Dear Futurists,
I’ve written a new essay that is likely to offend or challenge almost every one of you – in different ways. Hopefully it will also give you plenty to think about.
The first half of the essay sets out the case why the world is badly in need of a revised set of ethical principles. The second half proposes what that set could be.
I’ll say more about that essay in a moment. But first, I have some updates about forthcoming events.
1.) Final set of speakers confirmed for this weekend’s event
We humans sometimes get ill, or we have family members who are ill. Sadly, that has led to a small number of near last-minute changes in the set of speakers for The Technoprogressive Opportunity taking place this weekend at the LSBU Hub in London SE1.
The good news is that, to fill the gaps, three excellent additions have been made to the speaker line-up. The final set is shown in the following image. You can find mini biographies of all of them here.
Registration to attend the event remains open via this Luma page. Don’t miss the chance to be part of a weekend that will put a dent in the universe.
As a reminder, there’s no charge to attend. And you can even benefit from a couple of free book giveaways, if you are one of the first to be checked into the venue on either Saturday or Sunday.
The subtitle of the event is “The future of ethics and emerging technologies”. You’ll notice the strong link to the content of my new essay (more details below).
2.) Will economists destroy capitalism?
One of the speakers this weekend, Professor Steve Keen, was the featured guest on the latest London Futurists Podcast episode.
The episode title reflects that of a book Steve is writing – and which he’ll talk about this weekend – “Will economists destroy capitalism?”
One listener told me this is a particularly heart-warming episode. Another described it as “really refreshing”. Yet another commented, “he’s a bit rude, isn’t he”. Be warned.
3.) Anticipating Longevity Day
A video made by Spanish director Sergio M.L. Tarrero, with extensive help of AI, contains more than one twist in it. I’ve previously mentioned shorter versions of this video, but a 12-minute version is now available.
I had an unexpected smile several times while watching it.
Here’s how Sergio describes it:
Longevity Day is a 12-minute short film written, directed and produced by Sergio M.L. Tarrero (Alianza Futurista) to honor the activists, scientists, investors, founders and organizations working to end human aging. It tells the story of Dr. Maxima Vita, a biologist born in 1947 who, at 88, becomes one of the first volunteers for AI-assisted rejuvenation therapy. The film also promotes the International Longevity Summit 2026, which Alianza Futurista sponsors every year.
I’ll be one of the speakers there. My topic: “Three scenarios for longevity in 2031: Frail, Mediocre, or Abundant. And the nine trends that can change the outcome”.
4.) Mind Forward, 1st December
On 1st December, I’ll also be speaking, this time in London, at the inaugural Mind Forward event. This is described as “convening the operators, investors and clinicians commercialising brain science – psychedelics, CNS therapeutics, brain longevity, biotech and digital therapeutics – for a day of deal-focused insight, market intelligence and senior-level networking.”
Keep this to yourself, but you can get a 10% discount on tickets by using code Wood10.
If you’re quick, you’ll also qualify for an Early Bird Ticket.
I’ve not yet settled on an exact title for the talk I’ll be giving there, but it will be something along these lines:
“The three ways in which AIs are significantly distorting our thinking and causing cognitive decline – and the steps that everyone should be taking to ensure our interactions with AIs remain beneficial rather than harmful”.
5.) The case for technoprogressive ethical foundations
That brings me back to the subject of my new essay, “The Vital Foundation”.
In some ways it’s an old essay, since I’ve tried to cover the same ideas twice already, in previous articles. I’ve also presented these ideas at a number of events recently, including the London Futurists in the Pub gathering on 27th August. Each time I discuss these ideas, I update how I think about them.
The centrepiece of the new essay is the set of ethical principles shown on this image:
The essay goes into more details about the principles listed, how they fit together, the challenges faced in having them adopted and followed, and how these challenges can be overcome.
Let me know what you think about it – either via email, or if we get a chance to speak at this weekend’s conference.
// David W. Wood – Chair, London Futurists
PS One of the people attending this weekend’s conference, the developmental psychologist and counsellor Delia Cazeaux, has written a very interesting essay addressing some themes likely to feature at the event. The essay is entitled “Psycho-Educational Program for Human-AI Co-development” and you can read it via the links from this page.
London Futurists 