Videos

Lincoln Cannon presents the New God Argument, a logical framework demonstrating that trust in humanity’s posthuman potential should lead to faith in God. The argument combines three sub-arguments: the angel argument (if prehumans are probable, posthumans probably already exist), the benevolence argument (posthumans are probably more benevolent than us), and the creation argument (posthumans probably created our world). Cannon shows how this reasoning aligns with Mormon theology—particularly Joseph Smith’s teaching that God was once as we are now—and responds to Richard Dawkins’s observation that sufficiently advanced extraterrestrials would be indistinguishable from gods.

Malcolm Dean, a research affiliate of UCLA’s Human Complex Systems Program, presents a cognitive thermodynamics framework for understanding mythology, religion, and culture as physical systems rather than mere stories. He argues that ancient myths and religious systems encode sophisticated understanding of complexity, scale invariance, and information theory in intuitive language—knowledge only recently rediscovered through modern science. Dean proposes that cultures, religions, and cognitive units form Boromean ring systems, where all three must exist together to maintain bonds; when one ring mistakes itself for another or claims fixed dominance, the result is pathology and violence. He concludes that humanity’s current planetary crisis is not an exception but the natural path of physical processes.

Max More, a founder of the transhumanist movement, reflects on the spiritual dimensions of transhumanism and its humanist roots. He traces the philosophy’s origins to Renaissance thinkers like Pico della Mirandola, who articulated humanity’s capacity for self-creation and transcendence. More distinguishes between static notions of perfection and the dynamic process of perpetual progress—the ongoing drive toward growth, improvement, and self-transformation. He addresses common criticisms, including claims that transhumanists hate their bodies or that extended lifespans would render life meaningless, arguing instead that meaning emerges from continuous development rather than fixed endpoints.

Michael Ferguson explores how Trinitarian theological archetypes—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—can serve as a framework for understanding humanity’s biological, cultural, and technological evolution. He argues that humans are uniquely driven by narrative and story, and that transhumanism can draw on existing religious symbolism to articulate its vision. Ferguson draws parallels between Christ’s transfiguration and the future moment when human essence radiates through technological form, suggesting that the Christian story of Pentecost—when the Spirit enabled understanding across languages—foreshadows a future where technology amplifies our capacity for empathy and love.

Ralph Spencer Steenblik proposes “positive parametricism” as a framework for transcending individual human limitations through collective action. He argues that the 21st century must move beyond assembly-line thinking toward an ecosystem mentality where waste becomes a resource for other systems. Drawing on swarm theory and positive psychology, Steenblik reframes transhumanism not as a merger of humans and machines but as the emergence of a human “superorganism” capable of self-organization around shared values. He identifies the key obstacle as postmodernism’s deconstruction of value hierarchies, arguing that effective decentralized organization requires mission-critical groups united by common value systems—making the Mormon Transhumanist Association’s shared commitments a potential model for this new form of collective action.

Chris Bradford, co-founder and president of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, opens the 2012 conference with reflections on the theme “Redeeming Our Dead.” Drawing on Joseph Smith’s vision of a “welding link” between generations, he explores how genealogy, proxy ordinances, and the sealing power create bonds that transcend mortality. Bradford suggests that resurrection and redemption necessarily involve “the creation of worlds”—contextualizing the resurrected in environments where they can flourish. He concludes that embracing the ghosts of our past, rather than freeing them to leave, may be the key to building a divine future community.

Roger Hansen examines the lives and ideas of three early twentieth-century thinkers—John A. Widtsoe, Alfred North Whitehead, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin—whose work offers valuable insights for religious transhumanists. Drawing on their shared beliefs in evolutionary progress, the interconnectedness of life, and the compatibility of science and religion, Hansen argues that these “spiritual exemplars” provide a theological foundation for eternal progression and the ongoing technological revolution. He suggests that Widtsoe’s commitment to reconciling LDS theology with science, Whitehead’s process philosophy, and Teilhard’s vision of humanity evolving toward an “Omega Point” all resonate deeply with Mormon transhumanist aspirations.

Scott Howe, a NASA systems engineer working on lunar habitat design, proposes a framework for quantifying morality based on entropy and opportunity. He argues that moral choices can be evaluated by whether they proliferate or diminish future opportunities, drawing parallels between the physical concept of entropy—the tendency toward disorder—and the spiritual concept of sin. Howe suggests that engineering, properly understood, is the conscious buildup of potential to reduce entropy, and that God’s ultimate purpose may be to defeat entropy through the propagation of self-replicating, intelligent life. The presentation lays groundwork for what Howe hopes will eventually become a theory of the Atonement grounded in natural law.

This panel discussion from the 2012 MTA conference brings together presenters to explore the relationship between Mormonism, science, and engineering. Panelists discuss whether scientific and religious methodologies of truth are compatible, with several arguing that the two are complementary rather than contradictory—engineering provides forward-looking creation while science offers reverse-engineering of nature. The conversation delves into questions about absolute versus pragmatic truth, the role of technology in increasing human benevolence, and whether Mormon theology can accommodate both modernist optimism and postmodern awareness. Participants also address how technology, while not sufficient alone for salvation, plays an essential communal role in bringing about immortality and eternal life across dispensations.

Allen Leigh, Adam Davis, and Lincoln Cannon field audience questions following their morning presentations at the 2012 MTA conference. The discussion ranges across the nature of natural law in Mormon scripture, whether God can violate physical laws, the implications of infinite regressions, and how virtual worlds might relate to “reality.” The panelists also address dark matter and spirit matter, the possibility of creating true artificial intelligence by organizing “intelligent matter,” and whether the LDS Church should officially embrace science and technology.