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NinjaLanternShark t1_je38cet wrote

Fucking ouch!

They called him a "Google engineer."

Ray Fucking Kurzweil.

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TimeTravelMishap t1_je37iag wrote

What the fuck would a google engineer know about immortality medical research?? Can I go ask my doctor about C++?

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NinjaLanternShark t1_je390pb wrote

Actually the "google engineer" in the article is Ray Kurzweil, a man who's been a futurist for longer than most Redditors have been alive.

I don't always agree with his views and predictions, but he certainly has earned the right to be called more than "a google engineer."

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Beemer17-21 t1_je39rg5 wrote

It's likely because Kurzweil is controversial in his views and his predictions are fairly widely known, thus the click bait title.

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imakenosensetopeople t1_je39e5r wrote

Correction: the wealthy will achieve immortality. Us poors will not have it in our lifetime.

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Alchemystic1123 t1_je5h8qp wrote

That's not how AI and the future works, these technologies are far too widespread and ubiquetous to only be limited to a select few for very long, and when they ARE only available to a select few, they are at a stage where they don't work very well anyways. Look at cellphones. It's just like that, but much faster.

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B-Town-MusicMan t1_je3b3al wrote

"I'm 105. Does it show? The day comes when you've had enough. Your mind can be spent even if your body's not."

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Muiluttelija t1_je4qlw0 wrote

Can’t a mind be spent at 50? Or 25? Certainly I would like to find out when mine would, and a possibility to live longer could help in that. I am quite sure my grandpa didn’t want to die when he did.

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TarTarkus1 t1_je3d711 wrote

Yeah, I'd say that this is unfortunately more likely to happen than not. Especially given how ChatGPT is currently privatized.

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misdirected_asshole t1_je39jjw wrote

>A former Google engineer has just predicted that humans will achieve immortality in eight years, something more than likely considering that 86% of his 147 predictions have been correct

This is awful reasoning. He's got a good track record so let's just assume this is a good prediction.

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FuturologyBot t1_je391ju wrote

The following submission statement was provided by /u/dustofoblivion123:

From the article:

"Compartir en Facebook Compartir en Twitter Compartir en Telegram Compartir en Whatsapp Enviar por email Tech. What is the 'digital curfew' in the U.S. and how will it curb underage social media use? Tech. Which countries have banned TikTok? Check the full list A former Google engineer has just predicted that humans will achieve immortality in eight years, something more than likely considering that 86% of his 147 predictions have been correct.

Ray Kurzweil visited the YouTube channel Adagio, in a discussion on the expansion of genetics, nanotechnology and robotics, which he believes will lead to age-reversing 'nanobots'.

These tiny robots will repair damaged cells and tissues that deteriorate as the body ages, making people immune to certain diseases such as cancer."

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1259fk7/former_google_engineer_predicts_humans_will/je354vo/

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RumpledStiltSkinn t1_je3bjqx wrote

Kinda like how that pesky household fusion energy is just "right around the corner"

1

94746382926 t1_je3o3ot wrote

How old is Ray Kurzweil now again? As much as I want this to be true I unfortunately think his remaining natural lifespan is biasing him.

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Fivenearhere t1_je6rggp wrote

Immortality is a hard thing to achieve when you involve statistics.

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TreeHawkFeather t1_je75bc5 wrote

100% doubt, but I can't imagine the madness that would bring.

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New_Altitude t1_je79qrj wrote

Maybe we should cool it on the immortality a little bit. Do you really wanna be stuck with these people forever?

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The_Scarred_Man t1_je7vwd8 wrote

Good, put me to sleep and wake me up in 200 years once society has sorted itself out a little more.

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CatPasswd t1_je365q9 wrote

God, I hope not. Not in the current global environment.

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megapillowcase t1_je416bo wrote

Life is only meaningful because there is an end. I’ll take my cool 80 years.

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Red_Aurora1917 t1_je78u5m wrote

Why are people downvoting you? Do ya'll want a front seat to experience the heat death of the universe?

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alranach t1_jecjzht wrote

Life is meaningful because I find meaning in it, not because it has to end. Also, there's always going to be accidents, murders, suicides and such. Plus the whole damn universe is gonna take a shit someday so it's not like it's indefinite

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spisHjerner t1_je3946h wrote

Our physical bodies can't withstand effects of climate change. Capitalism signals it will be "immortality for some." AGI could take out humans before we improve on this. Efforts to mine the moon may start a war in space, which could result in Earth being destroyed.

It's not that simple to say "humans achieve immortality" when existential threats loom heavy.

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AdTypical6494 t1_je3bm67 wrote

climate change is everywhere, just like the ozon hole was back in the days.

Overpopulation is the main problem of mankind. all bad outcomes are linked to overpopulation and exponal growth.

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spisHjerner t1_je3devb wrote

> climate change is everywhere

Humans are everywhere, right now. It is that our physical bodies can't survive too much fluctuation. We'll see reduction in food supply as well. We are actually no longer trending for overpopulation. Many countries report a rapid decline. We are not producing offspring like before. And our mortality rate is declining. So, as less places become inhabitable, with less people able and willing to procreate, we're actually going to experience a sudden drop off in human population. This true-human population decline will be accelerated as human-ai hybridization increases.

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AdTypical6494 t1_je3fcvs wrote

"We are actually no longer trending for overpopulation. "

In November 2022, more than 8 billion people lived on Earth for the first time, according to the United Nations.

The Effects of Overpopulation
More people means an increased demand for food, water, housing, energy, healthcare, transportation, and more. And all that consumption contributes to ecological degradation, increased conflicts, and a higher risk of large-scale disasters like pandemics.

This are the real problems for mankind.

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AdTypical6494 t1_je3b3dm wrote

to be alive means to have death in mind to use time on earth properly.

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Tnuvu t1_je4cvph wrote

Perhaps rich top 1% humans, somehow doubt we'll ever reach the utopian Star Trek level of unity given we can't even share food and medicine with all the people on the planet today.

Let's not even mention the "you must respect the rules we impose, but we don't have to cause we have money" approach the wef has on basically anything

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dustofoblivion123 OP t1_je354vo wrote

From the article:

"Compartir en Facebook Compartir en Twitter Compartir en Telegram Compartir en Whatsapp Enviar por email Tech. What is the 'digital curfew' in the U.S. and how will it curb underage social media use? Tech. Which countries have banned TikTok? Check the full list A former Google engineer has just predicted that humans will achieve immortality in eight years, something more than likely considering that 86% of his 147 predictions have been correct.

Ray Kurzweil visited the YouTube channel Adagio, in a discussion on the expansion of genetics, nanotechnology and robotics, which he believes will lead to age-reversing 'nanobots'.

These tiny robots will repair damaged cells and tissues that deteriorate as the body ages, making people immune to certain diseases such as cancer."

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iamthewhatt t1_je37kfi wrote

I thought the issue isn't that cells are becoming damaged, it's that the DNA is losing its "code" over time? I really doubt we'll have robots that can repair actual DNA

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Scope_Dog t1_je6092y wrote

why not? they have cured other illnesses by editing DNA. Immortality just seems like the beginning to me.

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iamthewhatt t1_je6ndoj wrote

You don't "cure" damaged DNA that way. The genetic code itself is what is causing the damage. You need to be able to manipulate that code to prevent damage or to repair itself. Tiny robots aren't going to do that in 8 years.

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CatPasswd t1_je38jf7 wrote

As cells reproduce, a certain structure called a telomere degrades. Eventually, when the telomeres are too short, the cells can't replace themselves because the failure rate becomes too high.

0

Sweeth_Tooth99 t1_je36z25 wrote

maybe quantum computing and AI will help us crack the inmortality equation, sort of speak, but neither of those technologies are in a state where thats a possibility

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