3 ms·
I think one of the major issues is that people associate longer life expectancy with old age. For most people, the idea of being kept alive by machines, bed ri
by posnet 5y ago
I think one of the major issues is that people associate longer life expectancy with old age.
For most people, the idea of being kept alive by machines, bed ridden for decades into their 80/90s as far worse than death. They never consider that improvements could promise them a strong body and agile mind in addition to the extra years.
Who ever does the life extension technology marketing really needs to push the "keep people younger, longer" message.
- SpicyLemonZest 5y agoIt's worth noting, though, that people think of it this way because that's historically what life extension has looked like. I'm still ultimately in favor, but I see a nontrivial chance of a disaster scenario where "keep people barely alive till they're 150" is the low hanging fruit.
- whatshisface 5y agoAs far as disasters go, one you can opt-out of is not the most terrifying.
- SpicyLemonZest 5y agoOften you can't opt out. My great-grandma was basically non-functional for her last decade: she couldn't move without assistance, couldn't taste anything, and seemed to be in constant pain. But her dementia came first, so by the time we started worrying about it, she couldn't think clearly enough to make any decisions about anything. We never put her on life support as such because we were pretty sure she wouldn't have wanted it, but there was no specific life-sustaining intervention to consider withdrawing, just a bundle of meds which each meaningfully improved her quality of life. So she kinda bumbled along in a cloud of permanent confusion and misery until the end.