Then theres perhaps the most important policy of all: how to manage the existential risks of rapid scientific advance: engineered viruses, nano-technology, home-made bio-hacking, and of course, artificial intelligence. Ray Kurzweil probably the worlds most famous Transhumanist, who works for Google thinks \"the singularity\" (the point at which artificial intelligence becomes so smart that it starts making even smarter versions of itself, leaving us mortals trailing behind) will be with us in 2045. Its a terrifying prospect. The Transhumanists themselves seem divided, although most agree that its at least a possibility this century. No party, argues Zoltan, is thinking properly about any of this, but they could become major threats to civilisation in the near future. \"Im not entirely sure yet how wed regulate it, but the Transhumanist Party will make this a top priority,\" he explains. \"Of course I support AI, nano-technology and other radical engineering, and would increase funding for all of it significantl, but strict safeguards need to be in place too.\" <\/p>\n
Zoltan also wants to make college mandatory, and free, for everyone. Which in fact sounds rather good. \"If we all live to 140, were going to need a smarter, more capable population\", he explains, when I suggest it sounds a bit Scandinavian for a Californian-based party that has tones of libertarianism. Of course, the Transhumanist Party doesnt yet have thought through policies on the bread and butter of government: immigration, housing policy, social welfare, and so on. Not that it matters, since at this point Zoltan doesnt really intend to win rather raise awareness about the party and the movement. Running for President will give him a platform, he hopes, to demonstrate that science and technology is good for people, for health and for wellbeing. (Interestingly, Zoltan thinks that his main adversaries in the future will be religious groups). <\/p>\n
So what are his chances? Its true were living in an age of political radicalism, and Zoltan hopes to capitalise on the frustration with centre-Left and Right \"establishment\" parties. Across Europe and the US the share of the vote among the big mainstream parties has been falling for years, with the leftovers being picked off by Tea Partyers, Ukippers, the Five Star Movement, and so on. \"I realise I wont win it this time around,\" he tells me. \"But by 2024 we will be a real, legitimate party with likely over half a million members approaching the Greens or the Libertarians. Thats when well really make our move.\" <\/p>\n
I think hes right that there will be space in politics for a movement that addresses our relationship with technology explicitly. Im not sure how accurate his timeline is (scientists Ive spoken to are more sceptical), but its certainly true that there are mind-boggling things under way. At Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, scientists are already connecting robotic limbs to the human nervous system of amputees: the first arm surgeries are scheduled to occur in less than 12 months. Then theres the \"Iron Man\" armour suit being created for American soldiers. Panasonic will be releasing an exoskeleton suit shortly. Injectable oxygen shots are already here. Some video games are already being played via mind-reading helmets. Enhanced contact lenses will soon allow people to have infrared night vision. It does all throw up important ethical and philosophical challenges. Is an uploaded mind still human? Should we give \"human rights\" to an artificial intelligence with a superior intellect to a human? Then theres the social problems. Presumably, human enhancement technologies would be disproportionately available to those with greater financial resources, creating a genetic divide. And if you lived forever, are you taking up the place of another generation? What about the more mundane things: what would be a fair prison sentence for murder if we could all live for 200 years? Or the right retirement age. Im guessing it wont be 70 if we can all make thirty score and ten. Above all: are we happy about all of this, and can we stop it? <\/p>\n
Either way, campaigning should be fun. At present Zoltan has a tiny team helping him, but hell be launching a Kickstarter campaign in January to raise more funds. In the summer, hell be touring California his home state on a campaign bus along with what he hopes will be a handful of six-foot-tall robots. Not everyone is happy though. There are those within the Transhumanist movement many of them scientists who dont like politics mixing with their pure research pursuits. Zoltan is a high-profile, but controversial, character within the movement especially after his book The Transhumanist Wager, which is a philosophical near-future dystopian thriller in which Transhumanists manage to launch the third world war from their floating \"seastead\". \"The Transhumanist movement has a lot of older white males with egos,\" he explains. \"But Im representing a new part of the movement. Young, revolutionary, and political.\" This has caused him some problems. \"Some of the older community are not very friendly to me,\" he says, a little forlornly. <\/p>\n
In the end, I suspect the Transhumanist Party, or something like it, will become part of the political furniture. It might take a little longer than Zoltans hopeful projections, but technology and humanitys relationship with it is certainly changing fast, and will increasingly be an important part of political debate. Thats usually a slow progression, but who knows? Sometimes political parties get thrust into the limelight because of events. <\/p>\n
A human being killed because of the decision of a piece of artificial intelligence, for example, would certainly propel the party forward. Or perhaps something even more dramatic? \"If I got shot while campaigning in 2015 the party I could really rise to prominence quickly,\", he says, almost hopefully. I couldnt tell if he was joking. <\/p>\n
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\nMeet the Transhumanist Party: 'Want to live forever? Vote for me'<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"