yes, women’s equality, sprinkled into a culture, benefits the entire community in myriad ways. Side effects provide desirable enhancement to everyone, perhaps even males with deep fears of emasculation. First, let’s look at the list below:

Top Ten Nations in Women’s Equality (Global Gender Gap Index 2010)

Iceland

Norway

Finland

Sweden

New Zealand

Ireland

Denmark

Lesotho

Philippines

Switzerland

What can we cross-reference with this? Like most transhumanists, I’m interested in long life spans, particularly my own. I am disturbed that the USA rates poorly in male longevity, to the extent that I often contemplate relocating to a nation where I can theoretically gain a few extra years. Below I have listed possible destinations—the number after each one represents a man’s average life span there:

Top Ten Nations In Male Longevity (Human Development Report 2009)

Iceland: 80.2

Hong Kong: 79.3

Switzerland: 79.2

Australia: 79.1

Japan: 79.0

Sweden: 78.6

Israel: 78.5

Canada: 78.2

Norway: 78.2

Italy: 78.1

Yikes! Iceland rates the highest in both women’s equality and male longevity! Obviously, Icelandic men thrive in the company of empowered women. Feminism isn’t killing them off sooner; men aren’t dying quickly due to emotional castration and depression. Perhaps… men are feeling less crippled by stress, because they don’t need to assume leadership in economics and politics? Does slack increase their life span?

Iceland isn’t the only coincidence, because four other nations that excel in Male Longevity are also in the Top Ten in Gender Equality: Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand. There are 194 nations in the world; landing five in the uppermost tier in two categories is significant.

People often ask me why I promote feminism, and my selfish reply is: Because it can add years to my life! Living a long time isn’t everything, though. Seriously, what’s the point of going on and on day after day if you’re miserable?

Let’s examine another survey:

Top Ten Happiest Nations (Gallup World Poll, released by OECD)

Denmark

Finland

Netherlands

Sweden

Iceland

Canada

Switzerland

New Zealand

Norway

Belgium

Egads! Happiness is even more