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Category: geopolitics – Page 25

Living Forever Has Never Been More Popular

My dispatch for Vice from the recent successful RAAD Festival—a giant gathering of longevity enthusiasts:

In less than a month, I’ll mark the two-year anniversary to my presidential campaign for the Transhumanist Party. My run for the White House was never about winning, but spreading the idea that Americans can achieve indefinite lifespans through science and technology—if only the government were to help out and put significant resources into the anti-aging field.

While the US government still hasn’t shown much interest in supporting longevity research for its citizens, the life extension movement is dramatically expanding around the world. Two years ago, the idea of speaking to 1000 longevity advocates in the same convention hall was a pipe dream. Most transhumanist conferences could barely get 100 people in the same room.

Last weekend in San Diego, that all changed. Billed as the biggest life extension festival in history, RAAD Fest took place from August 4–7. Over 1000 participants made it to the sold-out event, making it the largest group of transhumanists and longevity activists ever to assemble in one place.

The success of the festival signals the growing trend of the life extension movement. In the last few years, major companies like Google’s Calico and Human Longevity Inc. have formed to combat aging. Additionally, billionaires like Peter Thiel and Larry Ellison have funded longevity and anti-aging initiatives. Even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg recently called for science to end all disease this century.

Continue reading “Living Forever Has Never Been More Popular” | >

AI for President

This is a comprehensive and critical write-up on some of my policies by some leading researchers and thinkers. It’s from the magazine website of the IEEE, the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and the applied sciences. Naturally, people in the field of science and engineering are some of the most difficult to please, since they are such critical thinkers (which is precisely why I like them so much):

When a transhumanist runs for president, what does that mean for society?

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Zoltan Istvan, Transhumanist Party Presidential Candidate

This has been a top trending video on SF Gate (the San Francisco Chronicle’s main website) for a few days now: http://video.sfgate.com/Zoltan-Istvan-Transhumanist-Party-Pr…e-31214223 The story is here and was also shared by Drudge Report: http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Chip-en…694149.php

Biohacker says the U.S. Needs a Science Party Source: SFGate.com

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What it’s like to counter-protest Christians as an atheist demonstrator at both political conventions

My new story for The Daily Dot. Also, cool future tech to help the nonreligious get the message out:

Of the thousands of protesters at the Republican and Democratic conventions, one of the most noticeable groups were the born-again Christians. But this year—perhaps for the first time at national conventions—they were met with resistance from organized atheist and transhumanist protesters clashing against them.

With approximately a dozen atheists and transhumanists, my group of supporters engaged the Christians and campaigned in front of them. Sometimes wearing Transhumanist Party t-shirts and holding posters, we argued with them, blocked press from getting good pictures of them, and generally promoted to the public the power of reason over faith.

Other protesters, often fans of Bernie Sanders, joined our cause and helped protest against them. One of my favorites was an LGBT supporter holding up a sign with a penis drawing on it and the words “I love sinning” emblazoned just below it.

At the Republican National Convention, my team and I were able to temporarily block the born-again Christian procession attempting to make their way down the busy E 4th St.—right in front of the MSNBC live filming booth. Additionally, it caught the attention of GOP delegates and press as they were making their way into the nearby convention center.

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Chip-enhanced political candidates coming soon

My new OpEd article for the San Francisco Chronicle on chip implants and transhumanism: http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Chip-en…694149.php They also did a 2-minute video of my presidential campaign: http://bit.ly/2aERJxc

The implant can do all sorts of things, like unlock my electronic house door, act as my password on my computer, and even send a text message when people with the right phone and app come near me. Keys, credit cards, ID cards, medical records and passwords — these are all things that can be replaced by a tiny chip in the hand. If having technology in your bodies sounds wacky, consider the millions of people around the world who have artificial hips or dentures, or deaf people who use cochlear implants to hear sounds. […] former Vice President Dick Cheney famously asked to have the Wi-Fi on his heart valve turned off, just in case terrorists tried to hack it. A company in Sylmar (Los Angeles County) called Second Sight already has FDA approval for bionic eyes.

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US surveillance plane makes emergency landing in Russia

We always hear how bad Russia is; etc. We never hear about these stories where they helped the US.

A U.S. Air Force surveillance plane making a routine flight over Russia to fulfill a treaty obligation was forced to make an emergency landing in eastern Russia earlier this week after experiencing a problem with its landing gear, a Pentagon spokes person told Fox News.

The unarmed American military plane had Russian officials on board as part of the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, which bounds 34 nations, including Russia and the United States, to allow military inspection flights to ensure compliance to long standing arms-control treaties and to offer greater transparency into each nation’s military capabilities.

“On July 27, a U.S. Open Skies Treaty observation aircraft took off from Russian airfield Ulan Ude to begin a Treaty observation flight but the aircraft landing gear did not fully retract,” Lt. Col. Michelle L. Baldanza, a Pentagon spokes person, said in an emailed statement to Fox News.

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The U.S. Presidential Candidate Who Loves Science, Technology, And…Immortality?

A new story with lots of transhumanism in it:

Zoltan Istvan is in the running for President of the United States. You may not have heard of him, but if elected, he hopes to put an end to death. All of it. (Yes, seriously).

There are people right now walking around with artificial hearts – something that many people believed would not happen for another decade (or even longer). There are quadriplegics no longer bound to a wheelchair, but walk with exoskeleton technology. There are hundreds of thousands of people with brain implants that help them with various ailments. In short, recent technological breakthroughs like these open up the possibility for humans to enhance themselves and their health—and perhaps to even become immortal (someday).

As you can imagine, such radical developments demand strong, intelligent and science-focused political leadership. That is why Zoltan Istvan, of the Transhumanist Party, says that he is running for U.S. President this year, as the #ScienceCandidate.

He thinks that, by encouraging America to embrace science and technology, we could transform our lives and the planet by overcoming poverty, aging, and even death…and all in the coming generation.

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The Pro-Science Presidential Candidate

A 6-min interview on transhumanism with The Young Turks from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia:

TYT’s Jimmy Dore spoke with Zoltan Istvan, the Transhumanist candidate for President of the United States. Istvan touched on the importance of scientific advancement in American politics, and discussed the unique aspects of the Transhumanist Party.

For more, subscribe to YouTube.com/TYTPolitics

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Zoltan, a presidential candidate for the future

A new story out on my time at the RNC from Orange County’s main paper. I’ll be at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Monday night and Tuesday day. Please join me and help spread #transhumanism! Some free Transhumanist Party t-shirts available (email me if you can make it: [email protected]) http://www.ocregister.com/articles/need-723287-says-income.html #ScienceCandidate #Election2016 #POTUS #TechVote

In Cleveland this week, I met the presidential candidate who’s looking farther into the future than any other.

I settled in at Chipotle’s with my chicken burrito and there he was, with two friends, sitting next to me.

After introductions, he got the conversation rolling by talking about the need to invest more in science and technology, paying for it by reducing defense spending.

To make sure he kept my attention, he moved quickly to his call for a Universal Basic Income. That’s a continuing government payment for everyone in the country, working or not.

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