The Longevity Party is grassroots, it emerged from the Russian transhumanist movement and has no powerful sponsor.
Evolution 2045 is the project of a rich guy (Dmitry Itskov) who’s a futurist nationalist and a Kurzweil fan. The proposal that everyone should have a chance to upload is part of a broader program which also includes more conventional affirmations of national development, interfaith outreach to show that religion isn’t threatened by these ideas, etc. I think it still exists mostly on the level of conferences, networking, and mission statements, and that he hasn’t spent much money yet.
I would welcome a better answer from someone in Russia who actually knows the facts on the ground!
Do we believe Dmitry Itskov is a billionaire? Google shows MSM outlets repeating the claim, but it doesn’t look very researched and there are no hits except to the 2045 project.
The Longevity Party is grassroots, it emerged from the Russian transhumanist movement and has no powerful sponsor.
Evolution 2045 is the project of a rich guy (Dmitry Itskov) who’s a futurist nationalist and a Kurzweil fan. The proposal that everyone should have a chance to upload is part of a broader program which also includes more conventional affirmations of national development, interfaith outreach to show that religion isn’t threatened by these ideas, etc. I think it still exists mostly on the level of conferences, networking, and mission statements, and that he hasn’t spent much money yet.
I would welcome a better answer from someone in Russia who actually knows the facts on the ground!
Do we believe Dmitry Itskov is a billionaire? Google shows MSM outlets repeating the claim, but it doesn’t look very researched and there are no hits except to the 2045 project.
Note that Itskov spoke at the 2011 Singularity Summit.
I changed the description to “entrepreneur”. He’s president of the company that owns some major Russian portals, that much is verifiable.