Human life is becoming better with the advancements in science and modern technology. If technology intervenes, could we one day achieve immortality?
Humans tend to age and die. To live indefinitely, we need to prevent our bodies from aging.
How to Prevent Aging?
The Hydra jellyfish is a small invertebrate with a remarkable approach to aging. It is primarily composed of stem cells that continuously divide to create new cells as old ones are removed. This continuous generation of new cells allows the hydra to rejuvenate itself and remain eternally youthful.
Daniel Martínez, a biology professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California, poses the question: “The Hydra jellyfish seems to not age, thus it has the potential for immortality. What about humans?”
Humans possess stem cells that can repair and even regenerate some body parts, but the human body is not entirely composed of cells like the hydra. This is because humans require cells to perform functions beyond merely dividing and producing new cells. For example, our red blood cells transport oxygen throughout the body.
Can robots make humans immortal?
According to Martínez, Hydra may inspire research that enables humans to live healthier by discovering ways for our cells to function better as they age.
In the future, humans may live beyond their biological limits with advancements in technology related to nanotechnology. Tiny machines could move through the bloodstream and prevent aging by repairing damage that cells incur over time. Nanotechnology may also cure certain diseases, including some types of cancer, by eliminating cancer cells from the body.
Technology for Immortality
As technology progresses, futurists predict two significant milestones. The first is the singularity, where we will design artificial intelligence (AI) that is smart enough to redesign itself, becoming increasingly intelligent until it far surpasses human intelligence. The second milestone is virtual immortality, where we could scan our brains and transfer our consciousness to a non-biological medium, such as a computer.
Researchers have mapped the neural connections of the roundworm (Caenorhabditis elegans). As part of the OpenWorm project, they then simulated the roundworm’s brain in software that replicated its neural connections, programming the software to control a Lego robot. The robot then began to function like a roundworm.
However, scientists have yet to map the connections between the 86 billion neurons in the human brain (the roundworm has only 302 neurons), but advancements in artificial intelligence may help us achieve this.
Once the human mind exists within a computer and can be uploaded to the internet, we will no longer have to worry about the physical body deteriorating. Moving the human mind out of the body would be a significant step toward achieving immortality.
Susan Schneider, a philosopher and founding director of the Future Center at Florida Atlantic University, argues: “If the brain persists, then the digital copy cannot be you while you are still alive; conversely, the digital copy cannot be you if your brain does not survive the upload process to the internet.”
According to Schneider, a better path to extending lifespan while preserving humanity would be through biological enhancements compatible with the existence of brain chips.
Schneider states: “There has been much discussion about gradually replacing parts of the brain with chips. In other words, slowly transitioning into a robot and thinking with chips rather than neurons.”
“By 2050, true immortality will only be realistically available to the wealthy and famous. The majority of middle-income individuals or less may achieve it by the 2060s.” – Dr. Ian Pearson, a gene technology expert and inventor based in Ipswich, England, who specializes in teaching about future living, notes.
