--- title: "Billionaire Private Astronaut Suggests Reviving Dinosaurs" description: "What Earlier this week, news broke that a team of European scientists, who may or may not have ever seen any zombie movie ever made, had unthawed an ancient \"zombie virus,\" discovered beneath a frozen Siberian lake. The report went viral, with netizens (who have presumably seen zombie movies) poking obvious fun at the fact […]" date: "2022-12-01" modified: "2022-12-01" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/billionaire-astronaut-suggests-reviving-dinosaurs" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "billionaires" - "jared isaacman" - "polaris program" - "the digest" --- # Billionaire Private Astronaut Suggests Reviving Dinosaurs ![Billionaire commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman says we should bring back the dinosaurs — and we're almost convinced that he's kidding.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Inspiration Strikes Earlier this week, news broke that a team of European scientists (who may or may not have ever pretty much any zombie movie ever made) had unthawed an ancient "[zombie virus]()," discovered beneath a frozen Siberian lake. The report went viral, with netizens (who presumably *have* seen zombie movies) poking obvious fun at the fact that unfreezing ancient zombie viruses sounds like a cinematically horrible idea. Billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman, on the other hand? He's not scared. In fact, he's inspired. "Let's go for the dinosaurs next and really make things interesting," Isaacman wrote in a [tweet](), adding a T-Rex emoji for good measure. Of course, Isaacman is referencing the iconic Jurassic World franchise, the moral of which is famously that ancient DNA definitely *shouldn't* be used to resurrect extinct beings. And while the Polaris Program founder is *almost* definitely kidding about dinosaur recovery, billionaires and high-powered tech entrepreneurs [really, really love]() to toy with the concept — enough so that we're *almost* definitely laughing. ## Why Not And to be fair, an Isaacman initiative to recreate Jurassic Park doesn't exactly *not* make sense. The billionaire thrillseeker has seemingly been making moves to distinguish himself from his reputation as a random space tourist, recently announcing plans to [partner with NASA]() to service the aging Hubble telescope. Good for him, but maybe he'd do well to find something a little flashier to set himself apart from the rest of the cosmically-inclined billionaire pack. And considering that SpaceX founder Elon Musk has already called dibs on Mars? A real-life Jurassic Park would be a high-impact — if Earthly — tour de force. We kid, but in all seriousness, this is the tech industry, an arena in which the lines between [science and science fiction]() are all too easily blurred, and that blurring is most commonly — and often [most willingly]() — done by the people [building new technologies](), let alone the folks with pockets deep enough to fund them. Isaacman probably doesn't want to build Jurassic Park. But again, heavy emphasis on the probably. **More on Jurassic Park "jokes":** *[Neuralink Co-founder Says We Have the Tech to Build an Actual Jurassic Park]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()