I have written before about the topic of radical life extension, but I’d like to briefly revisit the issue because I am more convinced than ever that society is on the verge of huge medical breakthroughs that will bring about much longer lives. As proof, I would submit this article entitled ”How to Live Forever” from this week’s edition of The Economist.
The Economist is not generally known for sensationalist journalism, so when it says “the process of aging … no longer looks impossible” I believe that sensible people should pay attention. And while I’ll be the first to admit that there are profound societal and ethical issues surrounding this issue; from a practical matter I think it is also imperative that businesses and government “jump the curve” and begin contemplating both the opportunities and the problems that this issue will create in the near future.
At a minimum, society will need to revisit its assumptions about when people should work and retire. For example, if people can live well past 100 perhaps society should restructure itself so that people work less during their child rearing years—so that they can spend more time with their children. The trade-off, of course, may be that these people will have to forego the idea of retiring when they are 65 and instead work until a much older age.
In turn, these dynamics will have profound implications for every industry from education and tourism to retirement planning and health care.
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Jack Uldrich is a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequent speaker on future technology and future trends, nanotechnology, innovation, change management and executive leadership to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and trade associations.
