Brett McGinness

Reno Gazette-Journal

Big promises are the hallmark of presidential campaigns.

Four years ago, Newt Gingrich said he’d make the moon the 51st state by 2020. Bernie Sanders has proposed free college education for every American. Donald Trump has promised to build a 1,900-mile wall on the border with Mexico.

Transhumanist Party candidate Zoltan Istvan wants to conquer death.

Not personally, that is. He’s leaving that up to the researchers. But Istvan predicts that within 10 to 15 years, artificial intelligence will advance to the point of solving all of civilization’s most vexing problems — including, among other things, how to slow or halt the aging process by integrating our human selves with technology.

To Istvan, the possibility isn’t in the realm of outlandish science fiction. Istvan says artificial general intelligence — that is, a computer brain that can do anything a human can do — will be arriving on the scene soon, and the United States needs to develop it first. And he thinks the U.S. government needs to have a plan in place to deal with it before it arrives.

“One hundred percent, this is the arms race of civilization,” he says.

The bus stops here

Before you start planning your trip to Istvan’s inauguration, there’s one minor detail: He’s not on the ballot anywhere yet. And ballots are generally recognized as the main method for voters to communicate who they’d like to elect. But this is Istvan’s first campaign, and he estimates that he has between 250,000 and 1 million backers ready to write him in, if necessary. That puts him about 65 million votes shy of Barack Obama’s vote total in the 2012 election, but it’s a start — especially considering that the Transhumanist Party was founded only two years ago, and has been self-funded by Istvan.

Well, mostly self-funded. He does have the crowdfunded Immortality Bus, the coffin-shaped vehicle that has served as a morbid Oscar Meyer Wienermobile for the campaign. “It will probably go out on tour later this summer, but I’m not sure how much longer the Immortality Bus is going to be a part of the campaign,” he said. “Given how large and serious my presidential run has become to the tech and science communities – it's quite possible I'll finish fifth in total votes in the country — the bus may be a little too playful to continue with it." And if you’re on the same page as Istvan, the stakes may be too high to look less than presidential.

There can be only one

Among those researching artificial general intelligence (AGI), estimates on when we’ll see computers as smart as humans range from “any minute now” to “never.” Creating an artificial program with the computing and creative power of the human brain may be impossible altogether. But if it ever happens, AGI’s ability to learn from itself could quickly leave human thought in the dust.

“It’s about having an entity that’s far smarter than us very quickly,” Istvan says. Theorists say there’s no chance that a second country could develop AGI. Like sharks killing their siblings in utero, the first instinct for AGI would be to block a second instance of AGI from occurring.

“Whichever country develops (AGI) first, that’s the moment that the global political landscape will change around the world. If North Korea gets this first, it’s ‘game over’ for civilization.”

Make algorithms great again

Presuming that AGI is possible, the possibilities are limitless. Artificial intelligence designed to help humanity might be able to achieve seemingly “impossible” tasks — from halting the aging process to providing abundant energy to reversing climate change — as easily as a human might open a window to let a fly outside.

But what happens to politics in a world where humans are no longer the smartest?

“Politics will remain for a long time, at least 50 years into the future,” says Istvan, though eventually its role will be subsumed by AGI. “The job of the president is to do the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people. That’s a job that a machine can tackle better than a human.” He speculates that within 25 years, voters might be selecting a two-entity ticket — one human, and one machine — or that we may be voting for a human integrated with a machine. And after a while, humans may be ready to hand over the keys of civilization to the algorithms optimized to enhance our well-being.

“If there were an algorithm (today) that would help us become happiest, most of us would probably take it.”

Why politics?

Istvan isn’t under any illusions that he’ll win the presidency. He says he’d like to play a role in a presidential administration to better implement his transhumanist ideas, and he’s not picky about which candidate he’d join.

“At this point in time, because I’m a centric person, I’m not really interested in politics per se,” he says. “The government spends about 20% of the GDP on the military, and only 2% on science. We need to cut the military and put that money into technology and science … We should fight a war against cancer instead of a war in the Middle East.”

If given the chance, says he’d advocate for a widespread allocation of AGI’s benefits.

“This is probably the number one question I get … We would create types of systems or government programs where everyone would have access.” In a world where parents might be able to select every aspect of their unborn child from eye color to height to intelligence, proper regulations would ensure that turning your offspring into superhumans wouldn’t only be for the rich and well-connected.

“Transhumanists wouldn’t want to create a dystopian society. The ability to use transhumanist technology is a universal right.”

Call me, maybe

Istvan estimates that he has between 250,000 and 1 million supporters ready to back whichever campaign might promise him a role in their administration, believing that he might be able to deliver between 30,000 and 50,000 votes in Florida, a potential swing state. Prior to the Libertarian Party Convention naming former Massachusetts governor William Weld as Gary Johnson’s running mate, he says he spoke with Johnson about a role as VP.

As for the other two?

“It amazes me that Trump and Clinton haven’t even broached this. I haven’t heard a word out of them.”

But he says that is quest won’t be one-and-done, and expects to run again in 2020 — barring a phone call from the 2016 winner. “There’s a huge amount of millennials coming into the transhumanist movement, like environmentalism 20 years ago,” Istvan says. Now, he argues that half the world’s population would consider themselves environmentalists. “It just took a while to catch on.”

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