Videos

Anthropologist John Bialecki examines what transhumanism means for a social science that defines itself as the study of the human. He traces anthropology’s Boasian tradition of treating humanity as remarkably plastic yet culturally dependent, then asks whether posthuman transformations—particularly radical scenarios like Churchland’s networked “centipede” minds—would place future beings beyond the reach of ethnographic methods. Bialecki proposes that anthropology’s capacity to study a transformed subject might serve as a test for whether that transformation enhances or abandons what we recognize as human.

Jon Ogden’s presentation, “The Same as All Gods Have Done Before You: Transhumanism and the Religion of Tomorrow,” explores humanity’s inherent desire to transcend current limitations and become “gods.” Ogden questions whether the traditional, often destructive, depictions of gods throughout history should be the model for our aspirations. He challenges the audience to consider evolving our concept of God to encompass ecumenical love and ethical considerations, arguing that doing so is crucial as younger generations turn away from traditional religion due to its perceived unethical underpinnings—suggesting that humanity must strive to worship better gods to become better beings.

Lincoln Cannon reinterprets the prophecy of Christ’s return through the lens of Christian theosis and Mormon theology. Examining the Hebrew Bible’s multiple “Christs”—including King David and Cyrus of Persia—alongside Paul’s teaching that “Christ is in you,” he argues that the “Son of Man” refers not exclusively to Jesus but to all the children of humanity. When Jesus says his return will be “as lightning visible from east to west,” he speaks of a collective transformation: the return of Christ is the moment when we become Christ, loving, healing, and raising the dead as Jesus commanded his disciples to do.

Melissa Inouye, a professor of Chinese history at the University of Auckland, explores the concept of “religious technology”—the practical arts of channeling and containing divine experience through rituals, organizational structures, and sacred objects. Comparing the founding of the True Jesus Church in 1917 China with the emergence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she examines how charismatic movements capture “lightning in a bottle” through innovative practices like face-down baptism, glossolalia, and temple sealings. Inouye argues that maintaining the proper balance between charismatic power and institutional stability determines whether religious movements flourish or fade, and she reflects on how these technologies—ultimately made of living souls rather than hard materials—keep God’s power close at hand.

Micah Redding argues that religions, corporations, and ideological movements constitute “superorganisms”—collective entities that possess their own drives, survival instincts, and evolutionary dynamics. Drawing on Richard Dawkins’s concept of memes and memeplexes, he proposes that ancient religious language about spirits, demons, and “principalities and powers” represents early humanity’s attempt to grapple with these nonmaterial forces that live in and through us. Redding suggests that cultivating benevolent superorganisms—like Paul’s “body of Christ”—may be the most effective strategy for combating malevolent ones.

Michaelann Bradley, MTA CEO, confronts mortality head-on, using a clip from “The Good Place” to illustrate how awareness of death gives actions meaning. She argues that transhumanism offers a middle ground between existential despair and the cavalier Mormon attitude that “suffering is just a blip.” If our descendants must become gods who enact the resurrection through scientific principles, our present actions take on profound significance. Bradley shares her personal commitment to “come back” for her ancestor Mary Rosetta Patterson and calls for MTA members—marketers, scientists, organizers—to help build an organization that moves beyond theology into action, shaping the ethics of an inevitable transhumanist future.

Ross Richey draws a striking parallel between the challenges of ensuring AI safety and the LDS plan of salvation. He argues that the requirements AI researchers propose for testing superintelligent machines—isolation, moral guidelines, the possibility of failure, and the presence of suffering—mirror the conditions described in Mormon scripture for proving intelligences before granting them godlike powers. The talk suggests that concepts like the Fall, temptation, obedience, and even a Savior figure emerge naturally from thinking rigorously about how to verify that powerful beings can be trusted with cosmic responsibility.

Bryan Johnson, founder of Kernel and Braintree, delivers an emotionally charged address to his younger self—a 24-year-old who was chronically depressed and trapped within the protective “ninjas” of Mormon belief. Johnson outlines seven priorities for human flourishing: recognizing our cognitive impairment, building systems that don’t render humans obsolete, identifying “game-over” problems, embracing AI as a partner, becoming future-literate, updating belief systems rapidly, and making radical cognitive improvement humanity’s top priority. He argues that whether one remains Mormon, leaves, or does both, the work of expanding human cognition cannot be outsourced to an afterlife—it must begin now.

Giulio Prisco, physicist and founder of Turing Church, explores convergences between modern physics and Eastern spiritual traditions in this lecture at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture in Kolkata. He discusses how quantum physics, condensed matter theory, and the simulation hypothesis point toward concepts long held in Indian spirituality—particularly the identity of Atman and Brahman, the idea that individual consciousness reflects a universal mind. Drawing on cellular automata, Dawkins’s “open individualism,” and Mormon theology’s view of human divine potential, Prisco connects these scientific developments to transhumanist visions of cosmic engineering. The lecture concludes with the Russian Cosmist vision of using science and technology to access deeper realities and ultimately achieve resurrection of the dead.

This presentation examines how communal narratives function in religious communities, arguing that God consistently bursts self-assured narratives rather than confirming them—as seen in Moses’s life being repeatedly disrupted from Egyptian prince to fugitive to prophet. The speaker critiques both the LDS Church’s institutional narrative and ex-Mormon counter-narratives for missing the “sought goods” that justify any narrative, suggesting that disputes over historical and doctrinal claims miss the more essential question of whether these structures actually deliver salvation. Mormon transhumanism offers a framework where religious aspirations like immortality and eternal life need not remain abstract mysteries but can become serious goals with practical benchmarks, transforming narratives from self-justifying stories into accountable claims measured against real outcomes.