Using Technology to Deepen Democracy, Using Democracy to Ensure Technology Benefits Us All

Monday, February 06, 2012

Immortalist, Heel Thyself

I have written of “bioethics” that, “The prefix ‘bio,’ when appended to the word ‘ethics,’ tends to have the curious effect of draining all the life out of ethics.” Of “futurologists” I have accused (same link) that they “keep confusing making bets with having thoughts.”

Little surprise, then, to find the “serious futurologists” at IEET have linked to an article in Slate by bioethicist Nicholas Agar -- who linked in turn to an article on CNN by another “serious futurologist” Michio Kaku -- who talks about the non-problem of reckless clinical trials associated with non-existing anti-aging medicine, a non-problem he illustrates by reference to the serious actually existing problem of reckless, dangerous, exploitative clinical trials in the development of actual therapies in the context of actual profit-taking healthcare research under global neoliberalism. Of course, Agar doesn’t talk much about the latter -- but why would you actually talk about actual problems when you can talk instead about imaginary problems imaginary people with imaginary chiseled model good looks in imaginary catsuits taking imaginary immortality pills might face as they take the imaginary space elevator to the imaginary Holodeck sex party at the imaginary orbital spa?

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