Brent Allsop(b. 1959)

Brent Allsop explores the nature of consciousness and subjective experience through the lens of Joseph Smith’s teaching that "all spirit is matter." He argues that redness and other qualia are real physical properties of brain matter—detectable only through direct subjective experience, not objective observation. Allsop envisions future neurotechnology enabling "neural ponytails" that could merge subjective worlds between individuals, and describes how mind uploading might allow consciousness to transition into enhanced digital avatars while maintaining experiential continuity.

Brent Allsop presents a theoretical framework for scientifically detecting and measuring qualia—the subjective qualities of conscious experience like redness or pain. He argues that bridging the "explanatory gap" between physical brain states and conscious experience requires developing proper mapping functions that translate between neural activity and qualitative experience. Using a simplified three-color world as a thought experiment, Allsop demonstrates how scientists might detect inverted qualia between individuals and "eff the ineffable" by establishing direct brain-to-brain connections that share elemental conscious experiences.

Brent Allsop presents highlights from the 2012 Mormon Transhumanist Association member survey, documenting the organization's rapid growth and demographic diversity. He reflects on his personal journey through atheist and transhumanist organizations, contrasting their often-fractious nature with the sense of community and mutual support he has found in the MTA. Allsop celebrates the association's exponential membership growth—at times exceeding twenty-five percent annually—and attributes this success to increasing member engagement and the collaborative spirit that distinguishes the MTA from other transhumanist groups.

Brent Allsop introduces Canonizer, a consensus-building platform designed to help humanity navigate the expanding moral landscape of technological power. He argues that as our technological capabilities grow, so do the moral decisions we face—yet our current discourse around controversial topics is paralyzed by fear of polarization. Allsop proposes that individuals should be able to select their own trusted experts and then survey those experts' collective views on any given issue, enabling everyone to benefit from the wisdom of specialists without being experts themselves. He highlights the Consciousness Survey Project as an example, noting that the emerging expert consensus on representational qualia theory aligns surprisingly well with Joseph Smith's 19th-century descriptions of consciousness and spirit.