David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
Chair, London Futurists. Executive Director of LEV Foundation. Author or Lead Editor of 12 books about the future. PDA/smartphone pioneer. Symbian co-founder
Medicine
66%
Economics
14%
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David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· May 23
Hello Bluesky!
Anyone looking for mind-expanding future-focused content should find plenty to savour in londonfuturists.buzzsprout.com
Anyone looking for mind-expanding future-focused content should find plenty to savour in londonfuturists.buzzsprout.com
My response to "Fascination of investors such as Elon Musk with uploading their brains to computers is hindering progress in curing disease, say scientists" is this - Transhumanists need to be guided by actual science, not by wishful thinking or over-exuberant hype
Investors’ ‘dumb transhumanist ideas’ setting back neurotech progress, say experts
Fascination of investors such as Elon Musk with uploading their brains to computers is hindering progress in curing disease, say scientists
www.theguardian.com
Even though I call myself a transhumanist, I have a lot of sympathy with the content of this article: "Investors’ ‘dumb transhumanist ideas’ setting back neurotech progress, say experts" www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
In or near Glasgow on Sunday 30th November? Interested to join a conversation about the different types of risks posed by AI, and the options for responsible AI development? Then sign up for the first Pause AI event taking place in Scotland: luma.com/5bmd6rx8
Reposted by David Wood
Remember: If we allow ourselves to fall into fatalism, or wallow in disappointment, or become resigned to what is rather than what should be, we will lose the long game.
The greatest enemy of positive social change is cynicism about what can be changed.
The greatest enemy of positive social change is cynicism about what can be changed.
I understand why we shut down American airspace for a few days after 9-11 to avoid a repeat attack but imagine shutting down American airspace to avoid releasing the Epstein files.
An audacious singularity analogy - a new blogpost from me dw2blog.com/2025/11/06/a...
Experts find flaws in hundreds of tests that check AI safety and effectiveness
Scientists say almost all have weaknesses in at least one area that can ‘undermine validity of resulting claims’
www.theguardian.com
Shocking, but not surprising - "Google this weekend withdrew one of its latest AIs, Gemma, after it made up unfounded allegations about a US senator having a non-consensual sexual relationship with a state trooper including fake links to news stories" www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Watch JOY - The Birth of IVF | Netflix Official Site
Based on a true story, this drama follows three pioneering British scientists in the '60s and '70s and their struggle to develop IVF — against all odds.
www.netflix.com
In summary, "Joy" is an emotional rollercoaster, that illuminates an important part of medical history that ought to be better known, and also provides a useful comparison for understanding present-day opposition to researching cures for aging. Watch it at www.netflix.com/watch/81701716
(That 1970s MRC pomposity has, alas, echoes in the overly conservative approach many funding bodies have in 2025 to deciding which health research to support - with meaningful anti-aging research being starved of serious finance. It's a good reason to shout out at the world!)
There's lots of excellent acting in the film. And fine use of music. But you may be provoked to shout out to the screen at various times - for example, at the uncaring pomposity of the Medical Research Council assessors turning down a request for more funding for IVF research.
In the same way, visible progress with reversing aging has, so far, been frustratingly slow. Critics see this as a sign that the whole endeavour is flawed, and that funding should be diverted away to other causes. But a closer look shows that lots is happening behind the scenes.
In both cases, a superficial assessment of the slow pace of visible progress might lead you to agree with the critics. IVF failed on countless occasions before Purdy, Steptoe, and Edwards worked out how to increase the likelihood of success.
Episodes in the film have many echoes with the opposition still hurled nowadays at scientists who are dedicated to reverse aging. Aging is natural, people say. Talking of reversing aging just causes psychological harm. The wise thing to do is to accept aging. So the critics say.
The film covers the decades-long collaboration between IVF pioneers Robert Edwards, Patrick Steptoe, and Jean Purdy. The focus on Jean Purdy is particularly welcome, as it corrects what used to be a common historical oversight, in which she was omitted from the limelight.
The film "Joy", available on Netflix, features all these complaints, and lots more. It also shows the heartaches experienced by many women whose IVF treatments failed, in the early days before the first successful birth. The "Frankenstein" complaint almost seemed to be justified.
Infertility isn't a medical condition, people said. It's nature's way of limiting overpopulation. Any egotistical "Dr Frankenstein" scientists claiming to help infertile women via IVF should be viewed as diabolical: they cause women needless physical and psychological harm.
Scientists Just REVERSED AGING by 7 Years in Monkeys! (This Changes Everything)
YouTube video by FutureSketchLab
www.youtube.com
The exosome plot twist - this is quite a video www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QMR...
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 10d
EA Connect | 5–7 December | Virtual Conference
EA Connect brings together talented people from 75+ countries asking: Which problems matter most? Which solutions actually work? How can I contribute?
eaconnect.effectivealtruism.org
EA Connect 25, a free-to-attend virtual conference, is taking place 5-7 December: "features talks, workshops, discussions, and numerous opportunities to learn from and connect with people interested in effective altruism". I've signed up to attend. More info at eaconnect.effectivealtruism.org
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
Real-life superheroes and troubled institutions, with Tom Ough - London Futurists
Popular movies sometimes feature leagues of superheroes who are ready to defend the Earth against catastrophe. In this episode, we’re going to be discussing some real-life superheroes, as chronicled i...
londonfuturists.buzzsprout.com
A: They were all unscripted tangents in the latest London Futurists Podcast episode, "Real-life superheroes and troubled institutions", featuring Tom Ough, who turned the tables on the hosts multiple times during a fascinating conversation londonfuturists.buzzsprout.com/2028982/epis...
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
Q: What do the following have in common? George Harrison, Christopher Nolan's film Tenet, Gödel Escher Bach, Sam Bankman-Fried, the Hubble tension, and Brexit
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
To these seven strategies I would add: It's not (remotely) sufficient to be "against"; there must also be a credible positive vision *for* a shared abundance, underpinned by wise harnessing of the possibilities of new technologies, avoiding concentrations of wealth and power.
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
These headline descriptions may seem like empty phrases, but Hartmann develops each strategy into a bundle of concrete actions. He also describes how these strategies are being changed by the availability of ever more powerful AI algorithms - with numerous complications arising.
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
Hartmann's seven strategies are: Unite across traditional divides; Protect truth and information ecosystems; Defend and reform democratic institutions; Practice strategic non-violence; Build alternative power structures; Engage internationally; Prepare for the long struggle.
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
For positive inspiration, Hartmann points to encouraging pro-democracy examples in South Korea, Chile, Sri Lanka, and Poland, where various would-be authoritarian regimes had power wrested away from them. Alas, there are plenty of counterexamples too.
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
There are critical lessons for citizens in other countries, such as the UK, where similar oligarchic forces are poised to lie and cheat their way into power. These forces cannot be overcome merely by "politics as normal". That's what the US tried to do under Biden, and failed.
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
The start of the solution is to appreciate the full extent of the forces organised to funnel wealth and power away from the 99% toward the 1% - the forces that seek to squash independent press, independent judiciary, and independent academia. These are hard truths to contemplate.
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
The penultimate chapter switches from problem analysis to solution description. Hartmann highlights what he calls "seven strategies that work". But even in that chapter, there is further evidence of the depth of the challenge facing US democracy (and, hence, global flourishing).
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
The chapter on voter suppression was particularly shocking, gathering evidence for this conclusion: "If all legal voters had been allowed to vote and if all the legal ballots had been counted, Kamala Harris would have won Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia."
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
This is no overnight crisis. Hartmann traces long roots back through the Tea Party, Reagan, and Nixon. And the problem won't be solved simply by the current president stepping down. The overall governance system has become thoroughly undemocratic.
David Wood
@dw-2.bsky.social
· 11d
Numerous enablers and supporters of the current president claim, outrageously deceitfully, to be acting in the interests of the American people - yet their actual motives are much narrower. As a result, the US is already more accurately described as an oligarchy than a democracy.