Three Laws of Transhumanism

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The Three Laws of Transhumanism are a set of rules about transhumanism presented by Zoltan Istvan in his 2013 philosophy and science fiction novel The Transhumanist Wager.^[1][2][3][4] They are essential to Istvan's philosophy of Teleological Egocentric Functionalism (TEF).^[5][6]

The Three Laws have been covered frequently in media and are controversial to both those in and out of the transhumanist movement.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]} Istvan has emphasized that his Three Laws are a bridge from current human ethics to the coming ethics of strong artificial intelligence.^[14][15]

Istvan's Three Laws of Transhumanism are:^[14][15]

1. A transhumanist must safeguard one's own existence above all else.
2. A transhumanist must strive to achieve omnipotence as expediently as possible—so long as one's actions do not conflict with the First Law.
3. A transhumanist must safeguard value in the universe—so long as one's actions do not conflict with the First and Second Laws.

Teleological Egocentric Functionalism (TEF)

TEF is based on the idea that all transhumanists ultimately are striving to achieve immortality and omnipotence.^{[16][17][18][19]} The logic of the philosophy implies that taking scientifically constructive action to attain immortality is vital and should be a transhumanist's top priority.^{[20][21][22][23][24]} TEF also insists that the most important and urgent goal for society is to work towards ending death for the individual.^[25][26][27]

References