Billionaires are funding the development of ‘Life-Extending Pills’, which might soon be available to the rich, as reported by New York Post. A CEO warns that if this happens, the world could be filled with “posh zombies”—wealthy people living for much longer but with little purpose, leading to an unfair and unequal society.
Several prominent tech billionaires, including Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, and Sam Altman, have invested large amounts of money into biotechnology companies focused on anti-aging research. Bezos, for instance, put $3 billion into Altos Labs, a company aiming to reverse aging by using advanced technology to rejuvenate cells.
Altos Labs is working on a process called biological reprogramming, which could help reverse the aging process. Similarly, Thiel has supported the Methuselah Foundation, which seeks to extend human life by developing technologies to replace aging organs and rejuvenate the body.
Altman, the founder of OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT), has invested $180 million in a company called Retro BioScience, which is researching ways to extend human life by reprogramming cells.
Scientists are making progress, and new discoveries, like a drug that extended mice’s lives by 25%, show that it’s possible to slow aging. The hope is that one day, these kinds of treatments will be available to humans, but only for those who can afford them.
Phil Cleary, the founder of the SmartWater Group, warns that this could create a world where only the rich live much longer lives, while the poor continue to suffer.
He believes that instead of spending billions on making rich people live longer, billionaires should help save lives in other ways, such as addressing hunger and preventable diseases that kill millions of children each year.
Cleary calls the pursuit of anti-aging treatments “ego-driven” and says it could lead to a society where the wealthy live far longer than others, creating unfair divisions.
He argues that helping children survive until adulthood is a much more important goal for humanity than extending the lives of the already privileged.