Immortality by 2045

[alakazam]

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/russian-billionaire-dmitry-itskov-plans-on-becoming-immortal-by-2045

 

I have come across this initiative started by the Russian billionaire Dmitry Itskov: http://2045.com

 

Is there any chance at all of this being scientifically doable in the near future? Is it a hoax?

[elfmotat]

Looks like a scam. I would stay away.

[EdEarl]

Even if it is possible, the probability of run away climate change killing most life on Earth is more likely; in which case, medical advances will not be important.

[fiveworlds]

the probability of run away climate change killing most life on Earth is more likely

 

Which *if* we are the cause of all we would need to do is have 1-2 child families for a while to reduce planetary population.

[Endy0816]

Well its tragedy of the commons writ large. Part of the problem is that damage already done will persist. Second issue is that people keep eying up our atmosphere for power generation and as a dumping grounds. Related issues going on with the oceans. Acidification and a growing plastisphere. Increasingly the world is an agglomeration of natural evolution and man made changes. We are nothing if not adaptable so it isn't all doom and gloom, but there could well be minor and major issues along the way.

 

Anyhow...

 

A - Possible though BCI is still pretty crude and we still need to work on the input problem. It isn't enough that you send information out, your brain also needs to receive information back in. We typically piggy back on your optics system, but that can't provide fine control. Would need heavy safeguards to mitigate the risk of someone hijacking the sensory stream. Brings a whole new meaning to "zero day attack" when one could wipe out the human race.

 

B - Brain in a Vat. You would need a support system to maintain your brain. Probably easier to keep the two separate and have you control a robotic body or bodies remotely. You'd need to handle nutrients, waste cleaning, some form of immune response, your thought process also closely relies upon different hormones so that may need to be factored in as well. This also doesn't rule out cancerous cells(though it does substantially lower your risk).

 

C - I suspect this step will be more one of teaching than mapping. I don't personally think there is enough to speculate about what would be required.

 

D- Holograms like Star Trek? Entertaining but holograms of that sort are in the "almost certainly impossible" range. Kind of pointless too if you are an algorithm interacting with other algorithms. If you feel like taking a stroll grab your lifelike robot body or even assume control of a biological one for awhile.

[Marios Kyriazis]

The initiative is not a (deliberate) hoax but it is based on some strange assumptions. It is one thing to talk about eliminating mortality as a function of age (eliminating ageing as a process) and another to aim for immortality. Even if we somehow eliminate ageing as a cause of death, people will still die from any other cause such as infections, explosions, cancer, accidents etc etc.