What if you were told you could live forever; your death could be put off indefinitely? Like most of us, your initial reaction would likely be laughter, followed by “sure, sure… wouldn’t that be nice?” After all, mortality is a fact of life and our ultimate demise is something that we must (pardon the pun) learn to live with… or is it?
Author, inventor, and futurist Ray Kurzweil doesn’t think so. In fact, he views death as nothing more than another obstacle waiting to be overcome by science, albeit the greatest obstacle so far. Although the very idea of “living forever” immediately elicits a feeling of skepticism in all of us, Kurzweil presents more than just a convincing argument for the possibility of immortality.
Called “the restless genius” by the Wall Street Journal and “the ultimate thinking machine” by Forbes magazine, Ray Kurzweil is quickly becoming the most oft quoted futurist of our time. He received the National Medal of Technology and is an inductee in the National Inventors Hall of Fame; his inventions (such as the first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind in 1976) have inspired comparisons to Thomas Edison, and his fans range from Bill Gates to Bill Clinton.
Kurzweil is not given to making unsound predictions which lack factual basis; moreover, his views of the future are based upon ongoing scientific discoveries, paradigm shifts, and technological advances. His written works begin by examining past trends in science and technology, and lead into explanations of the rapid growth and advancement of specific areas. This can be seen in his “Law of Accelerating Returns”, which explains the exponential growth of computer intelligence based upon a wide variety of factors, all of which he backs up with statistical datum.
Kurzweil’s latest book, “The Singularity is Near”, currently tops the list of hot scientific reads, and has been a much anticipated follow-up to his 1999 bestseller “The Age of Spiritual Machines”. After writing his first major book about the future (“The Age of Intelligent Machines”) almost three decades ago, which made detailed predictions about the 1990’s, his readership quickly grew. This was largely due to the fact that the decade unfolded exactly as he had described, and with machine-like precision. Kurzweil recently gave a lecture at MIT, summarizing “The Singularity is Near” for the student audience. This lecture is currently being carried by online media, and can be found at a variety of internet sites.
Kurzweil teamed up with Dr. Terry Grossman in 2004, and the two wrote a book entitled “Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough To Live Forever”. In “Fantastic Voyage”, the authors outline the science behind radical life extension. They explain in precise detail the steps which we can begin taking now in order to “slow the aging process to a crawl”, so within the next couple of decades we will be able to halt and reverse this process completely. In order to bridge the gulf between life today and the distant future, the authors identify three specific steps, or bridges, which we will cross along the way.
Bridge One is comprised of the many methods which we currently have available to us such as which supplements to take, what foods to eat, and how to effectively “reprogram our biochemistry” in order to actually change our genetic programming. The authors outline a specific longevity program consisting of present-day therapies, diets, and supplements which will, in effect, allow us to stay healthy long enough to enjoy further advancements in the area of Genetics and biotechnology, the seeds of which we are seeing now.
These advances will allow us to stop disease and effectively reverse aging. The biotechnology revolution brings with it the advanced knowledge of genetic codes and methods to influence, block, and modify gene expression. The authors outline types of gene therapy which we will see in the near future. Therapeutic cloning as a means to defeat programmed cell death and human cell engineering are covered in detail in the description of Bridge One. Undoubtedly, the advances made within the first bridge will allow many of us to reach Bridge Two.
Bridge Two explains the key (and possibly most controversial) factor: Nanotechnology. Self-replicating nanobots (blood-cell-sized robots) will be placed in our bloodstreams, allowing tiny operations to take place on a cellular level. These robots are built molecule by molecule, and will be able to perform a wide variety of tasks within the human body. Within two decades, nanotechnology will be ubiquitous, allowing the human race to postpone death indefinitely. Patents for many specialized types of nanobots already exist, and many “nanoprojects” are currently underway. Kurzweil and Grossman fully expect to see Bridge Two, and plan to experience the technological advances which follow it.
The authors have presented a wonderful view of the future in “Fantastic Voyage”, and their method of remaining healthy long enough to reach Bridges Two and Three is sure to inspire hope in all who read it, especially the baby-boomer generation. Kurzweil and Grossman explain that, although the majority of baby-boomers (born 1946-1963) will not live to see Bridge Three, many will reach this important turning point and subsequently surpass it, moving forward and beyond, at which point death can be put off indefinitely.
The authors adamantly inform us that the baby-boomer generation (to which they both belong) will be the final generation wherein the majority die before reaching Bridge Three. However, according to the authors, those boomers who follow the regime outlined in “Fantastic Voyage” (themselves included) possess an optimistic chance of surviving through all three bridges and overcoming death… the biggest obstacle of all.