Редактирование: History of transhumanism

{{languages|История трансгуманизма}}
{{Featured article|History of transhumanism}}
The '''history of transhumanism''' is complicated and relatively poorly documented prior to the internet age. However the dynamics of the movement are accelerating in recent years as more people are drawn to it without a strong sense of history.
{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmtrvkGXBn0</embedvideo|500|right|High level analysis from [[Nick Bostrom]] talking about the evolution from the 90's and criticism of contemporary [[techno-optimism]] and the history of the [[World Transhumanist Association]]. (Interviewed by [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEne3aAgie57IvOZKKSxi9Q Adam Ford])}}

== Sources ==
The following main sources were used in compiling this list:
* [http://www.theverge.com/a/transhumanism-2015/history-of-transhumanism A Timeline of Transhumanism] on The Verge, 2015
* [http://www.nickbostrom.com/papers/history.pdf A history of transhumanist thought (PDF)] - written by [[Nick Bostrom]], 2005
* [http://jetpress.org/v20/steinhart.htm Teilhard de Chardin and Transhumanism] - written by [[Eric Steinhart]], 2008

Additional notable events have been added as necessary.

Yet to be integrated:

* [http://lincoln.metacannon.net/2017/11/a-brief-history-of-religious.html A Brief History of Religious Transhumanism] by [[Lincoln Cannon]]

== Timeline ==
=== Prehistory ===
* See [[Prehistory of Transhumanism]]
=== 1900 to 1940's precursors ===
[[File:Pasternak fedorov.jpg|100px|right]]
* 1906 - [[Nikolai Fyodorov]] establishes [[Russian cosmism]], a spiritual belief system and precursor to transhumanism which advocates for [[physical immortality]], [[space exploration]], and [[digital resurrection|resurrecting the dead through science]].
* 1923 - British scientist and Marxist J. B. S. Haldane publishes Daedalus; or, Science and the Future which offers an early vision of transhumanist thought, particularly concerned with the ethical implications of the advancement of science. He also commented on what has in recent years become known as the "[[yuck factor]]"<ref name="bostromhistory />
[[File:Amazing stories 193804.jpg|right|100px]]
* 1929 - British scientist John Desmond Bernal publishes The World, the Flesh and the Devil, introducing ideas central to transhumanism including liveable space habitats, and the future changes science could bring to human intelligence and physicality.
* 1931 - Amazing Stories publishes "[[The Jameson Satellite]]", a short story by Neil R. Jones, about a man whose corpse is sent into orbit, where it remains near absolute zero for millions of years until a race of cyborgs discovers it, defrosts its brain, and installs it in a robot's body.
* 1932 - [[Brave New World]] is published by Aldous Huxley, brother of Julian Huxley, describing a transhumanist [[dystopia]] where psychological conditioning, promiscuous sexuality, biotechnology, and the opiate drug "soma" keep the population placid in a static, conformist caste society<ref name="bostromhistory />
[[File:TeilhardP 1947.jpg|100px|right]]
* 1935-6 - The French technocrat [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Coutrot Jean Coutrot] uses the word "[[transhumanisme]]" in writings in the French language<ref>[https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01618448/document "Aux origines du mot 'transhumanisme'"] - Analysis by Olivier Dard and Alexandre Moatti</ref><ref>[http://chsp.sciences-po.fr/en/fond-archive/coutrot-jean Coutrot, Jean] - article in SciencesPo Centre d'Histoire</ref>
* 1940 - [[W. D. Lighthall]] is the first person known to use the word 'transhumanism' in the English language. He writes of '[St] Paul's '''Transhumanism'''' possibly in a homage to a 'transhuman change', a heavenwards journey featured in the 1814 English translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy.<ref>[https://academic.oup.com/nq/article/62/3/465/1141551 The History of ‘Transhumanism’]</ref><ref name="namehistory">[http://www.theologyplus.org/the-history-of-the-word-transhumanism/ The History of the Word “Transhumanism”]</ref>
* 1945 - The reaction to the Holocaust where over 6 million Jews and other groups undesirable to the Nazi regime were systemically killed mostly marks the end of western affinity for [[eugenics]] and similar programmes<ref name="bostromhistory />
* 1945 - [[Vannevar Bush]] publishes [[As We May Think]] in <i>The Atlantic</i>,<ref name="bush-as-we-may-think">[https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/ As We May Think] by [[Vannevar Bush]], <i>The Atlantic</i>, July 1945</ref> detailing the concept of a [[memex]] and laying out an early vision of an information society enabled by hypertext and [[Memory augmentation|collective memory]].
* 1948 - Inspired by "The Jameson Satellite" cryonics founder Robert Ettinger publishes his short story "The Penultimate Trump," in Startling Stories. In it, Ettinger proposes cryonics as "one-way medical time travel to the future."
* 1949 - [[Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]], philosopher and Jesuit priest, paleontologist and geologist who coined the term [[Omega Point Theory|Omega Point]] writes of man 'trans-humanizing' himself<ref>http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=2287&C=2177</ref>

=== 1950's to 1970's ===
[[File:Julian Huxley 1964.jpg|100px|right]]
* 1951 - Noted [[eugenics|eugenicist]] and evolutionary biologist [[Julian Huxley]] uses the term "transhumanism" in a lecture delivered in Washington DC titled ''Knowledge, Morality and Destiny''. Huxley describes his philosophy as "the idea of humanity attempting to overcome its limitations and to arrive at fuller fruition."<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/13997038/History_of_transhumanism A history of 'transhumanism'] by Peter Harrison & Joseph Wolyniak</ref>
* 1954 - Jerry Sohl publishes his sci-fi story "The Altered Ego," in which a man is able to make a digital duplicate of his mind and access it after his death. This marks the first appearance of [[mind-uploading]] in fiction.
* 1957 - "The word “transhumanism” first gained significant recognition when used by Julian Huxley, a distinguished biologist (who was also the first director‐general of UNESCO and a founder of the World Wildlife Fund). In his second edition Religion Without Revelation (1957), he wrote: <blockquote>''The human species can, if it wishes, transcend itself – not just sporadically, an individual here in one way, an individual there in another way – but in its entirety, as humanity. We need a name for this new belief. Perhaps '''transhumanism''' will serve: man remaining man, but transcending himself, by realizing new possibilities of and for his human nature''"<ref name="bostromhistory>[http://www.nickbostrom.com/papers/history.pdf A HISTORY OF TRANSHUMANIST THOUGHT] Note, 'transhumanism' being coined in the 1927 edition of 'Religion Without Revelation' appears to be an error in the source, it is actually the 1957 edition</ref></blockquote>
* 1959 - Physicist Richard P. Feynman presents the lecture, There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom, suggesting the possibility of the manipulation of atoms in synthetic chemistry. The lecture will later inspire the field of [[nanotechnology]].
* 1964 - Robert Ettinger publishes "[[The Prospect of Immortality]]," a manifesto for [[cryonics]]. A small number of cryonics societies are established across the US.
[[File:Fred and linda.jpg|100px|right]]
* 1965 - Cryptographer and computer scientist Irving John Good publishes "Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine," the first proposal for a possible future intelligence explosion in machine learning.
* 1967 - Philosopher Harry Overstreet make the first mention "[[extropy]]" — the attempt to counteract the natural law of entropy — in a 1967 volume of the journal, Physis.
* 1967 - The first person is cryogenically frozen at the Cryonics Society of California by the society's president — [[Robert Nelson]], a television repairman. The operation was ultimately deemed unsuccessful and Nelson's clients were "lost."<ref>http://www.alcor.org/Library/html/suspensionfailures.html</ref>
* 1968 - [[The Mother of All Demos]] is presented at the ACM/IEEE Computing Society's Fall Joint Computer Conference by [[Douglas Engelbart]] of the [[Augmentation Research Center]], establishing many modern computing concepts.
[[File:FM2030.jpg|right|100px]]
* 1972 - [[Fred & Linda Chamberlain]] establish the [[Alcor]] Society for Solid State Hypothermia, later renamed to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, in Los Angeles. Fred Chamberlain had previously worked as a space program engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
* 1972 - Apollo 17 becomes the final manned mission to the Moon.
* 1972 - The Club of Rome publishes The Limits to Growth, positing dire projections of a [[overpopulation|growing global population]] and dwindling resources.
* 1973 - [[FM-2030]], then known as Fereidoun M. Esfandiary, publishes [[Up-Wingers: A Futurist Manifesto]].
* 1974 - Physicist Gerard K. O'Neil publishes "The Colonization of Space" in Physics Today. O'Neil advocates "finding high quality living space for a world population that is [[overpopulation|doubling every 35 years]]; finding clean, practical energy sources; preventing overload of Earth's heat balance."
* 1975 - The L5 Society is established to continue O'Neil's work advocating for space colonization. Its members include [[Eric Drexler]].
* 1976 - The [[Cryonics Institute]] is established and freezes its first clients in liquid nitrogen.

=== 1980's ===
[[File:NVM_2016_a.png|100px|right]]
* 1980 - The L5 Society helps defeat US ratification of the Moon Treaty, paving the way for private space exploration and resource exploitation of celestial bodies.
* 1983 - [[Natasha Vita-More]] publishes [[Transhumanist Declaration#Transhumanist Art Statement | The Transhuman Manifesto]].
* 1984 - The first definitive [[cyberpunk]] novel Neuromancer by [[William Gibson]]'s marks a branching of futurist ideas away from [[techno-optimism]]
* 1986 - Partly in response to The Limits to Growth, [[Eric Drexler]], then research affiliate with MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, publishes [[Engines of Creation]], which proposes the theory of nanotechnology; "‘molecular assemblers,' devices capable of positioning atoms and molecules for precisely defined reactions in almost any environment," as a potential solution to Earth's limited resources.
* 1986 - [[Eric Drexler]] and [[Christine Peterson]] establish The [[Foresight Institute]] to "ensure beneficial implementation of nanotechnology."
[[File:Exmag.png|right|100px]]
* 1986 - The first transhumanist TV show hosted by [[Natasha Vita-More]], [[TransCentury UPdate]] airs on US cable TV until the early 90's
* 1987 - The [[Dora Kent]] controversy brings cryonics to greater public and legal attention.
* 1988 - The first transhumanist magazine, [[Extropy Magazines|Extropy: Vaccine for Future Shock]], is published by [[Max More]] and [[T.O. Morrow]]. It is later renamed [[Extropy Magazines|The Journal of Transhumanist Thought]].
* 1989 - [[FM-2030]] publishes the book, [[Are You A Transhuman?]]

=== 1990's ===
[[File:Extropy chat.jpg|100px|right]]
* 1990 - [[Hans Morvac]] publishes Mind Children, predicting superintelligent robots by 2030.
* 1991 - [[extropy-chat|The Extropians Mailing list]]<ref>http://www.extropy.org/emaillists.htm</ref> is established, the first major online hub for transhumanist ideas to be exchanged. Several prominent writers, theorists, and technologists in the movement regularly post to the boards, which continues to be active today.
* 1993 - Science fiction author, computer scientist, and mathematician [[Vernor Vinge]] publishes [[The Coming Technological Singularity]],<ref>http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19940022855.pdf</ref> popularizing the theory of [[the Singularity]] and predicting its arrival sometime before 2030.
[[File:Max More, Stanford 2006 (square crop).jpg|100px|right]]
* 1994 - Ed Regis profiles [[Max More]] and [[T.O. Morrow]] and others in Wired magazine, "[[Meet The Extropians]]"<ref>http://www.wired.com/1994/10/extropians/</ref>
* 1994 - The first [[Extropy Institute]] Conference on Transhumanist Thought is held in Sunnyvale, California.<ref>http://fennetic.net/pub/extropy/extro1_ad.pdf</ref>
* 1995 - [[Peter Diamandis]] establishes the [[X Prize]]<ref>http://www.xprize.org/press-release/xprize-foundation-announces-plans-10-million-global-literacy-xprize</ref> to fund "radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity." The board of trustees will later include Larry Page and Elon Musk.
* 1995 - [[David Pearce]] publishes the first version of [[The Hedonistic Imperative]] about how technology may be used to [[Abolitionism|abolish all suffering]] in sentient life
[[File:Wta.jpg|right]]
* 1997 - An updated version of [[Natasha Vita-More]]'s [[The Transhuman Manifesto]] is sent with the Cassini Huygens space probe to Saturn.<ref>http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/contemporary/Extropic-Art-Manifesto.html</ref>
* 1997 - The [[Declaration in Defence of Cloning and the Integrity of Scientific Research]] is issued.
* 1998 - Philosophers [[Nick Bostrom]] founds the [[World Transhumanist Association]] with [[David Pearce]]. The first iteration of the [[Transhumanist Declaration]] is created.
* 1998 - The first ever [[TransVision]]<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20160402174821/http://www.transhumanism.org/tv/tv98/index.htm</ref> conference is held in the Netherlands, a major conferences that would be held most years following.

=== 2000 ===
[[File:Singularity University Logo.png|frameless|100px|right|thumb]]
* [[Eliezer Yudkowsky]] founds SIAI,<ref>https://intelligence.org/transparency/</ref> which in 2013 would become [[MIRI]] and the [[Center for Applied Rationality]]
* The [[SL4]] mailing list is founded
* [[FM-2030]], science fiction author and futurist, enters suspension at [[Alcor]]<ref>http://www.alcor.org/cryonics/cryonics2000-4.pdf</ref>

=== 2001 ===
* [[James Hughes]] is elected secretary of the [[World Transhumanist Association]], formalising its structures and begins building up a international network of local groups and volunteers.<ref name="bostromhistory />

=== 2002 ===
* [[Elon Musk]] founds private space exploration company, [[SpaceX]]
=== 2003 ===
* The [[Methuselah Foundation]] is founded by [[David Goebel]] and [[Aubrey de Grey]] to research rejuvanative [[life extension]] technologies

=== 2004 ===
[[File:Ieetheader.png|right|100px]]
* [[Nick Bostrom]] and [[James Hughes]] establish the [[Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies]], which publishes the [[Journal of Transhumanism]]
* [[James Hughes|Hughes]] publishes [[Citizen Cyborg]] and the position of [[Democratic Transhumanism]] (a form of [[technoprogressivism]]) merging transhumanist and leftist political positions.<ref name="bostromhistory />
* Prominent [[bioconservative]] [[Francis Fukuyama]] labels transhumanism "[[The world's most dangerous idea]]"<ref>http://www.nickbostrom.com/papers/dangerous.html</ref>
* The [[Transhumanist Cooperative Colloquium]] was short-lived attempt at a large transhumanist alliance from [[Natasha Vita-More]]

=== 2005 ===
[[File:The-Singularity-Is-Near.jpg|frameless|100px|right]]
* [[Ray Kurzweil]] publishes [[The Singularity is Near]]
* [[Nick Bostrom]] establishes the [[Future of Humanity Institute]], with associates [[Anders Sandberg]] and [[Eric Drexler]]

=== 2006 ===
<!-- [[File:Peter Thiel (2014).jpg|frameless|thumb|100px|right]] -->
[[File:MIRI logo.png|right|100px]]
* [[Peter Thiel]] donates $100,000 to the [[Machine Intelligence Research Institute]] and joins its board.<ref>https://intelligence.org/2014/12/01/2014-winter-matching-challenge/</ref> Thiel also pledges $3.5 million to the [[Methuselah Foundation|Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation]] to find a cure for aging.
* The [[Extropy Institute]] closes, [[World Transhumanist Society|briefly causing contention]] over the [[World Transhumanist Association|WTA]] as a successor

=== 2007 ===
=== 2008 ===
[[File:Humanitypluslogo.png|frameless|thumb|100px|right]]
* [[Nick Bostrom]] and [[Anders Sandberg]] publish "[[Whole Brain Emulation Roadmap]]," a manifesto for mind-uploading.
* [[Peter Thiel]] donates $500,000 to fund the The [[Seasteading Institute]] to establish experimental research facilities in international waters. Thiel will donate over one million dollars to the institute.<ref>http://www.seasteading.org/2011/01/the-thiel-foundation-pledges-1000000-the-seasteading-institute/</ref>
* The [[World Transhumanist Association]] rebrands to [[Humanity+]]
* [[Peter Diamandis]], [[Ray Kurzweil]], and [[Salim Ismail]] establish [[Singularity University]] with funding from [[Google]], Nokia, Autodesk, ePlanet Capital, the X Prize Foundation, the Kauffman Foundation, and Genentech.<ref>[https://su.org/about/team/leadership/ Singularity University 'Origin Story']</ref>

=== 2009 ===
[[File:Aubrey.jpg|frameless|100px|right]]
* [[Eliezer Yudkowsky]] publishes the rationalist blog and forum, [[LessWrong]], where discussion on artificial intelligence culminates in the infamous thought experiment, [[Roko's Basilik]] and banning of its discussion on the forums.
* [[Aubrey de Grey]] founds the [[SENS]] Foundation to pursue research into curing aging with backing from The [[Thiel Foundation]].<ref>[https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2009/09/the-thiel-foundation.php The Thiel Foundation]</ref>

=== 2010 ===

=== 2011 ===
[[File:2045 en.png|right|100px]]
* [[Max More]] becomes CEO of [[Alcor|Alcor Life Extension Foundation]].
* Google's X Lab starts working on Google Brain, an artificial intelligence research project.
* [[Dmitry Itskov]] founds the [[2045 Initiative]] for networking and development of [[life extension]] technologies, specifically avatar based cyborg technology as a precursor to [[mind uploading]].

=== 2012 ===
[[File:Longevityparty Maria Konovalenko.jpg|right|100px]]
* The [[Longevity Party]] in Russia is founded by [[Maria Konovalenko]] and [[Alexey Turchin]] to advocate investment into [[life extension]]
* Along with the CIA, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos invests $15 million in D-Wave, a quantum computing company. 
* Google hires [[Ray Kurzweil]] to work on machine learning and AI.<ref>http://www.wired.com/2013/04/kurzweil-google-ai/</ref>

=== 2013 ===
[[File:The-Transhumanist-Wager.jpg|100px|right]]
* Larry Page establishes [[Calico]] Labs with Arthur D. Levinson, ex-chairman of Apple, as part of Google (since restructured as a subsidiary of Alphabet). Calico pursues a cure for aging and associated diseases.
* At the Global Futures 2045 International Congress, [[Ray Kurzweil]] predicts that human beings will achieve [[digital immortality]] through [[mind-uploading]] by 2045.
* [[Zoltan Istvan]] publishes the dystopian science fiction novel, [[The Transhumanist Wager]], about a future war between transhumanists and the US Government.

=== 2014 ===
[[File:Facebook overlord.jpg|100px|right]]
* [[Mark Zuckerberg]], Sergey Brin, and Arthur D. Levinson establish the [[Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences]] to fund research in understanding living systems and promoting [[life extension]].
* [[Nick Bostrom]] publishes [[Superintelligence]]: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, positing AI as the number one existential threat to humanity.
* Google acquires DeepMind Technologies to merge with its Google Brain project in its quest to "solve intelligence."
* On reading Bostrom's [[Superintelligence]], [[Elon Musk]] tweets that artificial intelligence could pose a [[existential risk|threat to humanity "more dangerous than nukes."]]<ref>https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/495759307346952192</ref>
* The $1 million [[Palo Alto Longevity Prize]] is announced to fund research into curing aging.
[[File:Google-immort.jpg|100px|right]]
* Elon Musk tells Aeon magazine there will be [[space exploration|people living on Mars]] by 2040.<ref>[https://aeon.co/essays/elon-musk-puts-his-case-for-a-multi-planet-civilisation Elon Musk argues that we must put a million people on Mars if we are to ensure that humanity has a future]</ref>
* Google CEO Larry Page tells TED Conference attendees that he would prefer to leave his fortune to Elon Musk than donate it to charity in order to ensure that people will get to Mars.<ref>http://www.businessinsider.com/larry-page-elon-musk-2014-3</ref>
* [[Calico]] is the focus of one of the first ever transhumanist direct action events in 2014 when activists supported by [[Alexey Turchin]] in New York and California called for indefinite [[life extension]].<ref>[https://proactiontranshuman.wordpress.com/2014/02/27/first-ever-street-action-for-transhumanism-in-the-united-states/ First Ever Street Action For Transhumanism In the United States!]</ref><ref>[http://hplusmagazine.com/2014/03/04/our-googleplex-action-for-radical-life-extension/ Our “GooglePlex Action” for Radical Life Extension]</ref>

=== 2015 ===
[[File:Zoltan Istvan.jpg|right|100px]]
[[File:Th party logo.jpg|right|100px]]
* [[Elon Musk]] donates $10 million to The [[Future Of Life Institute]] to invest in research for the creation of "[[friendly AI]]."
* Dozens of [[AI]] experts sign an [[Open Letter on Artificial Intelligence|open letter]] calling for research on the societal impacts on AI<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Letter_on_Artificial_Intelligence</ref><ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11342200/Top-scientists-call-for-caution-over-artificial-intelligence.html</ref>
* Technologist and science fiction author [[Ramez Naam]] writes that any Singularity is significantly further away than any predictions made so far.<ref>http://rameznaam.com/2015/05/12/the-singularity-is-further-than-it-appears/</ref>
* [[Zoltan Istvan]] launches a presidential bid on the [[Transhumanist Party (US)|Transhumanist Party]] ticket. His [[Immortality Bus]] tour finishes with delivering a [[Transhumanist Bill of Rights]] to the US Capitol.<ref>[http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/zoltan-istvan-immortality-bus-delivers-transhumanist-bill-rights-us-capitol-1534388 Zoltan Istvan: Immortality Bus delivers Transhumanist Bill of Rights to US Capitol]</ref> This in turn sparks the ongoing [[transhumanist politicisation controversy]].
* The [[Transhuman National Committee]] launches in the US in order to create a democratic alternative to Zoltan's Party<ref>[http://transhumanity.net/15-question-zoltan-istvan-is-avoiding-why-what-are-the-answers-opinion/ 15 Question Zoltan Istvan is Avoiding – why? what are the answers? (opinion)]</ref>
* Small [[transhumanist political organisations]] around the world form in opposition or support of Zoltan's campaign. The [[Transhumanist Party (UK)]] contests a small election in the UK

=== 2016 ===
[[File:RAAD-logo.jpg|100px|right]]
* [[Elon Musk]] advocates [[neural lace|neural enhancement]] in order to keep up with [[AI]] confirming him as a [[de facto transhumanist]].<ref>[http://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-neural-lace-ai-artificial-intelligence-465638 Elon Musk: Humans Need ‘Neural Lace’ to Compete With AI]</ref>
* The [[RAAD Fest]] conference in San Diego is the largest [[radical life extension]] event ever of its kind
* [[Transpolitica]] holds [[Transpolitica 2016|its first conference]] in the UK
=== 2017 ===
* [[TransVision 2017]] takes place in Brussels
=== 2018 ===
* The [[Brain Preservation Foundation]] announces<ref>http://www.brainpreservation.org/large-mammal-announcement/</ref> the 'Large Mammal Brain Preservation Prize' has been won by [[21st Century Medicine]],<ref>http://www.21cm.com/</ref> demonstrating [[destructive uploading]] as theoretically viable for revival.<ref>[https://turingchurch.net/cryonics-for-uploaders-the-brain-preservation-prize-has-been-won-cebbe98c241a Cryonics for uploaders: The Brain Preservation Prize has been won]</ref>

== References ==
[[Category:History of transhumanism]]