Founder of Transhumanist Party, Journalist, Futurist and Author
North America
Zoltan Istvan has single handedly thrust the concept of transhumanism in the world’s spotlight and is often cited as the global leader of the radical science movement. He is also a humanitarian activist who, while working as a journalist for National Geographic, wrote, filmed, and appeared in numerous television stories, webcasts, and articles. Much of his work has also been featured by WIRED UK, The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, CNN, Fox News, the Travel Channel, and CBS radio, to mention but a few. Zoltan’s documentary covering the war in Kashmir received tow documentary awards and played at various film festivals.
A sports lover, Zoltan was a national champion water polo player and is credited with inventing Volcano Boarding. This extreme sport debuted on the National Geographic Channel and has since made headway worldwide.
Zoltan Istvan, an Ivy-league graduate in Philosophy and Religion from Columbia University, has made it his life’s task to use science, technology, and reason to remake humanity. His vision has seen him consult for the US Navy and being interviewed to be Libertarian Gary Johnson’s Vice President. His award-winning 2013 novel The Transhumanist Wager was a bestseller and is often compared to work done by Ayn Rand. It is currently being used in the teachings of a few colleges across the globe as a means of warning and inspiration about our future.
Zoltan’s latest documentary, “Immortality or Bust”, was two years in the making and includes his ideas, his presidential campaign, and the story of his historic Immortality Bus Tour across America. As the founder of the Transhumanist Party and author of the Transhumanist Bill of Rights, Istvan is often interviewed on AI-related issues.
The entrepreneur is cited as having made his fortune in real estate ventures and owns a vineyard in Argentina. Zoltan, a Silicon Valley Insider, predicts that due to technological advances, humans will no longer be able to compete with machines in the labor market by 2048, while the survival of capitalism will depend on a basic universal income and the incorporation of different technologies into the human body. It is the latter that gives rise to the idea of ‘transhumanism’.
His role as a speaker has seen Zoltan Istvan address audiences in topics relating to science, technology, and the future. He has addressed the World Bank, moderated panels, been involved in public debate, hosted television segments and advises executives of multimillion dollar conglomerates. Besides exploring ethical issues and the potential outcomes of AI, automation, bionic organs, etc, he also gives talks about his success as a journalist, author, entrepreneur, and media personality.
Speaking Topics
"Zoltan Istvan speaks in complete sentences, sometimes complete paragraphs, usually without stopping to breathe. It takes him but a moment to process a question, then he's off—spinning a web of complex information. He then starts building off that information. When he's done, you have vastly more answers than you were originally searching for."
"His policies could predict the way the political landscape might change in the decades to come."
"Zoltan Istvan is founder of the Transhumanist Party, a legally recognized and PR-minded political effort that calls attention to what tomorrow's mainstreaming of today's rapidly developing technology could mean for human life."
"Zoltan is a prodigious and easy-going conversationalist who speaks in the deep and pleasant timbre of a born orator."
"He's a skilled storyteller & provocateur."
"Thank you for sharing your insights. Your comments broadened our understanding of transhumanism and the merger of humans and machines. You have had a direct impact on our viewpoints for future concepts."
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North America