Authors

David Henry Fowler was an American educator, writer, and civic leader in the state of Utah, known for his decades of service in public education and his editorial contributions to early twentieth-century Latter-day Saint periodical literature. Born on May 8, 1879, in Hooper, Weber County, Utah, Fowler was the son of Samuel Fowler and Rachel Taylor. He was raised in a pioneer Latter-day Saint household during a formative period in Utah's territorial and early statehood history, and from an early age demonstrated an aptitude for study that would shape the trajectory of his life's work. In 1906, Fowler was called to serve a proselytizing mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Northern States Mission. His capabilities as a writer and communicator were soon recognized, and he was transferred to the mission headquarters in Independence, Missouri, where he was appointed Associate Editor of Liahona, the Elders' Journal . This publication—one of the principal periodicals serving missionaries and members outside the Intermountain West—provided doctrinal instruction, mission news, and devotional literature to a wide readership. Fowler's editorial labors placed him among a small circle of early twentieth-century Latter-day Saint writers helping to amplify the voice of the Church during a period of expanding national presence. Fowler pursued higher education at the University of Utah, completing his degree in 1919. His academic pursuits translated directly into a career in public education, where he rose to serve as both a high school principal and a superintendent of schools in Emery and Summit counties, Utah. In these roles, Fowler shaped the educational foundations of two rural communities at a formative moment in Utah's development as a state, helping to build institutional structures that would serve generations of students. Fowler's career reflected a lifelong conviction that education, faith, and community progress were inseparable. As an administrator, he worked to extend the reach of secondary schooling into communities whose economic realities often competed with classroom attendance, and as a writer and editor he helped articulate the intellectual and spiritual aspirations of his religious tradition for a dispersed readership.

Dan Wotherspoon is a prominent voice in discussions surrounding Mormonism and intellectual inquiry. He currently hosts the Latter-day Faith podcast, where he explores a wide range of topics relevant to Mormon thought and culture. He is also the former editor of Sunstone Magazine , a publication known for its engagement with Mormon history, theology, and contemporary issues. Wotherspoon holds a PhD in religion from Claremont Graduate University. His doctoral dissertation focused on deep Mormon sensibilities concerning the intrinsic worth and interconnectedness of all existence and how these values might contribute to a sustainable and peaceful world. This research reflects his commitment to exploring the intersection of Mormonism with broader ethical and philosophical concerns. Wotherspoon’s work often involves facilitating dialogue and understanding between diverse perspectives, as evidenced by his involvement with the Mormon Transhumanist Association (MTA). He has spoken at MTA conferences and hosted discussions related to transhumanism on his podcast, demonstrating his interest in the potential for Mormon thought to engage with emerging technologies and ideas. He lives in Tooele, Utah with his wife Laurie. They are about to be empty nesters.

Freeman John Dyson (1923–2020) was a British-American theoretical physicist and mathematician known for his work in quantum electrodynamics and speculative ideas about the far future of intelligent life and technology. Born in England, Dyson came to the United States in 1947 and spent most of his career at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He made significant contributions to physics, particularly in unifying the work of Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga on quantum electrodynamics. His book Infinite in All Directions explores the possibility of life and mind spreading throughout the cosmos and adapting to cosmic conditions over astronomical timescales. His vision of an open, infinite universe where intelligence might persist and grow indefinitely resonates with transhumanist and religious visions of endless progression.

Irina Rish is a prominent researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, with a particular focus on achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). She leads the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Autonomous AI, overseeing a large team of students, postdocs, interns, and collaborators. Her work explores the challenges and possibilities of creating AI systems that can generalize to a wide range of tasks and problems, mirroring human-level adaptability and learning capabilities. Rish’s research delves into the complexities of out-of-distribution generalization, aiming to develop AI agents capable of learning and performing tasks significantly different from their training data. She draws upon principles from statistics, machine learning, and classical AI to create systems that are not only capable of mastering specific skills but also demonstrate the capacity for continuous learning and adaptation, akin to human cognitive flexibility. Her work resonates with transhumanist themes by exploring the potential for AI to augment human intelligence and solve complex global challenges. Her presentation at the MTAConf 2024 focused on the technical aspects of AGI, emphasizing the importance of creating autonomous, multi-tasking systems capable of performing economically valuable work. Her engagement with the MTA highlights the intersection of AI research with philosophical and theological considerations regarding the future of humanity and the potential for technology to shape human evolution.

Luke Hutchison is a New Zealand-born computer scientist and researcher whose work explores the fundamental limits of computation, the architecture of biological systems, and the future of artificial intelligence. Known for his deep interest in the theoretical foundations of intelligence, Hutchison has spent his career at the intersection of high-performance computing and the quest to understand the nature of mind. Hutchison’s academic journey began in New Zealand before he moved to the United States to pursue advanced studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, he completed his PhD in Computer Science and Computational Biology. His doctoral research reflected a fascination with the "software" of life, utilizing computational methods to decode complex biological patterns—a precursor to his later work in artificial neural networks and machine learning. Following his time at MIT, Hutchison joined Google, where he played a pivotal role in the company’s burgeoning AI initiatives. He co-founded a specialized AI research team within Google Machine Intelligence alongside renowned futurist and transhumanist Ray Kurzweil. During this tenure, he contributed to the development of technologies that bridge the gap between human language and machine understanding, helping to advance the capabilities of large-scale AI systems. Beyond his primary research, he is well known in the software engineering community as the creator of ClassGraph, a high-performance classpath and module scanner for the Java ecosystem. Hutchison is a frequent contributor to the dialogue surrounding the future of humanity and technology. In his presentation at the MTAConf 2024, titled “Is Intelligence Bigger than Computation?”, he challenged the prevailing materialist assumption that the human mind is merely a Turing-complete computer. Drawing on concepts from physics, information theory, and philosophy, he explored whether true intelligence requires a substrate that transcends traditional algorithmic computation, touching upon themes of consciousness and the potential for technological transcendence.

Marianne Clark Sharp (1893–1975) was a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who served in the Relief Society General Presidency from 1945 to 1974. She emphasized the importance of education and intelligence in spiritual progression, teaching that since knowledge and intelligence are the doorway to eternal life, Relief Society leaders should be zealous in gaining and sharing knowledge. Her teachings connected the pursuit of learning with Latter-day Saint doctrine about eternal progression, citing Joseph Smith’s teaching that “a man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge” and the Lord’s declaration that “it is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.”

Dr. Matthew Memmott is a director and senior technical advisor for Alpha Tech Research, a technology startup focused on developing an advanced micro molten salt reactor. This innovative reactor design aims to provide twelve megawatts of inherently safe nuclear energy, while also producing valuable medical isotopes as a byproduct. His work positions him at the forefront of next-generation energy solutions. In addition to his role at Alpha Tech Research, Dr. Memmott is a professor in the chemical engineering department at Brigham Young University (BYU). He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from BYU in 2005, and subsequently pursued advanced studies at MIT, where he obtained a master’s and PhD in nuclear science and engineering. His academic research centers on advanced nuclear reactor design, nuclear safety, and system modeling—all fields crucial for ensuring a sustainable and secure energy future. Dr. Memmott’s work aligns with transhumanist values by exploring how advanced technology can be leveraged to improve human well-being and sustainability. His exploration of nuclear energy, particularly inherently safe designs, reflects a desire to overcome challenges and create abundance. He is particularly interested in the distributed systems and blockchain applications in the energy realm.

Nick Bostrom (born 1973) is a Swedish-born philosopher known for his work on existential risk, the simulation argument, and superintelligence. He is a professor at Oxford University and director of the Future of Humanity Institute. Bostrom earned his PhD from the London School of Economics and has published influential papers on the anthropic principle, human enhancement ethics, and the future of intelligence. His book Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies examines the potential risks and opportunities of artificial general intelligence. His simulation argument—that we might be living in a computer simulation—has generated significant philosophical discussion about the nature of reality and has been compared to religious cosmologies that see the physical world as embedded within a larger spiritual reality.

Raymond Kurzweil , born February 12, 1948, in Queens, New York, is an American inventor, futurist, and author who has been described as “the restless genius” by The Wall Street Journal. He graduated from MIT in 1970 with degrees in computer science and literature. Kurzweil is the principal inventor of numerous groundbreaking technologies, including the first CCD flatbed scanner, omnifont optical character recognition, the first printtospeech reading machine for the blind, the first texttospeech synthesizer, and commercially marketed largevocabulary speech recognition software. He has received the National Medal of Technology, was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and holds 21 honorary doctorates. Kurzweil is best known for his writings on the technological singularity—the predicted moment when artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence, leading to unprecedented transformation. His influential book The Singularity Is Near (2005) articulates his vision of humanity’s merger with technology, predicting this transformation will occur around 2045. Currently serving as a Principal Researcher and AI Visionary at Google, Kurzweil continues to shape our understanding of exponential technological change and its implications for human potential, making his work foundational to transhumanist philosophy.

Robin Hanson is an economist and researcher known for his work on topics ranging from prediction markets and signaling theory to the potential societal impacts of future technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. His work often involves applying economic principles to understand and forecast long-term trends in growth and technological development. He is known for taking a 'big picture’ approach to history, studying the history of the human economy over long timescales. Hanson’s presentations often explore the possibility of dramatic future economic transformations driven by advances in AI and automation. He examines historical patterns of exponential growth, suggesting that the rate of growth is accelerating, and that this acceleration could lead to massive changes in the economy. He believes artificial intelligence represents a major possibility. He was formerly an AI researcher and asks AI researchers about how far we have come in the last 20 years. His analyses provoke discussions about the future of work, the nature of intelligence, and the potential consequences of technological singularity.