Dmitry Itskov on Singularity 1 on 1: It’s Time To Think About Who We Are And What Is Our Place In The Universe

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Yesterday I was very fortunate to get a rare English language interview from Dmitry Itskov – the elusive Russian entrepreneur spearheading project Avatar and Global Future 2045.

The first time I saw Itskov was at the recent Singularity Summit where he revealed his uniquely ambitious project. I don’t know Dmitry well but he may just turn out to be one of those soft-spoken, under-the-radar and camera-shy people who actually make things happen. I was impressed by his breadth of knowledge and courage to conduct our interview entirely in English. Itskov also impressed me as a very thorough person who makes the effort to respect all sides and points of view yet without sacrificing his personal integrity and commitments. That is why I will follow his progress with interest.

During our discussion with Dmitry we cover topics such as: his humanitarian motivation and the interesting fact that he initially was not even familiar with the concept of the singularity; the ongoing goals and recent success of the Global Future 2045 congress recently launched in Moscow; his project Avatar – its goals, timeline and benchmarks; brain and head transplantation and the 1960′s experiments of Dr. R. J. White and his Soviet counterparts; our fear of the future and his advice to focus on the benefits and dream more often rather than the risks only; the general resolution that he is working on submitting to the UN general assembly; religion and Dmitry’s genuine desire to engage all major traditions in discussing the project and especially its political and ethical implications.

(As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.)

Dmitry Itskov: Welcome to the Global Future 2045

Ray Kurzweil about GF2045 and ‘Avatar’

Who is Dmitry Itskov?

Dmitry & Ray at GF2045

Dmitry Itskov is the founder and President of New Media Stars. He attended the top economics university in Russia and has 13+ years of work experience in media projects.

Itskov heard about life-extension with the use of cybernetic technology and immediately realized how he could apply his experience and resources to create a social movement in support of such life-saving technology. Since then he has collaborated and partnered with many of the world’s leading scientists, physicists, philosophers, and religious leaders to create life-extension products that will be affordable and available to all of humanity.

Dmitry has initiated a conversation with the UN about life-extension technology (which was the purpose of the recent GF2045 congress in Moscow) and hopes to spark global discussion on its ethical and political implications.

Related articles

• The Complete 2011 Singularity Summit Video Collection

Print PDF

Tagged as: avatar project, Dmitry Itskov, Global Future 2045