We know how fast technology is advancing throughout the world. Ever since we had internet, we all are aware of the technological advances in every angle of our lives. There have been revolutionary advances in medical science and technology as well. If you have watched ‘Can you live forever’ by Adam Savage, perhaps you have some idea about that. But let’s put TV, Sci-Fi flicks, and speculations aside for a moment and concentrate on the real achievements in medical science and technology. Are we medically advanced enough to be immortal? Will we be able to live forever by fighting senescence? Will we be able to immortalize our bodies? The answer is YES. But how real is the possibility of human immortality in our life time? The answer is: it is as real as it can get!
Scientists and futurists are predicting the achievement of human immortality by 2045. In fact, they are thinking one step ahead of that. They are wondering the real possibility of singularity. If you didn’t know already, singularity means development of super-intelligence brought about through the use of technology.
We have been trying to create artificial organs, for instance artificial heart, bionic eyes. We created and implemented prosthetic arms and legs. Medical science and technology has come a long way in creating such body parts artificially. Though we haven’t gained the desired success with organs such as artificial heart and bionic eyes, but brain controlled arms and legs have been successfully designed and implemented. Living people are using them. It’s not science fiction anymore. We have been successful in growing transplant human organ in domesticated animals such as pigs, which makes us capable of genetically tailor compatible organs.
However, all these achievements in medical science and technology don’t ensure immortality of human beings. These are only alternatives in case we face organ failure or go through an accident. This is why there have been other branches of medical science to help us gain immortality. Did you know that we have cryonic storage for more than 50 years where dead bodies are preserved and waiting to be woken up soon as science has the ability to reanimate them? If you didn’t know already, we preserved Albert Einstein’s brain, but his brain is not the only one.
We already have advanced medical technologies for cloning, creating synthetic human genome (Scientist can create a human being from synthetic human genome without biological parents). We have stem cell research, life extension science, bio-engineering, molecular nano technology, nano-medicine, self organizing swarms, nanobots to back us up in the medical revolution of achieving human immortality.
The 2045 Initiative, founded in 2011, had the main goal to develop cybernetic immortality. Following that, Global Future 2045 or GF2045 took place in February 2012 in Moscow, where world renowned futurists and scientists got together and shared their ideas about achieving human evolution and immortality by the year 2045. The second GF2045 was held in June 2013 in Lincoln Center, NY. In three days of the congress, 1500 participants (renowned scientists) took part. It’s as real as it can get. That’s how serious scientists are in achieving human immortality.
By 2045, they are planning to successfully develop and implement robot bodies that safely houses human brains, even better, to build avatars (android) and have your brain remotely operate it. The implication is that you can send your robot body to do your work with your brain preserved elsewhere. Director of Engineering at Google, Ray Kurzweil, said that we may even be able to connect our brain to computers, thereby achieving super-intelligence or singularity.
The scientists and futurists are forecasting these changes to happen by 2045. Some of them are predicting that these technologies will be available for mainstream users by the year 2060. Even if you are in your 30s now, the odds are very high that you’ll be able to see human being achieving immortality in your life time. Perhaps, you will be able to achieve immortality yourself.
Cybernetic immortality of human being is a real thing now and we are just a couple of years behind in achieving that. As much as it seem like a good news to most but is it such a good thing for the laws of nature? Human immortality is a very controversial topic. I know you have a lot to share about it. The scientists and futurists are also seeking everyone’s opinions about it.
References
https://www.health.harvard.edu/medical-devices-and-technology/what-is-a-synthetic-human-genome
https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2014/08/self-organizing-thousand-robot-swarm
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/14/science/synthetic-human-genome.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortality
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2045_Initiative
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_extension
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein%27s_brain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senescence
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5408425/Human-beings-achieve-immortality-2050.html
http://bigthink.com/scotty-hendricks/4-geniuses-who-have-had-their-brains-studied-by-science
This is an interesting post, and the idea of immortality gets clearer reading books by Allen Omton and Serge Dobrow
This is an interesting post, and human’s immortality becomes real today after being discovered by Allen Omton and Serge Dobrow.
I do want to be a cyborg artificial limbs and bionic eyes because the grim reaper already took my beloved uncle, my grandparents, my other aunt and uncle, my stepfather, my aunt’s parents and her husband another aunt and now my cousin’s husband and I ain’t trying to have the grim reaper come for me ever