Elon Musk has repeatedly expressed skepticism about a very long human life.
He believes society could stagnate if people live significantly longer than they do today.
According to him, political and economic power positions could become entrenched because leaders never step aside, Fortune reports.
He has also said that he does not wish to live to a very advanced age if it involves serious illness or dependence on others.
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For Elon Musk, the question of lifespan is therefore not only about health, but also about society’s ability to change.
The body as a system
On the Moonshots podcast with Peter Diamandis, Elon Musk also presented a more technical idea.
He said that humans are “preprogrammed to die,” and that this programming could, in principle, be changed.
His argument is based on the fact that the body ages uniformly, which he believes points to a common biological mechanism that should be alterable. This has not yet been proven.
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Researchers from Stanford Medicine explain that aging is influenced by a combination of genetic factors and hormones, which contribute to the body’s tissues aging more or less synchronously.
Medicine and machines
Elon Musk also sees artificial intelligence and robots as a central part of the future healthcare system.
He believes that humanoid robots could take over surgical tasks and deliver more precise treatment than humans within a few years.
As an example, he mentions laser-based eye surgeries that are already controlled by computers today.
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Technology may be able to extend life, but that does not necessarily mean the result will be a better society, according to Elon Musk.
Sources: Fortune, Moonshots, and Stanford Medicine.