There is a very famous quote that people often use – ‘Money can buy anything.’ But does it literally buy everything? If it did, rich people would never die. There are individuals in the world who possess an enormous amount of money that they cannot spend in a single lifetime. For centuries, the dream of immortality has been pursued, and now this dream is incredibly close to becoming a reality. According to a report by the New York Post, some of the world’s wealthiest people are spending money on technologies and drugs that can extend human life. But will this technology be available only to the rich? And what impact will it have on society?
The report mentioned that billionaires are investing in life-extending technologies. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has invested USD 3 billion in his company named – Altos Labs, which is now the largest biotech company. Altos Labs focuses on biological reprogramming technology that could rejuvenate human cells in a lab. Notably, the human body is made up of trillions of cells and if the company succeeds in rejuvenating human cells, it might be able to extend human life.
PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has invested a large amount of money in the Methuselah Foundation, which works on preventing diseases and extending life through the latest technologies.
Sam Altman, founder of ChatGPT, has invested USD180 million in Retro BioScience. The company claims that its latest research and technology could extend human life by 10 years.
Research is being done on biological reprogramming, reviving cells, and maintaining their youth. Scientists across the world are continually working on extending the human lifespan.
What can be a piece of good news is that recently researchers from Imperial College London and Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, succeeded in developing a drug that increased the lifespan of lab rats by 25 percent.
However, dreams of extended life come with several controversies. Phil Clery, founder of the SmartWater Group, has raised serious questions. According to Phil, this technology will be restricted to rich people, creating a society where only the privileged ‘posh zombies’ will enjoy long lives.
He argues that billionaires should focus on saving the world’s poor children instead of trying to extend their lives. 5 million children die every year due to hunger and lack of medical care.
Clery warned that longevity drugs could increase inequality in the world. He said, “A drug that keeps people alive for a few more decades will make the world even more unjust and unequal. Only the rich will access it, while the poor will struggle to meet their basic needs.”
He believes that the real meaning of an individual’s life is to help others and keep children alive until their 18th birthday, rather than paving the way for a long life for the rich.
