Russian billionaire Dmitry Itskov believes he will live forever through robots, into which his consciousness and personality would be uploaded. The ultra-advanced robots would be made of materials with a virtually infinite lifespan, with only the occasional technical and mechanical maintenance required.
The founder of New Media Stars, a web-based media company, thinks we could soon have the technology to download all the contents of a person’s mind into a super-advanced chip, which could then be placed into a robot.
By 2045, Mr. Itskov believes people will be able to live forever, with their personalities transferred into a super-advanced humanoid robot. (Image: 2045.com)
The 2045 Initiative
Mr. Itskov founded the 2045 Initiative in 2011, with the main goal to achieve everlasting life within the next three decades.
The 2045 Initiative is a non-profit organization that develops a community and network of scientists specialized in the field of extending life – making living beings live longer, especially human beings. It includes Russian specialists in the fields of robotics, artificial organs, neural interfaces and related systems.
What is a robot?
Mr. Itskov calls this transfer of a person’s whole consciousness into a robot ‘Personality Transfer’. He already has a whole team of neuroscientists and engineers working on the project.
The Immortalist
BBC 2 will be broadcasting a Horizon documentary called ‘The Immortalist’ on 16th March, at 8pm. According to the BBC, the show is:
“The gripping story of how one Russian internet millionaire is turning to cutting-edge science to try to unlock the secret of living forever.”
If we can achieve eternal life by 2045, it means that there are many people alive today who might never die. (Image: recenttechinventions.com)
Mr. Itskov told the documentary makers:
“The ultimate goal of my plan is to transfer someone’s personality into the new artificial carrier. Different scientists call it uploading or they call it mind transfer. I prefer to call it personality transfer.”
He is one hundred percent sure that he will be successful in his quest.
Avatars and artificial brains
Supporting his certainty, is a project involving *avatars and artificial brains.
* Avatars: in computing, these are graphical representations of the user or the user’s alter ego or character. They may take either a 3-D form, as in virtual worlds or games, or a 2-D form as an icon in Internet forums and other communities that exist online.
The project will have several phases. The first phase, which scientists are currently working on, involves creating a robotic version of a human being, which is controlled by a brain/computer, i.e. an interface between a person and a machine.
Will immortality be available just for the super-rich? According to Mr. Itskov: “Avatars will be cheap and affordable for many people,… but only if people themselves make every effort needed to achieve this, rather than wait until someone else does everything for them.” (Image: 2045.com)
Eventually, Mr. Itskov hopes to have created a robot that could act as a host to a human personality, which would allow him or her to live eternally.
Neo-humanity
Mr. Itskov’s ambitions are also political. He has launched Evolution 2045, a political party whose purpose is to lead all of us in the ‘path of neo-humanity.’
Regarding neo-humanity, Mr. Itskov writes:
“Neo-humanity as an ideology, socio-economic structure and form of civilization will open a fundamentally new era – the cosmic civilization of people of the future. It will provide something that has never existed before and which could not have existed, something which may appear fantastic and incredible today.”
“All history will prove to be merely a process of preparing for an unprecedented leap forward in evolution.”
Video – Aubrey de Grey talks about ending ageing
In this 2045 Initiative video, British researcher, Aubrey de Gray, who says he has drawn a roadmap to defeat biological ageing, says people who have already been born will be the first humans to live more than 1,000 years.