Social Futurism
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Social Futurism is defined as follows:
Social Futurism is a political philosophy, characterised by the use of advancing technology to solve social problems. This worldview’s primary vehicle is the Social Futurist Party (SFP), which has defined the philosophy via the Principles of Social Futurism since 1st May 2011. To some extent Social Futurism (SF) may be considered a synonym for Techno-Progressivism, but SF is defined by coherent Principles in a way that the broader category of Techno-Progressive thought is not. The common, underlying line of thought is that technological augmentation of the individual is not enough to reach a good future. We must also optimize the societal systems in which those individuals are necessarily embedded, or any and all technological benefits of individual augmentation will be modulated and potentially negated by a less-than-optimal social milieu.
The Social Futurist idea was initially developed and propagated by the Institute for Social Futurism (ISF) and associated groups within the WAVE network. The originator of Social Futurism is Amon Twyman.
Social Futurism is described further as part of the set of Wave principles:
A wave of technological change unprecedented in human history is coming, and it will irrevocably transform the world we know. Technological development and its effects on culture are accelerating. Although we cannot predict exactly what will happen, we expect that Artificial and Augmented Intelligence (AI) will be developed to harness the potential to solve the world’s problems, while Virtual Reality (VR), bio- and nano-technologies will similarly be developed to harness the potential to recreate the world and its inhabitants.
Our mission is to transcend our personal and societal limitations through the use of technology, and to help others toward such transcendence where they choose it. Social Futurism is central to our vision of the future of civilization. Social Futurism is defined as a worldview which combines social justice concerns with the radical transformative potential of modern technology. It encompasses an imperative to technologically increase intelligence, expand awareness, enhance our physical bodies, and defeat disease of all types, while working to ensure that just and principled social conditions characterise this transformation.
At its 2015 AGM, the UK Transhumanist Party officially adopted the principles of Social Futurism.[1]
The central meme of Social FuturismПравить
Amon Twyman has written as follows:
If the central meme of transhumanism is that it is ethical and desirable to improve the human condition through technology, the central meme of social futurism is that it is ethical and desirable to improve society through technology.
