Can we use technology to live forever?

Everybody desires to live forever even when we know we can’t. Russian media mogul and multimillionaire Dmitry Itskov has set out to defy the odds of dying by uploading a human consciousness into a robot that can live forever. To achieve this, he has brought together some of the world’s leading robot builders, neuroscientist and consciousness researchers with the aim of uploading the human mind to a computer. The project itself is referred to as 2045 Initiative.

The first stage of initiative 2045 is to create a robotic human that is controllable by the brain. This phase is scheduled to be completed by 2020. By the time the group is in the last stage of development in 2045, they hope to have transferred an entirely human consciousness into a robotic avatar or holographic.

Itskov, the creator of Moscow-based media firm New Media Stars, has already poured millions of dollars into the research since it started. His team has a common belief that the human brain is remarkably similar to a computer and because of this, they will eventually be in a position to transfer it to some upgradable bodies.

Currently, Itskov has noted that he has upped the urgency of the research since if there is no immortality technology, he will be dead in the next 35 years. He noted this in an upcoming BBC Horizon documentary called The Immoralist that is set to be broadcasted on March 16. He further notes that the ultimate goal of his plan is to transfer someone’s personality into a new artificial carrier. Different scientists call it mind transfer while some call it uploading, but he prefers to call it personality transfer.

The research team is reported to have been paying close attention to the ongoing case of Erik Sorto – a quadriplegic who is part of California Institute of Technology research carrying out a similar form of mind transfer. Itskov noted in The Sunday Times that he wants this technology to be available to every person, including himself. He further noted that to a lesser degree, he is motivated by fear of death, and he wishes to postpone that moment.

In 2013, Itskov told the New York Times that the whole problem with humanity is that they don’t plan for the future. He further noted that leaders are fully focused on stability while people are left without something that can unite the whole community. The initiative will inspire people and help change the whole picture, and it is not just a science-fiction book. The strategy is already being worked on.

Featured image credit:dailymail