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Forbes / Dmitry Itskov Wants To Live Forever. (He Wants You To Live Forever, Too.)
At the Global Future 2045 conference (GF2045) in New York City on June 15-16, 2013, emcee Philippe van Nedervelde said, “It used to be that the only sure things are death and taxes. Soon, it will just be taxes. And if we get to live and prosper forever, perhaps even taxes will one day go the way of the Dodo too.” His statement was met with laughter.
Who wants to live forever? The attendees of the GF2045 do, and these neuroscientists, neuroengineers, and futurists are dedicating their considerable resources to everlasting life. But no one is more dedicated than Dmitry Itskov, the Russian entrepreneur who founded GF2045, as well as a public science project dedicated to exceeding the natural lifetime warranty of the body…then replacing the need for a body altogether.
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I met with Itskov after the event and spoke with him about immortality—and his considerable resources. The New York Times writes that he has spent $3 million on this project and ”he is ready to spend much more.” Itskov, who became a multimillionaire after the success of his start-up, New Media Stars, declined to give specifics about his finances. But he’s quick to acknowledge its importance:
“Money is a kind of energy. This energy can help to transform your vision into something real, something you can touch. I understand that money is essential. But in parallel, there is the energy of theidea. It can unite more than the richest people in this world,” he said.
His particular idea is a four-part attack against death, known as the Avatar Project. Avatar A will be achieved with the creation of a robot that can be controlled by our brains; Avatar B will be achieved when a brain can be transplanted to a synthetic body; Avatar C will be achieved after the contents of a person’s brain can be uploaded into a synthetic one. The project will end with the completion of Avatar D—the creation of a hologram that will replace bodies completely. (Itskov hopes to achieve this last milestone by 2045.)
It seems like an outlandish concept, to upload our consciousness into holographs, reminiscent of the Organians in the Star Trek episode “Errand of Mercy,” who evolved beyond the need for physical form.
However, Itskov’s roadmap has united visionaries such as roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro; Google GOOG +1.66% director of engineering, Ray Kurzweil; and chairman of the X-Prize Foundation, Peter Diamandis, who have supported Itskov’s goal in their GF2045 lectures.
But other lectures focused on the mind—that is, our consciousness—rather than the brain. Because of this focus, Itskov’s most impressive seal of approval comes from the Dalai Lama, who supports his efforts. In a press release, the Dalai Lama said, “We should carry out these experiments with a full sense of responsibility and respect for life that will only benefit humanity, benefit others.”
Because the Avatar Project’s goal is to extend life, critics could point out that this may increase suffering by depleting the planet’s resources. On the contrary, Itskov explained. He sees this as antidote to the world’s problems.
Itskov said, “We won’t need shelter anymore. It will become a cultural aspect, not something without which we can live. We won’t need to consume resources that we consume now. This body won’t depend on food. Health care would be focused on the repairing of the new artificial body and not the biological system.”
Itskov isn’t the only one interested in the brain. President Obama recently launched the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Technologies) initiative to better understand the most complex organ in our bodies, including the diseases that attack it.
But even if we transfer our brains into a synthetic body, won’t it stand to reason that we can still suffer from neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s? Itskov doesn’t have an answer, but he speculates, “Maybe if we put the biological brain into a perfect life support system, there will be no degenerative disease. And if we have those, it’ll be easier to treat the brain, rather than the brain and the body.”
For those of you who find it hard to wrap your head around the idea of synthetic brains and bodies of light, consider that cars, airplanes, and even the bionic hand sported by attendee Nigel Ackland were once deemed pure science fiction.
Time will tell if Itskov is considered a visionary or a pie-in-the-sky thinker. When you consider that he plans to make this technology not only achievable but also affordable to everyone, he is at least a dreamer who dreams big. And he hopes to be doing so for a long, long time.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolpinchefsky/2013/06/18/dmitry-itskov-wants-to-live-forever-he-wants-you-to-live-forever-too/
/ About us
Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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