US Transhumanist Party rocked by furore over “lab-grown human meat” project

Transhumanists are no strangers to controversy. How could they be when Jeffrey Epstein numbered himself among their longstanding adherents and hefty financial backers? But even by transhumanist standards, the ructions that have just rocked the US Transhumanist Party (USTP) over their 2020 Presidential candidate have been remarkable.

Transhumanists, as you may know, are extreme technophiles who want to use genetic engineering and other extreme technologies, including neural interfaces with machines (i.e. implanting hardware in their brains that connects to a computer or other cyber device), in order to “enhance” themselves in pursuit of what they call “humanity 2.0”, “humanity plus” or “posthumanity”. 

Transhumanists are also keen on gaining immortality and, as this isn’t immediately on offer, this tends to go hand in hand with an interest in cryonics – freezing all or parts of their bodies when dead (Epstein is said to have wanted his brain and his penis preserved) in the hope of resurrection at some suitable future juncture. 

Sound nuts? Well, it seems to have real appeal for the kind of affluent geeks forever in pursuit of the...