Anti-aging and culture: How therapies to make us live longer may disrupt our culture

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• February 12, 2022

Insight summary

The quest for a longer, healthier life is driving research initiatives aimed at unlocking the secrets of aging. The implications of these studies are immense, altering societal norms around aging, potentially boosting productivity in workplaces due to a longer active lifespan, but also leading to challenges such as a wealth divide and financial pressures on retirement plans. With the potential to reshape our lives, culture, and economies, the exploration of anti-aging presents a profound shift in the human experience.

Anti-aging and culture

While life is precious and no one looks forward to dying, would you like to live for hundreds or thousands of years? That’s the prospect that people with serious money are working on. They want to hack life and completely skip death. For them, immortality is a realistic goal.

Several university labs, academics, and startups are involved in research projects all aimed at finding a way for humans to live longer, healthier lives. Some examples include Calico Life Sciences (backed by Google), which is working to understand the biology that controls aging and life span, while Unity Biotechnology is working on treatments that would delay diseases related to aging. 

The new field of geroscience aims to treat aging itself by helping people to stay healthier longer. As we get older, we’re increasingly at risk of developing certain diseases, which are then treated as they appear. Geroscience aims to treat aging itself. In another development, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed rejuvenating gene therapy for human skin that could eventually reverse the aging process, preventing diseases related to aging, and even reversing brain and muscle decline.

Disruptive impact 

Anti-aging therapies could radically reshape our societal norms and the way we perceive age. Traditional markers of aging, such as wrinkles or gray hair, help us visually distinguish between generations. Moreover, this could foster a more competitive society, where the pressure to remain "young" and perform at peak levels persists throughout what we now consider to be retirement years.

For businesses and organizations, this shift could also bring both opportunities and challenges. They might have a more experienced workforce at their disposal for longer periods, potentially improving productivity and results. However, the lack of turnover could lead to fewer opportunities for younger employees to ascend to leadership roles, possibly stifling innovation and change. Businesses might need to rethink their structures, promoting a culture that values the mixing of experience and fresh perspectives.

From a policy perspective, governments could face significant hurdles. The economic implications of a longer-living, 'eternally youthful' society could be vast. Current retirement plans and social security systems are based on certain life expectancy rates. With these changing, a complete restructuring might be necessary to ensure financial stability. Healthcare costs, which already represent a substantial portion of many countries' budgets, could also skyrocket. It's crucial for governments to start planning for these changes, striving for solutions that ensure fair access to these therapies and address the potential societal implications.

Implications of anti-aging and culture

Wider implications of anti-aging initiatives may include:

• Pockets of society where everybody looks more or less the same age. 
• The implementation of therapies from a young age to prevent illnesses associated with aging–meaning no more dementia, progressive hearing problems, cancer, osteoporosis, and other illnesses typically associated with old age.
• Significant decreases in national healthcare costs, since the vast majority of modern healthcare spending is devoted to senior care.
• Women potentially being liberated from time pressures related to family planning, allowing them to pursue educational and professional goals for longer before considering childbirth.
• A potential widening of a wealth divide between the rich and poor, as the rich will be the first to extend their lifespans and potentially their wealth accumulation prospects.
• Governments retiring the concept of retirement for those who use life extension therapies. 
• Entire world economies being less at risk of labor shortages, as workers can remain active and productive for decades longer than what was previously possible.

Questions to consider

• What is the maximum age you would like to live to? Why?
• How would people’s attitudes toward the meaning of life, world events, and politics be influenced if they know they will be alive for an extra several decades? Or centuries?