Will we live forever?
There is a nonzero chance we will live forever. Exponential growth in our understanding and application of biology, nanotechnology & AI might very well lead us to immortality — during this century.
Our body can be understood from an engineering perspective as a machine. As with any machine, parts decay and need replacement over time to keep functioning. If we figure out how to replace parts as we age — we may live forever. Some crucial parts: neurons in the brain, telomeres, the protective caps on the end of chromosomes, and other cells damaged by aging.
Dying from old age simply means some disease kills us. Therefore, if we understand every disease and can cure them — we will have cured death.
Billions of dollars are now being funneled into longevity research. Tech billionaire founders of Amazon, Google & Facebook have already joined the party. The United Arab Emirates has committed 20 billion dollars over the next 20 years to longevity research.
Risk is opportunity.
Overpopulation: This has long been a critic point ever since Malthus's economic theory that humans could not exceed a certain population limit during the 1800s. However, population increase has been followed by advances in medicine, food & housing to meet demand. Additionally, currently humanity is having too little babies anyway so extending lifespan is a solution to that problem. Of course, on a long time horizon, we probably need to head out into the stars.
Unfair advantages to the rich: Life is unfair and the rich will have first access to the best tech. However, the price for these treatments is going down rapidly and it is possible to eventually have them available for anyone. Example:
The stubbornness of the old powerful status quo that stops change: This is more of a meta-problem. What if the Biden-type people of the world never would die? This baby boomer generation that has pocketed so much money and power for themselves. They would keep running faulty weak and unfair institutions longer than otherwise the case. This is difficult to address because living forever would change society a lot.
The bottom line is: old people dying is a tremendous cost to society. It costs us money and knowledge — and it costs us emotionally losing loved ones. Shouldn’t we do our best to fix that?
Thanks for reading.
