The Transhumanist Organization Extropy Institute Is Dissolving

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The Extropy Institute, long a bastion of Libertarian Transhumanism, has just announced that it is planning to close up shop and cease to exist as an organization. If the news release quoted below is any indication, the Institute's leaders seem to believe they have accomplished their primary goals and it's now time to move on.

I tend to take people at face value (unless I notice some fact that gainsays them), but I can't help but wonder if, in an era of rising bio-conservative activism, the board of the Extropy Institute didn't want to serve as a lightning rod for political groups looking to score points. After all, if the leaders of the Extropy Institute feel they can carry out their work just as effectively on their own, then perhaps they're better off working on separate projects rather than sticking together and giving PR hatchet men something to attack.

Transhumanism has become a convenient target for people suspicious of human enhancement technologies and of technological progress in general, and by identifying a particular project with that "movement" (which is very small and has little power) you may simply be tagging yourself and your goals with a beacon that tells lots of uninvolved people, "This is an enemy. Use as foil, convenient target and fundraising bogey man." Or simply, "Enemy. Destroy at all costs."

Under those circumstances, if you are dedicated to a particular set of goals, why put them at risk by taking on the mantle of a sub-culture that scarcely exists (at least in overall demographic terms) in the first place?

I suspect some members of the Extropy Institute have already asked themselves that, and are now taking the most effective action they can to neutralize that line of attack. Though they may also feel the Institute has done as much as it reasonably can as organized to accomplish the goals set out for it.

NEXT STEPS — Extropy Institute is closing its doors and opening a window for a proactive future.

Dear Members, friends, and colleagues:

This letter is an announcement of the events taking place at Extropy Institute as a result of its Strategic Plan 2006. A copy of the Plan is included for your review. The Plan identifies some factors that ExI's Board has considered in assessing the future of ExI and the best possible course of action to take for ExI, its members, and other stakeholders.

The Past. ExI was formed in 1990 by Max More and Tom Bell with a mission to bring great minds together to incubate ideas about emerging technologies, life extension and the future. ExI's goals were to (1) develop an elegant, focused philosophy for transhumanism—the philosophy of "Extropy"; (2) encourage discussions and debates on improving the human condition; and (2) develop a culture for activists, energized and devoted to bringing these ideas to the public. The initiatives which realized these goals are (1) Extropy: the Journal of Transhumanist Thought; Principles of Extropy; Extro Conferences 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5; public forums such as the famed "extropians" and "extropy-chat" email lists; public presentations in the news, radio, televised documentaries, talk shows, and films; and the VP Summit of 2004 addressing the backlash from conservatives against technological
advancements.

The Present. ExI deems its mission as essentially completed. With this said, and in respect for Extropy Institute’s legacy of achievement, the Board voted and has unanimously agreed to close Extropy Institute's doors.

Extropy Institute's website is being memorialized by turning it into a reference "Library of Transhumanism, Extropy, and the Future," —the beginnings, currents, and future of Transhumanism.

On behalf of our members, I would like to thank Max for authoring the philosophy of Extropy1 and for his many efforts in working with others to steer the philosophical development of transhumanism, which is truly treasured by so many people in so many places.

The Future. As you will see by reviewing the Strategic Plan, the Proactionary Principle stands first and foremost as the concept with the most potential for being of great service to humanity and transhumanity as we go forward. The Proactionary Principle (ProP) can help society by bridging the growing gap between conservative views and progress-oriented views, and educating society about the future. Meeting
these two challenges by providing an active course of action can be of tremendous benefit to us all.

In respect for the philosophy of Extropy and the Principles of Extropy, the Board of Extropy Institute believes that Extropy Institute has served its mission and achieved its goals and, in practicing the Principles of Extropy, our next step is to focus on developing worldwide awareness of the ProP and a network for proactive futures.

With my most sincere thanks for your support,

Natasha Vita-More
Extropy Institute, President

Some extropians and transhumanists have also commented on this change -- see Michael Anissimov, Justin Corwin and responses on Betterhumans.Com.

Even more importantly, here is Natasha Vita-More being interviewed in a podcast by R.U. Sirius on NeoFiles.

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Future Imperative