Imagine the prospect of eternal life – maintaining youth, mental acuity, and robust health for centuries. It may sound like a plot from a sci-fi novel, but according to top experts and Silicon Valley bigwigs, immortality might be within our grasp – and it could become reality within our lifetimes, as per Science.org..
A surge of pioneering advancements in medicine, AI, and genetic engineering has ignited audacious forecasts from leading futurists. From transferring your consciousness into a robotic body to evolving into a hybrid of human and machine, the quest to outwit death is intensifying – and some boffins suggest that the first immortal human might already be among us.
In California’s Silicon Valley, where wealth is amassed and norms are redefined, tycoons obsessed with longevity are investing billions into life-extending science. Entrepreneur Bryan Johnson has emerged as a figurehead for this movement, adhering to a strict regimen known as ‘Blueprint’ in his pursuit to reverse ageing.
Meanwhile, Altos Labs, supported by wealthy backers, is trialling therapies that have already prolonged the lives of mice – with humans potentially up next.
But it’s not just the super-rich paying attention. Some of the globe’s most esteemed visionaries predict we’re merely years away from unlocking the secret to human immortality, reports the Express.
Dr Ian Pearson, a respected futurologist, posits that by 2050, celebrities and the well-heeled could attain immortality through cutting-edge technology.
“By 2050, it will only really be for the rich and famous,” reasoned Pearson, pointing out that while these tech marvels may start with hefty price tags, they should be more budget-friendly for the average Joe by the 2060s.
Pearson envisions a not-so-distant future devoid of deadly diseases, courtesy of medical science advancements, with humans potentially opting for android casings or even going full-blown digital in their existence.
“This would allow people to have multiple existences and identities, or to carry on living long after their biological death,” he mused.
Despite the likely early uptake by those flush with cash, Pearson harbours optimism that eternal life won’t just be a plaything for the wealthy.
“[A]nyone under the age of 50 has got a good chance of affording this in their lifetime, and anyone under 40 will almost definitely will have access to immortality.”
This brave new world is predicated on burgeoning technologies like three-dimensional organ printing, CRISPR gene editing, and AI-led health checks, all anticipated to leapfrog in sophistication as time marches on.
Ray Kurzweil, a renowned sage of the future and erstwhile Google boffin, conjectures that by 2029, artificial intelligence will rub shoulders with human smarts, propelling us into a fantastical era where flesh and silicon coalesce.
According to him, this landmark will mark the pathway toward ‘The Singularity’ by 2045 – the point at which eternal existence becomes our new reality.
According to Kurzweil’s 2024 book, The Singularity Is Nearer, a crucial development in the 2030s will be the integration of the upper echelons of human brains with the cloud, thereby broadening cognitive capabilities.
Kurzweil forecasts that AI will render life’s necessities, such as sustenance and shelter, virtually costless and that humans will have the ability to upload their consciousness or inhabit bodies produced by 3D printing.
“Rather than AI being a competitor, it will become an extension of ourselves,” he elaborated.
The trajectory towards this future begins in merely four years, when Kurzweil predicts that AI will achieve parity with human intelligence – setting the stage for a time when eternal life is no longer a fantasy, but rather a digital enhancement.
For Aubrey de Grey, an Oxford-educated scientist and biomedical researcher with a signature long beard, ageing is no longer a foregone conclusion – it is a disease that can be treated.
Through his Longevity Escape Velocity Foundation, de Grey is pioneering treatments that target cellular regeneration, thereby opening the door to a potential human lifespan of over a thousand years.
“Aging is a disease,” de Grey posits, reasoning that it should be approached similarly to cancer or diabetes.
His therapeutic strategy, known as integrative rejuvenation, attacks ageing at its core by rectifying DNA damage, removing cellular waste, and revitalising youthful functionality within tissues.
De Grey is joined by proponents such as Dr Andrew Steele, author of Ageless, who endorses treatments like senolytics, which specifically combat rogue ‘zombie cells’ within the body. “We’re at a point where we understand enough about the process that we can start to try to intervene,” Steele remarked.
By 2050, de Grey is convinced that ageing could be a thing of the past – potentially eradicating death from natural causes altogether.
He’s boldly proclaimed that the first individual to celebrate their millennium birthday has already entered the world.
As concepts like mind uploading, AI integration, and cellular regeneration advance, what was once deemed science fiction edges closer to reality.
Should these visionaries prove accurate, the coming years are set to revolutionise our very essence – and the eldest among us now might just witness the dawn of the year 3000.