Photograph of Jim Rutt from The Rebel Wisdom Podcast (2021)

June 8, 2026 – The U.S. Transhumanist Party (USTP) mourns the death of James “Jim” Patrick Rutt (December 11, 1953 – May 27, 2026), a pioneering technologist, complexity scientist, and profound thinker whose contributions to the digital world and the study of human systems left an indelible mark on our era.

As the former CEO of Network Solutions and Chairman of the Santa Fe Institute, Jim Rutt was a central figure in the Game B community, seeking a new “social operating system” for humanity. Unfortunately, Jim died at the age of 72, while still at the peak of his intellectual powers and with ample abilities to contribute to the world.

The USTP was honored to host Jim Rutt for a Virtual Enlightenment Salon on March 15, 2021, where he engaged in a wide-ranging dialogue with our officers on the future of humankind. This conversation highlighted the significant areas of alignment between Rutt’s ideas and the U.S. Transhumanist Party Platform. Jim Rutt was a passionate advocate for intellectual freedom and a founding board member of the MIT Free Speech Alliance, reflecting a staunch support of free speech that mirrors the USTP’s opposition to all forms of censorship. Furthermore, Jim shared our vision of a spacefaring civilization; he personally envisioned “colonizing the galaxy” and bringing the universe to life, an ultimate safeguard for sentience that aligns with Section XVII of our platform.

While our perspectives converged in numerous crucial ways, Jim and the USTP also engaged in a respectful exploration of the differences between the Transhumanist and Game B worldviews. Jim articulated a Game B view centered on “meta-stability” and the necessity of building a society that recognizes natural limits and modulates its pace to ensure the preservation of our home planet. In contrast, the Transhumanist perspective emphasizes using technology to liberate humankind from deleterious “natural” limits—such as material scarcity and biological aging—through technologically driven and rationally contemplated growth. Jim remained agnostic on whether these transformations would occur within his lifetime, favoring a more modest prognosis for his personal timeframe, whereas the USTP remains committed to achieving radical life extension and technological liberation for those alive today.

Jim Rutt’s commitment to these conversations never wavered, even in his final hours. On the day of his death, he recorded a podcast episode that he considered one of his best. His recent episode with Cory Doctorow (EP 346), published posthumously, serves as a poignant reminder of his tireless work. The continuation of The Jim Rutt Show beyond his own death is a profound testament to his desire to keep spreading ideas and contributing to the vital conversations that move humankind forward. Unfortunately, the progress of technology has not been rapid enough to achieve the kind of life extension that we would have wanted Jim Rutt to enjoy, but his ideas will remain profoundly influential on the future trajectory of our species.

In memory of Jim Rutt, Gennady Stolyarov II, Chairman of the U.S. Transhumanist Party, offers the following remark:

“My impression of Jim Rutt is that of a profound, careful, and inextinguishably curious thinker who took the ideas that he engaged with seriously and treated those with whom he conversed fairly – seeking to genuinely and accurately understand their ideas and analyze them thoughtfully, whether he agreed or disagreed. As a man who valued the pursuit of the truth above winning an argument or being right, Jim Rutt embodied the more collaborative ‘Game B’ paradigm that he envisioned, and much can be learned from how he treated people and different points of view – lessons that more enlightened future communities and organizations can do well to adapt to their own cultures.”

The U.S. Transhumanist Party extends its deepest condolences to Jim’s family and to the Game B community, whose engagement in exploring the possible futures of humanity we welcome. We remain grateful for the curiosity, humor, and brilliance that Jim Rutt shared with the world.

Listen to past episodes of The Jim Rutt Show and watch Jim Rutt’s videos on his YouTube channel as a way of preserving his legacy.