Science

Oh, those uber-wealthy Russians. Always coming up with incredible (incredibly unrealistic) schemes into which they can dump their money and boredom. One of the most recent ideas to come out of Mother Russia is, what else, immortality. In this case, a 31-year old Russian media mogul by the name of Dmitry Itskov is funding an incredibly ambitious project to create a robot that could house and sustain a human brain, preserving its consciousness in perpetuity. A recent feature in Gizmodo outlines Itskov’s plan to create this man-bot in as little as one decade.

"This project is leading down the road to immortality,” Itskov told Gizmodo. “A person with a perfect Avatar will be able to remain part of society. People don't want to die.” Itskov, owner of the online news outlet managing company New Media, has made millions from his online ventures. With the fortune he’s made from New Media he claims to have hired 30 researchers from inside Russia for his sci-fi-sounding project, but now wants to outsource the work to the larger global scientific community. He announced his plan at Global Future 2045, a convention of futurists hosted in Moscow.

Itskov’s plan is to develop the robot in stages, starting with robotic components that can be manipulated by the human mind. The first stage, at least, is feasible with other researchers in other parts of the world already having created robotic arms controlled by the minds of Chimpanzees. Johns Hopkins University has also develops artificial limbs that are controlled by paraplegic patients.