[Spede]

(06-08-2014 02:48 PM)Slick Shimmer Wrote:  

I'm not against the technology, but I am against its privatization, especially by Google.

I agree with that, but given the current state of affairs, any financial & scientific investment is more than welcome. So... deep-pocketed Google is planning to throw big cash in life extension? TAKE MY MONEY.

That's the thing. As much as I'd prefer the public sector to spearhead life extension, funds are slowly coughed by our technocrats. Precisely because there's no political push; and there's no political push because politicians have no incentive to do so; and they have no incentive to hurry a scientific leap because voters think death is unavoidable.

And now you have Google, which never does anything for free, that stepped in. Brilliant.
That means more private competitors will join the race in an attempt to undercut Google's newfound nich; and that also means the public and non-profit sectors will too be forced to pay better attention, because of what's at stake (complete societal revolution) and because the public society will be increasingly made aware of the incurring changes and challenges.

(06-08-2014 03:39 PM)Renzy Wrote:  

It would be interesting to see how this would impact things economically, were something like this to come to fruition.

This should go hand to hand with the Universal Basic Income, in my view.

(06-08-2014 03:50 PM)thedude3737 Wrote:  

The notion of any of this being available to the common man is laughable.

Well, you too are making speculations. You're not taking into account the possibility that public sector/non-profits would contribute to life extension treatments, and that they'd make them affordable (possibly free, actually).
And who's been doing the heavy scientific lifting up to now? Public and non-profits.

But anyway if you're playing along the "elitist conspiracy" line (which I don't agree with), then you could imagine them being happy to keep their common men slaves in good shape for a very long time. No more burn-out, etc. Good for their profits.

(06-08-2014 04:43 PM)Solus Wrote:  

Disease, aging and death are all devices which have regulated life on Earth for billions of years. How exactly is stopping all of them a good thing?

This is not an accurate statement, since some natural species do not die of aging.
Plus, you're assuming that we would keep procreating at an unregulated rate, which wouldn't be the case anymore.

I will also point out that humans have been cheating death since prehistoric times.

(06-08-2014 04:43 PM)Solus Wrote:  

Eternal youth would only beneficial from an individual standpoint if you were the only person it would apply to and even then you'll still watch everyone you know and love age and die in your place.

No, it would be a good thing on many levels for the society, if and only if as many people as possible could stay young (not immortal, just young).

Keep in mind that life extension is all about gaining control over your life; the ultimate game that empowers you to pick, not a girl, but yourself.
Wanna die old and without knowing when? More power to you! Wanna die young at 100 years old? Go ahead! Wanna die young err... don't know when? Enjoy your stay and take your time!
Indefinite life extension gives you a choice - that you don't currently have.

Also, life extension as envisaged by SENS doesn't aim at fusionning with machines (but AFAIK doesn't exclude some degree of cohabitation for medical reasons). That's a different story. Human enhancement has its own share of supporters.

Then, regarding suicide. Suicide would still bear some sadness, as all departures, but will be a much more accepted social practice. Simply because unlike now, in a life extended society people will more likely choose to end their lives not out of despair, but because they will feel complete. They'll have decided that they did everything they wanted to, that they weren't interested in making more, and they'll leave this world with a smile on their face.

Already in countries like Belgium and Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal, the patients who will die from incurable conditions are much happier to choose the exact day they'll die, rather than having to endure useless therapies for an undetermined amount of time. They even hold small parties with friends and family before going. Why? Because under such system, they've reclaimed some control over an unavoidable death.

The next step is to claim full control over death, through an indefinite life.