“This book is dedicated to the first generation of immortal humans. Until now, humanity had been doomed to death. Hopefully, now, thanks to the great technological advances to come in the next few decades, we stand on the threshold between the last generation of mortal humans and the first generation of immortal humans.”

These spirited words launch the “Dedication” chapter at the start of the book The Death of Death. The dedication continues as follows:

Thanks to our ancestors we have arrived here, and our descendants will soon be able to enjoy the extension of lifespans as it was never before possible. We will live in a much better world with an indefinite lifespan, indefinitely young; not condemned to involuntary death, nor indefinitely elderly. Furthermore, we will move from the extension of lifespan to the expansion of life itself by increasing our capabilities and possibilities on this small planet and then far beyond the Earth.

This book is dedicated to the young and the old, to women and men, to believers and unbelievers, to the rich and the poor, to all those around the world who work so that we can finally reach the oldest dream of humanity: The Death of Death. The control of human aging and rejuvenation will soon be a reality. It is our ethical duty to move as quickly as possible towards this noble goal.

In this episode, Humanity Unshackled host Rusty Burridge interviewed David Wood, co-author of The Death of Death.

Here’s a selection of the topics covered:

  • The Spanish and English roots of The Death of Death
  • The moral defence of the idea of physical immortality
  • Contrasting the scarcity mentality with the abundance mentality
  • Is it death that gives life its meaning?
  • Animals that get cancer less often than would be expected
  • The special case of the blind mole-rat
  • The kind of immortality of “the immortal jellyfish”
  • Replacement of parts of our biology with better alternatives
  • The concept of “The Methuselarity”
  • Stem cell therapies, nanobots, and epigenetic reprogramming
  • Investigations into the use of Yamanaka factors by David Sinclair of Harvard and by Altos Labs
  • The role of AI in developing rejuvenation treatments
  • The role of AI in improving personalised precision medicine
  • Anticipating the reanimation of cryopreserved bodies that are legally dead but, in principle, biologically viable
  • The “Longevity Dividend” argument
  • Perverse financial incentives that sometimes encourage a “sickcare industry” rather than a “healthcare industry”
  • The diabetes drug metformin as a potential anti-aging treatment
  • The argument for governments to fund trials such as TAME
  • Ways in which people with religious faith might consider the scientific route toward physical immortality
  • The need to combat “longevity myths” – bogus philosophical arguments for preferring mortality to immortality
  • Forthcoming experimental results which are likely to change the public attitude toward the possibility and desirability of radical life extension
  • The scenario in which many people are “left behind” without being able to access rejuvenation technologies
  • Two ways to avoid the “left behind” scenario
  • The need to become involved in a battle of ideas: pro-abundance, pro-collaboration, pro-transhumanism
  • The death of death isn’t the end, but it’s the beginning

To listen to this episode, click on the audio player at the top of this page.

Alternatively, listen to this episode on Soundcloud, or visit the corresponding Radio Hydrogen page.

To dig more deeply into some of the ideas in this episode:

For a complete listing of Humanity Unshackled episodes, see the Future Surge Media page.

Credits:

Technology, Legals, and Australian FM Radio Network Liaison: Chris John Doe.

Music: “Far Away 6,” written and performed by Sean Anthony Brennan

Radio Hydrogen Artwork: Eleanor O’Donnell

Special thanks to Bob Evans of the 3E show on Tribe FM 91.1 Willunga, and to all at Tribe FM, past present and future.

Published on 28th August 2023.