Transhumanism and Tech Elites

--- THE TRANSHUMANIST MOVEMENT (DOCUMENT) ---

Transhumanism is an intellectual and philosophical movement that advocates for the use of technology to improve human physical and cognitive capabilities, or even to transcend the biological limitations of the species. Its roots date back to the 1960s (Teilhard de Chardin, Manfred Clynes’ ‘cyborg,’ 1960), but the modern movement was formalized in the 1990s by thinkers such as Max More (founder of the Extropy Institute), Nick Bostrom (philosopher at Oxford, founder of the Future of Humanity Institute), and Ray Kurzweil.

Transhumanism is not, in itself, a conspiracy theory; it is a philosophical movement with academic publications, formal organizations (Humanity+, formerly the World Transhumanist Association), and a presence in ethical debates. It becomes conspiratorial when theorists allege that it is a secret plan by elites to create a two-tiered humanity—the ‘enhanced’ rich and the ‘natural’ masses subjected to servitude.

--- RAY KURZWEIL AND THE SINGULARITY (DOCUMENT) ---

Ray Kurzweil, inventor and futurist, has theorized the ‘technological singularity’—the moment when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, leading to unpredictable civilizational changes. His book ‘The Singularity Is Near’ (2005) predicts this transition for around 2045. Kurzweil has been Director of Engineering at Google since 2012, which gives his vision a corporate dimension.

Kurzweil also advocates for the radical extension of human lifespan and practices an extreme supplementation regimen himself (hundreds of pills per day at certain periods). The Singularity University, co-founded by Kurzweil and Peter Diamandis in 2008 (sponsored by Google and NASA), trains tech leaders in ‘exponential technologies.’ For critics, this constitutes ideological indoctrination of tech elites.

--- NEURALINK AND BRAIN-MACHINE INTERFACES (DOCUMENT) ---

Neuralink, founded by Elon Musk in 2016, develops implantable brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). The declared objective is to treat neurological conditions (paralysis, Parkinson’s disease) and, ultimately, to enable a ‘symbiosis’ between the human brain and artificial intelligence. In January 2024, Neuralink implanted its first chip in a human patient (Noland Arbaugh, a quadriplegic), enabling him to control a cursor with his thoughts.

Conspiracy theories surrounding Neuralink allege that the true objective is not therapeutic but mass cognitive control: the ability to read thoughts, influence emotions, or create a cyborg humanity controlled by tech corporations. Musk himself has fueled these concerns by declaring his desire to ‘merge’ humans with AI.

--- EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM AND LONGTERMISM: FROM PHILOSOPHY TO POWER (DOCUMENT/DEBATED) ---

Effective Altruism (EA) is a philosophical and social movement founded in the 2010s, primarily by philosophers Peter Singer (Princeton) and William MacAskill (Oxford). The movement advocates the use of reason and evidence to determine the most effective ways to improve the world and encourages its adherents to donate a significant portion of their income to effective causes.

Longtermism, a branch of EA articulated by MacAskill ('What We Owe the Future,' 2022) and Nick Bostrom, posits that the interests of future generations (potentially trillions of humans yet to be born) should have moral weight equal to that of living people. This position leads to prioritizing investments in the prevention of existential risks (uncontrolled AI, pandemics, nuclear weapons) rather than in reducing current poverty.

The EA/longtermist movement has attracted massive funding from Silicon Valley. Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), founder of the cryptocurrency platform FTX, was the most celebrated donor of the movement, promising billions to EA causes. The collapse of FTX in November 2022 and SBF’s conviction to 25 years in prison for fraud in March 2024 have profoundly shaken the movement. Critics have highlighted that SBF used EA philosophy to justify extreme financial risk-taking (‘earning to give’—earning as much as possible to give as much as possible) and to acquire disproportionate political influence (he was the second-largest political donor in the United States in 2022).

Dustin Moskovitz (co-founder of Facebook) and his wife Cari Tuna, via their foundation Open Philanthropy, are the largest financiers of the EA movement, having distributed hundreds of millions of dollars. Open Philanthropy also funds influential organizations in AI policy (such as the Centre for AI Safety).

The most serious criticism of longtermism comes from philosopher Emile Torres and journalist Timnit Gebru: they argue that longtermism is an ideology that justifies present inequality in the name of a hypothetical future, and that its links to eugenics (via discussions on the 'quality' of future humans and genetic selection) are concerning.

--- EUGENICS 2.0 AND GENETICS (DEBATED) ---

The link between Silicon Valley and eugenics is a sensitive but documented topic. Several tech figures have expressed views close to eugenics:

• Nick Bostrom, founder of the Future of Humanity Institute, was embarrassed in 2023 by the publication of a 1996 email containing racist remarks. More broadly, his writings on embryo selection and genetic enhancement have eugenic resonances.

• Jeffrey Epstein had a documented interest in eugenics and genetics. According to the New York Times (2019), Epstein wanted to ‘seed the human race’ with his DNA by impregnating 20 women at his New Mexico ranch. He funded researchers in genetics and AI at Harvard (Martin Nowak, via a $6.5 million donation to the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics) and MIT (Marvin Minsky, Seth Lloyd, the Joi Ito Media Lab). These Epstein-science links are documented and led to Joi Ito’s resignation as director of the MIT Media Lab in 2019.

• George Church, Harvard geneticist and pioneer of genomic sequencing, has acknowledged meeting Epstein on several occasions and discussing genetics with him. Church has offered his apologies.

• CRISPR-Cas9 technology (genetic editing) theoretically makes it possible to select and modify human embryos. In 2018, the Chinese researcher He Jiankui created the first ‘CRISPR babies,’ genetically modifying human embryos—an act universally condemned by the scientific community and for which he was imprisoned.

--- EPSTEIN AND SILICON VALLEY (DOCUMENT) ---

The links between Epstein and Silicon Valley are documented by numerous journalistic investigations. Besides the Harvard and MIT funding mentioned above:

• Epstein visited LinkedIn’s offices and dined with Reid Hoffman (PayPal Mafia) on several occasions. Hoffman issued public apologies afterward.
• Elon Musk was photographed with Ghislaine Maxwell at a gala in 2014 and acknowledged that Epstein had visited SpaceX's offices, while denying any personal relationship.
• Bill Gates met with Epstein multiple times after the 2008 conviction, including at Epstein's townhouse in New York. These Gates visits were documented by the New York Times (2019) and were cited by Melinda Gates as a factor in their divorce (2021).
• Joi Ito, director of the MIT Media Lab, accepted millions of dollars from Epstein for the Lab and facilitated Epstein's access to MIT researchers. He resigned in September 2019.
• Leon Botstein (president of Bard College), Danny Hillis (computer scientist, Thinking Machines), and many other tech figures have been documented as being part of Epstein’s social/scientific circle.

Epstein’s interest in science and technology is interpreted by theorists as evidence that his network aimed to influence the direction of scientific research, notably in genetics and AI, to advance an eugenic agenda. This interpretation extrapolates from documented facts (the donations, visits, discussions on genetics) towards unproven conclusions (an organized eugenic conspiracy).

--- RESEARCH ON LONGEVITY AND BIOLOGICAL INEQUALITY (DOCUMENT/DEBATED) ---

Many tech billionaires are investing massively in longevity research and ‘anti-aging’: Larry Ellison (Oracle) has donated hundreds of millions via the Ellison Medical Foundation; Peter Thiel invests in aging research and is a supporter of Aubrey de Grey’s SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) foundation; Jeff Bezos has funded Altos Labs (research on cellular rejuvenation) to the tune of $3 billion; Bryan Johnson (founder of Braintree/Venmo) launched the ‘Blueprint’ anti-aging regime.

The legitimate criticism is that these technologies, if they succeed, will initially be accessible only to the ultra-rich, creating an unprecedented ‘biological inequality’: the rich will live longer, in better health, with enhanced capabilities, while the masses remain subject to aging and natural death. This is what critics call ‘eugenics 2.0’: not a selection imposed by the State (as in the eugenics of the 20th century) but a selection by the market, where biological enhancement is a luxury product.