Formerly a reporter for the National Geographic Channel, Istvan now writes futurist, transhumanist, secular and political-themed articles for major media, including The New York Times.
42 Facts About Zoltan Istvan
2.
Zoltan Istvan believes transhumanism will grow into a mainstream social movement in this decade.
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Zoltan Istvan is the author of The Transhumanist Wager, a philosophical science fiction novel.
4.
In late 2014, Zoltan Istvan announced he was running for President of the United States in the 2016 election.
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Zoltan Istvan ran for his own Transhumanist Party to raise awareness for transhumanist politics issues but did not place his name on any state ballot.
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Later, in 2017, Zoltan Istvan ran for Governor of California in the 2018 election as a member of the Libertarian Party.
7.
In 2019, Zoltan Istvan ran for the Republican Party's nomination in the 2020 United States presidential election against President Donald Trump.
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Zoltan Istvan was born in Los Angeles in 1973 to his Hungarian immigrant parents Ilona and Steven Gyurko.
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Zoltan Istvan was a nationally ranked swimmer and waterpolo player in his youth.
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Zoltan Istvan later graduated from Columbia University in New York City with a degree in philosophy and religion.
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Zoltan Istvan was an online and on-camera reporter for the National Geographic Channel.
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Zoltan Istvan's writings have appeared in a blog of the San Francisco Chronicle, and Outside.
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Zoltan Istvan's work has been covered in publications such as The Huffington Post.
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Zoltan Istvan owns vineyard properties in Mendoza, Argentina, Bordeaux, France, and California's Napa Valley.
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Zoltan Istvan owns a 68 acre island in Nova Scotia, Canada in the Atlantic Ocean.
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Zoltan Istvan gives talks on futurist and transhumanist topics, which include speeches at the World Bank, World Economic Forum, Congreso Futuro, Moogfest, the World Future Society's annual conference, and Financial Times Camp Alphaville conference.
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Zoltan Istvan appeared in the 2016 documentary The Future of Work and Death.
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In October 2014, Zoltan Istvan announced that he was "in the very early stages of preparing a campaign to try to run" for US President in 2016.
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In October and November 2014 interviews, Zoltan Istvan explained that he aimed to unify the transhumanist community, which otherwise was splintered, and to establish a single voice.
20.
Zoltan Istvan said great changes in society could happen and that Transhumanism could provide ideas, safeguards and policies.
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Zoltan Istvan said the aim for a Transhumanist Party would be to get onto as many state ballots as possible.
22.
In March 2015, Zoltan Istvan reported progress in organizing a campaign and explained his wish to get major candidates to address issues.
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Zoltan Istvan hoped to be included in some debates, at least with third parties.
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Zoltan Istvan himself had funded nearly all of his campaign's expenses to date and he noted donations were needed.
25.
Zoltan Istvan planned the bus tour to raise awareness of life extension.
26.
In February 2016, it was reported that Zoltan Istvan was likely to vote Democrat, placing himself "somewhere between Bernie and Hillary in terms of political ideologies", but later in 2016 he wrote articles supporting Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson.
27.
On October 15,2016, Zoltan Istvan stated on his social media accounts that he would be voting for himself.
28.
Zoltan Istvan was not on the ballot in any state, though he claimed to have substantial potential write-in backers.
29.
Zoltan Istvan emphasized science, technology, longevity, transhumanism and Libertarian values in his California gubernatorial run, along with support for basic income.
30.
Zoltan Istvan suggested basic income could be paid for without raising taxes through a "Federal Land Dividend".
31.
Zoltan Istvan suggested reparations could be paid as tax credits or through the sale of federal lands, so as not to put further burden associated with the drug war on taxpayers.
32.
In December 2017, Zoltan Istvan announced he was considering running for the Libertarian Party's Presidential nomination.
33.
In March 2019 during an interview on the Bread and Circuses podcast, Zoltan Istvan told Caleb Salvatore and Nick Koehler that he was again considering a run for President.
34.
The Transhumanist Wager follows from a life philosophy Zoltan Istvan calls Teleological Egocentric Functionalism.
35.
Zoltan Istvan is the creator of the concepts of Theistcideism, Omnipotism, the AI Imperative, the Singularity Disparity, Speciation Syndrome, Post-earthism, Delayed Fertility Advantage, and Jethro's Window, a possible solution to the Fermi Paradox.
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Zoltan Istvan is a populizer of AI Day, the transhumanist olympics, the Jesus Singularity, cryothanasia a robot AI President, and quantum archaeology.
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Zoltan Istvan proposed and developed the concept of a Longevity Peace Prize at the XPRIZE Foundation in 2019.
38.
Zoltan Istvan argued to allow surfing during the Covid lockdowns in The New York Times Opinion section.
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Zoltan Istvan authored an article entitled "Transhumanism and Theistcideism" for publication in Pandeism: An Anthology.
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Zoltan Istvan wrote the short fictional story "The Jesus Singularity" on a religious AI that goes rogue and destroys the world.
41.
Zoltan Istvan has a chip implanted in his hand and consulted with the US Navy on broad about the use of the implant in humans.
42.
Zoltan Istvan resides in Mill Valley, California with his wife, who is a physician, and his daughters.