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July 18, 2012

Russian research project offers 'immortality' to billionaires - by transplanting their brains into robot bodies

A Russian entrepreneur who heads a hi-tech research project called 'Avatar' has contacted billionaires to offer them immortality.

Itskov claims he will personally oversee their immortality process, in exchange for an undisclosed fee.


Itskov, a media entrepreneur, claims to have hired 30 scientists to reach this goal - and aims to transplant a human brain into a robot body within 10 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,' says Itskov in a letter delivered to billionaires listed in Forbes magazine.


He has contacted a list of billionaires with a proposal for funding his quest for immortality - which Itskov refers to as 'cybernetic immortality' and the 'artificial body'.

The initiative is opening its San Francisco office this summer, and will be launching a social media project connecting scientists around the world.

'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,' says Itskov's official site.


    '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,' says Itskov. '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,’ Itskov says. ‘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 envisages surgically 'transplanting' a human consciousness into a robot body within 10 years.

    He hopes to then 'upload' minds without surgery, leaving human bodies as empty husks as their owners 'live on' inside robots.

    The project is called Avatar after the James Cameron movie, set far in the future, where human soldiers use mind control to inhabit the bodies of human alien hybrids as they carry out a war against the inhabitants of a distant world.


      'The next effort of science will be to create a new body for the human being,' says Itskov, speaking 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 says - a computer environment into which human minds can be uploaded.


      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, he says. ‘Remember in Star Wars, Obi-Wan’s hologram? That was pretty amazing.’

      Itskov says he wants to work with DARPA - the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency in the U.S military.


      DARPA is already researching ways for its troops to use their minds to remotely control androids who will take human soldiers' place on the battlefield.

      The Pentagon's hi-tech research arm, has earmarked $7million for research into the project, also nicknamed Avatar.

      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.'


      28 comments:

      1. Whew! That is REALLY REFRESHING News! Ahem...yeah, sure.

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      2. Pretty ambitious considering we don't even know what consciousness is much less being able to upload it to machines. But if he can scam some billionaires all the more power to him.

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        1. you are the naieve one, how can you be really sure something like that doesnt exist already, youre a dumbass

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        2. LOL...my thoughts exactly!~

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      3. Pheww! Nothing new here! Just look at our democratically elected caring,concerned politician .e.g. Bwak,Cameron,Holland,Merkel.ect..ect.. They are robots already with a psychopatic cobra brain!

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      4. Shades of Futurama

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      5. what a dipshit scam

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      6. Better (?!) than using on demand matched body parts or whole bodies of prisoners or cult members for sale that have been used up to now. The first (reportedly) successful head transplants took place in the 1970s on our cousins:

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdJGlYOL0r4

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      7. Putting robots in...Robots...How fitting...

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      8. I have some beach front property in he middle of the valleys if any Billionaires are interested

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        Replies
        1. yes sir im actully searching for a property in that area need v.quick reponse.

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      9. Even if its not real and the guy is scamming, who cares this is what we EXPECT from the future, and it would be great to have a glimpse of what our children COULD expect.. Great story ,m

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      10. Great comments! Can you think of anything more horrific than being trapped here physically for an eternity?

        I'm in any case convinced that life continues anyway after physical death. Umpteen books have been written on the subject!
        http://lifeonotherworlds.com/books/books.html

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      11. Dreaming, Brain Signals aren't controlled by Material Elements...

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      12. hahaha, robots with alzheimer's

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      13. your brain is not who and what you are .............not even close .....the fools

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      14. Nothing new. Robocop...u late...

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24b6pYGT9MM

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      15. Looks like the robot body has already been built : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oHiB8AzSpA

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      16. lets just wait 10 years

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      17. ..Anybody got a billion dollars I can borrow?...

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      18. Welcom to futurama!
        Were the cyborgs'l shoot ur mama...

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      19. lets not forget Timothy Leary having his fucking head FROZEN to minus 350 degrees in the hopes that he can be revived some day! imagine all those scummy suckers who would rather waste thousands of dollars (it cost 150 thousand for the whole body deep frozen) on a pipe-dream then helping their families out!
        As far as this joker, I hope he bilks a few billionaires out of some scratch

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      20. This is rather simple: If the brain of a person continues to 'Live' after death by being kept 'Alive' artificially, you will have a 'Vegetable' client/Robot that will have to be trained OR more likely use bio-downloadable programs to animate him or her. The original Personality and Soul will be gone! IF any 'Spirit' can be ushered in by chance, it WILL be what is called a "Walk-in" and NOT the original 'Being' for which the Body was originally intended.

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      21. Oh, great, just what our future generations need, a bunch of robot billionaires controlling the government.

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