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Some scientists question the value of mixing politics with science. Not so at the . We鈥檙e sick and tired of seeing career politicians 鈥� nearly half of them 鈥� control national science agendas and budgets.
We want passionate pro-science politicians to determine scientific policy, spending and research ethics in our nation. So we decided to get involved ourselves.
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I formed the US party, the first political entity of its kind in October 2014. There are now others around the globe. Our motto is: 鈥淧utting science, medicine, and technology at the forefront of US politics鈥�. I am the party鈥檚 nominated 2016 presidential candidate.
My campaign鈥檚 main job is to set out science and technology policy from a pro-innovation point of view 鈥� not one shaped by religion, ethnicity, culture or history. I think the world鈥檚 problems can be best solved by scientific or technological solutions. Our is to reduce the size of the US military and spend the money saved on science and medical research.
And we are also trying to spread awareness of the increasing speed at which science and technology are changing our world. Everything from CRISPR gene editing to our smartphone addictions to robots taking our jobs.
And the near future will be many times more dramatic: driverless cars, , ectogenesis using artificial wombs, virtual reality sex, and telepathy via mindreading headsets.
Also coming soon or already here are bionic arms, brain implants, AIs, exoskeleton suits and designer babies. These technologies will change the world and how we see ourselves as human beings.
The conundrum facing society is whether we鈥檙e ready for this. Transhumanism and my political party say yes. But wider America 鈥� with its 75 per cent Christian population 鈥� may not be.
They need to know that the transhumanist age is arriving, like it or not. The signs are everywhere. Not only has transhumanism become a for a new generation pondering the significance of merging with machines, but transhumanist-themed are appearing in major media while mainstream media heavyweights like , and discuss it publicly.
And Google has now hired futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil as lead engineer to work on artificial intelligence, while J. Craig Venter鈥檚 San Diego-based genome sequencing has longevity in its sights.
With science and technology as our tools, the human species can seek out and challenge the very nature of its being and place in the universe. That will almost certainly mean the end of human death by mid-century if governments allow the science and medicine to develop. It will likely mean the transformation of the species from biological entities into something with tech built directly into it.
My campaign and party are trying to lead the way, so that humanity becomes a science-inspired species.
Zoltan Istvan is a writer, futurist and philosopher, and Transhumanist Party candidate in the US presidential election
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