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Have you ever thought about whether you would choose to live forever if given the chance? Well, that day when we have to decide might be closer than we think. AI is accelerating everything that we are currently working on. Someday, science might be able to keep on increasing humanity’s life span faster than time and the aging process itself. Those phenomena are explained by the equation called the “Longevity Escape Velocity”. Let’s dive deeper into it and find out how scientists can help people live forever, should they survive until 2050.
The Science Behind Potential Immortality
The main challenge with making humans live forever is the inevitability of natural aging. Yes, science can come up with all the medicine and technology they can do to cure all known diseases, and humanity will still live about 100 years or a few more as their natural age limit.
However, futurists like Ray Kurzweil and Jose Luis Cordeiro propose that by 2030, we may reach “longevity escape velocity”. This is a point where science and our advances can extend life expectancy faster than time passes.
Read more: Wikipedia
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AI and the Future of Human Longevity
As you probably know, every year, we are increasing the life span of humanity ever so slightly. For example, in the year 1900, the global life expectancy for a human was 32 years, while in the year 2000 it had become 66 years, but just 25 years later, it is now 73 years old.
If you try to predict the life expectancy based on our breakthroughs, you will also arrive at an equation where we are increasing that faster than time is passing by. So, in other words, this longevity escape velocity they are talking about is a stage where we are increasing human life expectancy faster than our own aging process, along with the discovery of cures for possible diseases.
They are predicting that this could happen by 2030, but it is a lot more sane to say that we might reach that point at 2050 instead. Some scientists also agree with 2050 being more likely as the year we reach that point.
Read more: Cointelegraph
Ethical and Societal Implications
So, should everyone who is likely to survive until 2050 celebrate that they might be the first human beings to live forever? The answer is a quick no, because of all its other implications on society and our civilization.
Some arguments are that only the rich would be able to afford such technologies in the future, the fear of overpopulation, and the nature of finite resources that we have here on Earth. There is also a psychological concern, where if your loved ones decided not to live forever, and you did.
Increasing the life expectancy of humans is a great idea and is worth it; however, there will be a time and point in our progress where it is enough. We can say that we have lived a great life, and it might be time to pass it on to the next generation. After all, that is one of the greatest accomplishments of our civilization, our ability to do what’s best for the continuation of our species.
Current Research and Future Outlook
Most of the research that might help this process in achieving the Longevity escape velocity is all AI-driven. From gene editing to find deficiencies, regenerative medicine to prolong cells, and advanced AI-powered diagnostics are pushing the boundaries of human lifespan.
There is also the looming threat of robotics, where humans might have the option to upload their consciousness to a non-biological being, essentially obtaining immortality. It sounds like science fiction, but AI was considered one too, then ChatGPT came along, and everyone is now aware of it.
Author's Final Thoughts
The concept of “longevity escape velocity” suggests a future where aging and dying are manageable, and a choice for someone to make. With AI, every single research we are doing is progressing at a rapid rate, where scientists’ prediction that we could reach that point by 2050 might be closer than we ever realized.
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