Dmitry Itskov is a Russian entrepreneur and founder of the 2045 Initiative with a goal to reinvent humanity to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Last July I reported on this as an initiative of billionaires. At the time membership was around 10,000. Today it has more than doubled and with a conference planned for New York City in July it appears that there are some serious minds getting behind the idea.
If you are unfamiliar with the goals of this group, the main objective is to develop neural interfaces and robotics to a point when humans can extend their lives through a non-biological carrier. In other words, we can become immortal by transferring ourselves into machines. The rationale as stated in the manifesto is as follows:
“Modern civilization, with its space stations, nuclear submarines, iPhones and Segways cannot save mankind from the limitations in the physical abilities of our bodies, nor from diseases and death.”
As a result those who ascribe to the initiative seek a limitless solution for humanity…..immortality through the integration of humans and machines. The manifesto further reads:
“We believe that before 2045 an artificial body will be created that will not only surpass the existing body in terms of functionality, but will achieve perfection of form and be no less attractive than the human body. People will make independent decisions about the extension of their lives and the possibilities for personal development in a new body after the resources of the biological body have been exhausted.
“The new human being will receive a huge range of abilities and will be capable of withstanding extreme external conditions easily: high temperatures, pressure, radiation, lack of oxygen, etc. Using a neural-interface humans will be able to operate several bodies of various forms and sizes remotely.”
Here are current timeline projections.
By 2020 the emergence of avatars controlled by a direct brain-computer interface.
By 2025 the development of life-support technology capable of keeping an out-of-body human brain working and functioning linked to an avatar robotic system.
By 2035 the complete modeling of human consciousness with the ability to transfer this to an artificial carrier.
By 2045 the evolution of humanity to a new species, immortal, and capable of leaving the planet for large-scale expansion to other worlds.
To learn more you can attend the upcoming Global Future 2045 International Congress taking place in New York City, June 15-16, 2013 at the Lincoln Center. The speaker list includes geneticists, robotics and AI developers, engineers and bio-engineers, physicians, neuroscientists, futurists, and religious and spiritual leaders. If you book the conference before March 31 a general admission ticket will cost you $500. Students can register for $350.
I’ve included a visual roadmap from the 2045 Initiative below.
So what do you think? Is this for real or are the 20,000 plus members all suffering from a delusion? Or do you want to join the group and help achieve the immortality by the means they seek?
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Hi Len,
Interesting piece. I’m currently investigating extreme longevity, but on the purely physical/biological approach. The goal is to achieve the age of 150 while maintaining a healthy body and mind. Two times the idea of human-machine life extension has come up from others.
Though I believe your timelines are possible, is it the correct thing to do. I’m not sure what the implications are of a society that becomes less and less biological.
Steve P
Hi Steve, The 2045 Initiative is a billionaire and millionaire club of those who seek immortality so that they can hang on to their money. Ray Kurzweil, the prophet of the “Singularity” is very much a driving force behind the idea of humans and intelligent machines converging to become one. Your point is interesting because with current biomedical advances it is highly possible that by mid-century we will see many centenarians on the planet and by 2100 the first 150-year old humans. We can through somatic stem cell bio-reactors continuously rebuild ourselves. We can through pharmaceuticals counter many diseases that shortened our lives. And we should have the capability to leave cancer in the dust. And through genomics we can engineer human DNA to ensure that dying is a choice we make rather than an inevitable end to our existence.