Outrunning Death: AI, Longevity, and the Future of Human Life

In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) can compose symphonies, mimic legendary art styles, and assist with intricate business planning, a quieter revolution is unfolding in laboratories around the world-one that could fundamentally redefine the human condition itself.

- Dipak Kurmi

This revolution, rooted in the convergence of biotechnology and Al, is centered on a bold idea: radical life extension. Experts believe that the world may be on the cusp of a breakthrough known as "longevity escape velocity"-a point at which technological and medical advancements add more than one year of life expectancy for every year that passes, theoretically making natural death obsolete. This idea doesn't imply immortality in the fantastical sense but rather a scenario where death from ageing becomes preventable, much like how modern medicine has diminished mortality from smallpox or polio. Advocates such as Ray Kurzweil, known for The Singularity is Nearer, and José Luis Cordeiro, author of The Death of Death, argue that advances in Al and healthcare could bring us to this tipping point by the early 2030s. The implications are staggering and could mark the most significant shift in human biology and ethics since the dawn of civilization. One of the most fascinating, albeit controversial, figures in this emerging field is Bryan Johnson, a tech entrepreneur who has essentially turned his body into a $2 million-per-year longevity experiment. His initiative, called "Blueprint," includes a regimented lifestyle involving dozens of supplements, precise caloric intake, continuous bio-metric monitoring, and regular plasma exchanges with younger donors, including his own son. Though the media often sensationalizes Johnson's blood treatments as "vampiric," the results are hard to ignore-his biological markers reportedly suggest a reversal in his ageing trajectory. Unlike others in the field who guard their data, Johnson openly publishes his health metrics, making his journey a transparent, living document of anti-ageing science. Yet, Johnson's experiment raises fundamental ethical concerns. His approach is prohibitively expensive and accessible only to the ultra-wealthy, which risks introducing a two-tiered system of bio-logical privilege-where the rich not only live