Istvan states that in the 21st century, as modern man confronts the finitude of life, everyone faces a Transhumanist Wager, a concept that is explored in his science fiction novel of the same name. The Transhumanist Wager follows from a life philosophy Istvan calls Teleological Egocentric Functionalism (TEF). Istvan summarizes the Transhumanist Wager as follows:  Istvan is the creator of the concepts of Theistcideism, Omnipotism, the AI Imperative, the Singularity Disparity, Speciation Syndrome, Delayed Fertility Advantage, and Jethro's Window, a possible solution to the Fermi Paradox. Istvan is also a populizer of AI Day, the Jesus Singularity, cryothanasia and a robot AI President. Istvan proposed and developed the concept of a Longevity Peace Prize at the XPRIZE Foundation in 2019. Writing for The New York Times opinion section, Istvan argued conservatives should consider supporting artificial wombs to move the abortion debate forward. Istvan authored an article entitled "Transhumanism and Theistcideism" for publication in "" (2017). Istvan wrote the short fictional story "The Jesus Singularity" on a religious AI that goes rogue and destroys the world. It was published in "Vice" magazine. Istvan has a chip implanted in his hand and consulted with the U.S. Navy on broad about the use of the implant in humans. According to Istvan's novel, the three laws of Transhumanism are:   Within the transhumanist community, reactions to Istvan's U.S. Transhumanist Party have ranged from enthusiastic to sharply critical. Some transhumanist critics, such as Peter Rothman, have questioned whether the Transhumanist Party adds value to the overall goals of transhumanism. Istvan resides in Mill Valley, California with his daughters and physician wife. He identifies as an atheist. In February 2015, he helped launch BiZoHa, the world's first free-thinker orphanage, in Mukhoya, Kasese district, western Uganda. Istvan's promotional article on the topic in "Vice's" "Motherboard", helped a GoFundMe campaign to achieve success in raising $5,820 to provide funding for the orphanage.