Quick Take | Chasing immortality

Tech billionaires are attempting to reverse ageing focusing is on stopping diseases of old age

Tech tycoon Bryan Johnson during a regular blood sample collection of his anti-ageing regiment (Photo | X.com)

Silicon Valley is increasingly obsessed with living much longer. Known as ‘immortalists’, Elon Musk, Bryan Johnson and Dario Amodei today imagine a future with extended lifespans in a few decades, seeing ageing as a ‘software glitch’ that can be fixed. Their focus is on stopping diseases of old age and extending healthy life, while some even suggest preserving memories and personalities in digital forms, like Musk’s idea of ‘Grokipedia’. This drive echoes religious hopes for life after death, but through human effort instead of faith. Still, questions remain: Can a copy truly capture a person? As technology pushes life’s limits, we must consider the implications of what it really means to live longer.