HEALTH & WELLBEING

"Avatar" project aims for human immortality by

2045
By Dario Borghino
July 25, 2012

VIEW 3 IMAGES

Russian media enterpreneur Dmitry Itskov is heading a project that will try and achieve human immortality
within the next three decades (Image: 2045.com)

VIEW GALLERY - 3 IMAGES

Join Our Global BIM Certification

Open
Course and Work at Par with…
Russian media magnate Dmitry Itskov is heading "Avatar," a tremendously ambitious and far-
reaching multidisciplinary research project that aims to achieve immortality in humans within
the next three decades. He plans to do it by housing human brains in progressively more
disembodied vehicles, first transplanting them into robots and then, by the year 2045, by
reverse-engineering the human brain and effectively "downloading" human consciousness
onto a computer chip.

Fact or fiction?

When speculating on seemingly unobtainable goals such as this, one must be careful not to
believe that improbable technological advances automatically become more likely simply by
looking further away in the future. This is the cognitive trap that, for instance, has seen many
leading IT experts predict the development of a human-level artificial intelligence at roughly
twenty years in the future for at least the past five decades.

MORE STORIES
New rheumatoid arthritis drug
passes Phase 3 trial, looks to
approval

New research points to

Join Our Global BIM Certification

potentially harmful chemicals in

Open
Course and Worktattoo
at Par ink
with…
Looking at Avatar's proposed timeline, Itskov's project seems to suffer from the same fallacy.
Certainly, if we borrow Carl Sagan's rule that "extraordinary claims demand extraordinary
proof," the project comes up short for the time being; it does, however, have the merit of
basing most of its steps on technology that is either in the works or of general interest. And
with the rate of technological change continuing to accelerate, the project's goals may be
within reach, although not necessarily within the project's aggressive timeline.

The roadmap to immortality

Join Our Global BIM Certification

Open
Course and Work at Par with…
The Avatar project roadmap (Image: 2045.com)

The first of the proposed steps, to be completed before the end of the decade, would be to
create an android "avatar" controlled entirely by a brain-computer interface. The system
would at first be of interest to physically challenged people, but might also enable people to
work in hazardous environments or perform dangerous rescue operations.

As futuristic as this vision may seem, Itskov is not the only person to share it. DARPA allotted
US$7 million of next year's budget to the development of interfaces enabling a soldier to guide
a semi-autonomous bipedal machine and allow it to act as the soldier's surrogate. Other
researchers have reported being able to exert basic control over the movement of a humanoid
robot using brainwaves alone, and many are working on refining this technology.

The second step would be the creation of an autonomous life support system for the human
brain, which could then be integrated into the previously developed "avatar" by 2025. If the
efforts are successful, immobile patients with an intact brain would be able to regain the
ability to move via their new synthetic bodies, and a varied range of bio-electronic devices
might become possible, creating superimpositions of electronic and biological systems.

Join Our Global BIM Certification

Open
Course and Work at Par with…
Not a great deal of research is going into this at the moment – in fact, the closest match
would have to be the research of Dr. Robert J. White who, back in the 70s, managed to
perform several head transplants in monkeys. Building an artificial environment in which a
brain could not only survive, but also continue working to full effect, is sure to prove a much
harder task.

By 2035, Itskov hopes to be able to reverse-engineer the human brain and find a means of
"downloading" its consciousness to a synthetic version. Coupled with the previous
advancements, this would allow humans to achieve cybernetic immortality. It would also lead
to the creation of a human-like artificial intelligence, and even provide opportunities for
ordinary people to restore or enhance their own brains, for instance by manipulating
memories.

While there is no current research going into transferring your consciousness into a silicon
chip, there is plenty of interest among neuroscientists in better understanding the inner
workings of the brain. Although we are just scratching the surface, recent advancements –
such as a robotic arm that can analyze the electricity patterns of single neurons – are
certainly steps in the right direction.

Join Our Global BIM Certification

Open
Course and Work at Par with…
The fourth and final step is also the most science-fictiony. By the year 2045, Itskov would like
to see "substance-independent minds" uploaded not onto a computer chip, but into bodies of
different compositions. A holographic body could walk through walls or move at the speed of
light, while a body made of nanorobots would be able to take on a number of different forms
at will. "Humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary
transition and eventually become a new species," he writes.

Funding and support

The Dalai Lama has expressed support for the Avatar initiative (Photo: 2045.com)

Join Our Global BIM Certification

Open
Course and Work at Par with…
Itskov says he has invested plenty of his own money to kick start the necessary research,
hiring 30 scientists to reach this goal, organizing meetings, with plans to establish offices in
San Francisco later this summer. He is also working on building a social network to raise
awareness in his initiative, and on a "business incubator" for the creation of commercial
applications - mostly in the medical field - that would capitalize on the research and fund
further development. In other words, as crazy as this sounds, Itskov is absolutely serious
about this, and the wheels are turning on this project.

Of course, the sheer pace of scientific inquiry required to make this project succeed will
require very large - perhaps prohibitive - amounts of capital. To address this, Itskov recently
addressed a letter to billionaires in the Forbes richest list in an appeal for funds, but he is also
looking for government support.

Surprisingly, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science announced its support of the
initiative, and has scheduled talks to discuss a specialized research and development center.
Oddly enough, the initiative has also received the support and blessing of the Dalai Lama.

The video below is a short presentation detailing the steps and goals of the "Avatar" project.

Join Our Global BIM Certification

Source: 2045 Initiative Open

Course and Work at Par with…
2045: A New Era for Humanity

VIEW GALLERY - 3 IMAGES

We recommend

From remote tourism to metaverse, a new robotic Bladder Cancer Patients With ARID1A Mutation,
avatar made in Italy CXCL13 Expression Respond Better to
by Italian Institute of Technology,
TechXplore.com, Immunotherapy
Join Our Global BIM Certification
Precision Oncology News, 2020
2022 Open
Course and Work at Par with…