| James Hughes | |
| Birth Name: | James J. Hughes |
| Birth Date: | May 27, 1961 |
| Birth Place: | Columbus, Ohio |
| Nationality: | American |
| Known For: | Work in Sociology, Executive Director at Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) |
| Education: | Ph.D., M.A. (Univ. of Chicago), B.A. (Oberlin College) |
| Notable Works: | Wrote Citizen Cyborg |
| Spouse: | Monica Bock |
| Website: | http://ieet.org |
James J. Hughes (born May 27, 1961) is an American sociologist and bioethicist. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies[1] and is the associate provost for institutional research, assessment, and planning at UMass Boston.[2] He is the author of Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future and is currently writing a book about moral bioenhancement tentatively titled Cyborg Buddha: Using Neurotechnology to Become Better People.[3]
Hughes holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago, where he served as the assistant director of research for the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics.[4] Before graduate school he was temporarily ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1984 while working as a volunteer in Sri Lanka for the development organization Sarvodaya from 1983 to 1985.[5]
Hughes served as executive director of the World Transhumanist Association from 2004 to 2006 and currently serves as executive director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, which he founded with Nick Bostrom. He also produces the syndicated weekly public affairs radio talk show program Changesurfer Radio and contributed to the Cyborg Democracy blog.[6] [7] Hughes' book Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future was published by Westview Press in November 2004.[8]
Before working at UMass Boston, he lectured at Northwestern University, the University of Connecticut, and Trinity College.
Rejecting bioconservatism and libertarian transhumanism, Hughes argues for democratic transhumanism, a radical form of techno-progressivism[9] that asserts that the best possible "posthuman future" is achievable only by ensuring that human enhancement technologies[10] are safe, made available to everyone, and respect the right of individuals to control their own bodies.[11]
Hughes sits on the academic advisory council of the Christian Transhumanist Association.[12]
Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future
. Westview Press. 2004. 0-8133-4198-1.