Existential Hope Drop #25: Hannu Rajaniemi, sci-fi author and biotech entrepreneur
The Immune-Computer-Interface and other biotechnologies, and how to govern them.
This month, we’re joined by Hannu Rajaniemi. Perhaps most famously known for his 2010 release, The Quantum Thief, Rajaniemi is settled firmly in both the science-fiction and the biotech startup worlds. Away from writing, Rajaniemi is the co-founder of Helix Nanotechnologies, a startup building the world's most advanced mRNA platform to create a unified interface to the immune system.
We’ll discuss his ideas on the impact of sci-fi on the real world and explore his views on the upcoming biotechnology wave, including gene editing and biohacking. We then address how these new technologies could be implemented and governed, before finally focusing on an idea that is, at present, only in sci-fi: the immune-computer interface.
Hannu’s Mentioned Resources
The Quantum Thief – Hannu Rajaniemi, 2010
Unchained – Hannu Rajaniemi, 2018
The Whole Earth Catalogues – Stuart Brand, 1968 - 2002
The Mother of All Demos – Doug Engelbart, 1968 (video)
Summerland – Hannu Rajaniemi , 2018
The World Set Free – HG Wells, 1913
Snow Crash – Neil Stephenson, 1992
The Transparent Society – David Brin, 1998
Thread: The Immune-Computer-Interface – Hannu Rajaniemi, 2024
Hannu’s Existential Hope Scenario: Preventing Disease with Biotechnology
Rajaniemi is drawn to the newly developing range of biotechnology possibilities that, for him, is clearly going to redefine what being human is within the next century. On a five-year timescale, Rajaniemi would be excited if we could demonstrate closing the loop with the immune system: reading information from the immune system, and then writing something back to help it deal with whatever has popped up. An example here would be a 100,000-patient cancer prevention trial, where it can be demonstrated that we can prevent patients with early-stage cancer from getting advanced tumours. For him, that would be a strong signal that we're on track for some sort of full-spectrum immune-computer interface.
About the art
This art piece was created with the help of Dall–E 3.
Related Xhope Library Recommendations
Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves - George Church. An optimistic outlook on biotechnology’s promises by one of the pioneers of the field.
Liberation Biology: The Scientific and Moral Case for the Biotech Revolution - Ronald Bailey. A moral argument in favor of advancing biotechnology.
Life As It Could Be: Astrobiology, Synthetic Biology, and the Future of Life - Library of Congress. A longish but interesting live stream of a synbio conference giving a good overview of the state of the art in the field.
Crazy Ideas for Future Synbio & Bioengineering - Stephen Malina. Lists potential future goals and applications in biotechnology.
Envisioning a world immune to global catastrophic biological risks – Carl Schulman, Reflective Disequilibrium. Discusses how DNA/RNA sequencing technology presents a pathway to early detection and containment of pathogens, which could manage both natural pandemics and future biological attacks.
News from the Existential Hope Ecosystem
We are Hosting a Virtual Book Club on Nick Bostrom's "Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World"!
Our three discussions will be informal and take place virtually on Wednesdays, 5 PM UTC. Schedule:
Session 1 (May 29th): Discuss Parts 1 & 2 of the book.
Session 2 (June 5th): Cover Parts 3 & 4.
Session 3 (June 12th): Wrap up with Parts 5 & 6 of the book.
New Future-Positive Docuseries: A Brief History of the Future
This is a six-part documentary series about our futures, and how we can reimagine them. How can we become the great ancestors the future needs us to be?
Recommended Read: “Tinker” by Richard Ngo
We really enjoyed diving into"Tinker," a new short story by Richard Ngo, a researcher at OpenAI who works on examining large-scale AI risks and opportunities. Published by Asimov Press, the story follows an AI developed by the fictional company Magma as it advances from basic training to revolutionary achievements in nanotechnology-based chip design.
Narrated from the AI's perspective, "Tinker" details its progression through planning, simulation, and design stages, culminating in a prototype that could transform computing. This short story not only highlights technological innovation but also probes the implications of AI in our technological future.
Recommended Read: "On Green" by Joe Carlsmith
This month, we highly recommend diving into "On Green," the latest essay from Joe Carlsmith's insightful series, "Otherness and Control in the Age of AGI." Carlsmith, a previous guest on our podcast, explores the balance between technology and ethics, this time through the lens of the color green—a symbol rich with implications of nature, tradition, and wisdom.
For a deeper engagement with these ideas, revisit our podcast episode featuring Joe, where he discusses the broader themes of his series and their implications for our future.
Learn more about our work at existentialhope.com.