As the Biostasis2022 Conference draws closer, Tomorrow Bio wants to introduce you to key figures in the field of cryonics, biostasis, and longevity research. Today, Tomorrow Bio shares with you an interview with Chair of the London Futurists, David Wood.
Getting to Know David Wood
Born in the United Kingdom, David Wood had a deep appreciation and love for mathematics. In 1982, he received an MA in mathematics from the University of Cambridge.
For the last 25 years, David has been a pioneer in the field of smartphone technology. He worked with Psion Software as a software architect and eventually, director for more than a decade. In 1998, he co-founded Symbian, a tech company that specialised in developing smartphone operating systems. This technology, at the time, was revolutionary. Despite its challenges, David outlined the success and failures of Symbian and lessons relevant to future development of other technologies in his book Smartphones and beyond: Lessons from the remarkable rise and fall of Symbian.
Introduction to Transhumanism & Cryonics
David was first introduced to transhumanism through the works of Eric Drexler, Ray Kurzweil and James Hughes. Transhumanism, simply put, is a philosophical belief and social movement that promotes human enhancing technologies. The core belief is that humanity is capable of evolving beyond its current physical and mental limitations. In his interview with Tomorrow Bio, he remarks that:
“These books helped me to appreciate that technology was poised to transform more and more aspects of the human condition.”
His experience in the smartphone technological sector increased his awareness of the impact such devices were already having on people. For David, transhumanism recommends that humanity should “actively anticipate these changes.” By understanding how and what changes technology can and will have on humanity, we can foresee possibilities more clearly. These works influenced David to seek out Extrobritannia, a group affiliated with the World Transhumanist Association referenced in James Hughes’s works. Curious, David reached out to Extrobritannia, participating in their monthly meetings. It was during these meetings that David was introduced to cryonics.
Since then, David has been involved in discussions as to the potential scenarios future technology could impact humanity, both for good or bad. There are numerous factors and challenges humanity is already facing. These range from accelerated technological developments, to stress on resource usage, to the deeper impacts of technology on new areas of life and society.
Current Work
He is currently the chair of the London Futurists, a group that meets, discusses and analyzes these potential, radical scenarios. It is his hope that the research and discourse carried about by the London Futurists can help guide both individuals and society towards a better future. In addition, he is also involved in multiple think-tank groups and organisations addressing issues related to transhumanism and futurism. This includes Transhumanist UK, Sustensis, Delta Wisdom, and Transpolitica.
David has published 11 books on a wide range of topics related to transhumanism and futurism. Some of these topics include the accelerating field of human longevity and rejuvenation biology, to sustainable superabundance, to anticipations regarding future politics.
His latest book, The Singularity Principles, discusses anticipating and managing new, potentially disruptive technologies. Technological breakthroughs are fairly unpredictable, both in terms of timing and their lasting impact. The interaction between new technologies and humanity is even harder to predict.
For David, developments in artificial general intelligence are likely to be the vanguard for a new technological singularity, perhaps even the singularity. In order for this technology to have a positive impact on humanity, we must be able to anticipate and manage possible outcomes.
Biostasis Conferences
David has spoken at previous Biostasis conferences. His presentation at Biostasis2020 focused on anticipating changes in public attitudes towards death and cryonics. He highlights what might be possible in the cryonics community in the near future. This includes the possibility of cryonics becoming part of mainstream culture and what we can do at the moment to make this possibility a reality.
He also discusses the changes within cryonics over the last 15 years, both the positive as well as aspects that require further change. He asks the audience to consider what are the seeds of tipping points in cryonics that we can encourage for growth in the industry.
In Biostasis2021, he presented on the future of biostasis and cryonics as an industry. He discusses how cryonics needs to consider possible future scenarios, and figure out what we must do today to achieve the future we want. He proposes 5 possible scenarios of the future of the cryonics industry, and the elements that we should anticipate. These elements and futures range from anticipating research and philosophical breakthroughs to commercial cryonics to costs and benefits.
Tomorrow Bio’s Interview with David Wood
1. What aspect of Biostasis made you say “I want to work in this field?”
The potential of Biostasis is remarkable: people could have a huge new lease of life, once revived with renewed health in the future when medicine has sufficiently advanced. Grandparents could be reunited with grandchildren, and could continue along aspects of their previous life trajectories that were cruelly cut short by whichever disease led to their legal death.
2. In all your years of researching Cryonics, what is the achievement you're most proud of?
To be honest, I'm not yet proud of what I have accomplished in this field. I've held London Futurists events about cryonics on several occasions over the 14 years since the formation of that organisation, but the attendance each time has been significantly below the average for our events. I've not yet succeeded in raising sufficient public interest in this field. Even people who are open to the ideas of significantly longer life spans due to progress with rejuvenation biotechnology often shy away from any discussion of biostasis. That's a change in public attitude that still lies in the future. If I can help to catalyse that change, THEN I might start to be proud of my involvement in this field.
3. If you could get the perfect solution to one of the current challenges connected to cryopreservation at the press of a button - which would you choose and why?
A demonstration of the successful revival of a small organism, following cryo suspension, would change the attitude of the whole world toward this field. I'm talking of an organism larger than the C Elegans worm - though that result from a few years back was a significant breakthrough in its own right.
4. What is the most interesting project you are working on right now?
I'm keeping a close eye on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. That field is demonstrating breakthroughs literally every week, that are regularly taking by surprise even the researchers who are working in this field. The old distinction between "artificial narrow intelligence, which we have today" and "artificial general intelligence, which is a long way into the future, and will need some huge new insight to make it happen" has broken down.
Today's so-called narrow AI is increasingly able to solve new kinds of tasks, in new fields, without any extensive retraining. It's called "transfer learning" or "one-shot learning". As a result, the applications of AI and ML for medicine could be profound, in fields such as drug discovery and validation.
What I'll be exploring in my talk at Biostasis2022 is the potential applications of AI and ML in the world of cryonics. It could be revolutionary. And it could happen a lot quicker than most people expect - quicker even than expected by experts in cryonics.
5. What are you looking forward to the most regarding the Biostasis2022 conference?
I'm looking forward to news about cryonics from around the world. That was one of the most interesting and inspiring parts of Biostasis2021.
6. What makes you feel confident in Tomorrow Bio's work?
The team at Tomorrow Bio strike me as very capable in their abilities: good planning, good design, and good execution. I might even say they are "real professionals", though I wouldn't want to give any impression that this is a "business" designed mainly to make money. Far from it! The leadership of Tomorrow Bio are very evidently motivated by strong humanitarian instincts. I wish them every success!
Conclusion
At Tomorrow Bio, we are driven by a desire to make cryonics a more mainstream and affordable service, building a world where people can choose how long to live. We hope that we can continue to inspire confidence in the industry and to fellow cryonicists.
Thank you, David, for this insightful interview. We are looking forward to seeing him at Biostasis2022 and hope to learn more about his thoughts about the future of cryonics. In an industry such as this, long term perspectives about the future are critical for growth and development.
We have a series of interviews and biographical articles on figures in the sector including Max More, Roman Bauer, Peter Tsolakides, and more. If you want to learn more about the key figures in cryonics and biostasis, check out Tomorrow Bio Insight. Also check out our Discord, and join in the conversation. See you Tomorrow!
