Visionary Or Insane? Often It Is Difficult To Tell

This Man Is Not A Cyborg.  Yet. by David Segal.  The New York Times.  June 1, 2013.

Science and medicine  often produce distinctive work when confronted with provocative questions or projects.  This project certainly fits that label, raising questions of consciousness, intelligence, and immortality.

The essence of the project, call the 2045 Initiative, for the year the Russian entrepreneur who funds it. hopes it is completed, "envisions the mass production of lifelike, low-cost avatar, that can be uploaded with the contents of a human brain, complete with all the particulars of consciousness and personality."

Insane?  Perhaps. But his second annual 2045 Global Future Congress in New York City will be attended by, among many others,  George M. Church,  professor at the Harvard Medical School and one of the great pioneers of genetics.  He says:  "I have a rule against saying something is impossible unless it violates laws of physics."

Visit the Congress website and listen to some of the prominent attendees who have prepared You Tube videos dealing with relevant issues.