Various billionaires, including Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, and Sam Altman, have been investing a lot of money in regenerative medicine for years. However, there is also criticism of the plans to develop life-extending medications.
Who is investing?
- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (in the title image) is said to have already invested around 3 billion US dollars in Altos Labs. This is a company that is researching how to reverse the aging process (via technologyreview.com).
- Peter Thiel, co-founder of the payment platform PayPal, is investing money in the Methuselah Foundation, which is also focused on extending the healthy human lifespan.
- ChatGPT founder Sam Altman has so far invested 180 million US dollars in the biotech startup Retro BioScience, which also promises to extend human life.
Are there any advancements yet? Yes, indeed. In July 2024, researchers from the MRC Laboratory of Medical Science at Imperial College London and the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore announced the discovery of a new drug that extends the lifespan of lab mice by almost 25%.
The goal is to further increase life expectancy and ensure that the cells of the body remain young and disease-free for a longer time. However, this does not only generate enthusiasm. Critics say: This is all happening at the expense of poor people who could never afford such a medication.
Critics say: Billionaires are selfish when they invest money in such research
What do dissenters say? Critics argue that the billionaires’ plans to extend life are very selfish. Because in the end, only a very small part of society would benefit from this research.
One of the critics is Phil Cleary, founder of the SmartWater Group. He described the quest for life-extending medicine as “selfish” and accuses the billionaires of risking creating a planet full of “noble, privileged zombies.” And the desire to find such a medication would ultimately have to be paid for by the weakest inhabitants of the planet.
As Cleary explains in a conversation (via nypost.com):
The fervent pursuit of Silicon Valley for the fountain of youth is a folly driven by fear and selfishness that has a terrible humanitarian cost for the planet and its most vulnerable inhabitants (…)
A pill that keeps people alive, even if only for a few decades, would create an unjust, unequal world teeming with flashy, privileged zombies – predominantly white people from the middle class who can actually afford these medications.
The billionaires behind this dangerous research should therefore stop playing God. They should instead become aware of what “life” really means.
Does he have a better idea? Yes, Phil Cleary explains that with the money, many people on Earth could be helped instead. The funds could be used for millions of children who die every year from hunger or diseases. The rich have had more than enough time to see the world, while many people die before they even turn 18. And that would be unfair:
Keeping children alive at least until their 18th birthday is undoubtedly more important for humanity than extending the lifespan of the few privileged who have already had the chance to see the world, have their own children, and realize their own special ambitions.
If you would rather watch the possible zombies on television instead of in reality, then we have a series of films where the “zombie apocalypse” has already broken out. Here are 7 films featuring the undead creating apocalyptic vibes: 7 disaster movies with zombies
