Russian entrepreneur Itskov has reached out to several billionaires to offer them immortality for his new hi-tech research project, Avatar. Itskov promised to personally oversee their immortality process in exchange for an undisclosed fee. The media entrepreneur claimed to have hired 30 scientists for the project. His ultimate goal is to transplant a human brain into a robot body within the next ten years.
“You have the ability to finance the extension of your own life up to immortality. Our civilization has come very close to the creation of such technologies: it’s not a science fiction fantasy. It is in your power to make sure that this goal will be achieved in your lifetime,” said Itskov in a letter delivered to billionaires listed in Forbes magazine.
Itskov has contacted a list of billionaires with a proposal for funding his project, which Itskov refers to as “cybernetic immortality and the artificial body.”
The project is opening its San Francisco base this summer, and will be launching a social media project connecting scientists across the globe.
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.
Such research has the potential to free you, as well as the majority of all people on our planet, from disease, old age and even death.
For anyone interested, but skeptical, I am ready to prove the viability of the concept of cybernetic immortality by arranging an expert discussion with a team of the world’s leading scientist working in this field.
I will also be willing to coordinate your personal immortality project entirely free of charge for the sake of speeding up the development of these technologies,
This project is leading down the road to immortality. A person with a perfect Avatar will be able to remain part of society. People don’t want to die.
I understand these are some very big challenges for scientists. But I believe in something you call ‘The American Dream.’ If you put all your energy and time into something, you can make it a reality.
Itskov hopes to surgically “transplant a human consciousness” into a robot body within the next ten years.
He then wants to “upload minds without surgery,” leaving human bodies empty as their owners “live on” through their robot counterparts.
The project’s name, Avatar, comes from the James Cameron movie set in the future.
“The next effort of science will be to create a new body for the human being,’ said Itskov at the Global Future 2045 conference. “It will have a perfect brain-machine interface to allow control and a human brain life support system so the brain can survive outside the body.”
Itskov says that the system will at first be of interest to “disabled people and people at the edge of dying.”
“The third phase will be to create an artificial human brain,” he said.
His final goal, he says, is to upload human minds into holographic bodies.
Holograms give plenty of advantages. You can walk through walls, move at the speed of light. ‘Remember in Star Wars, Obi-Wan’s hologram? That was pretty amazing.’
Itskov hopes to work with DARPA, the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency in the US military.
DARPA is currently researching ways for troops to use their minds to remote control androids. The androids would take the place of human soldiers on the battlefield. The Pentagon has already invested $7 million in research for the project.
According to the Darpa’s 2013 budget: “The Avatar program will develop interfaces and algorithms to enable a soldier to effectively partner with a semi-autonomous bi-pedal machine and allow it to act as the soldier’s surrogate.”
Elite.
