In the Next 5 Years, Humans Will Age One Year Less Each Year!

According to Saednews' Science and Technology Service, Ray Kurzweil, a computer scientist and futurist, believes that humanity will reach "escape velocity" for lifespan within the next five years. Escape velocity, in this context, refers to the point at which scientific and technological advancements in extending human lifespan will outpace the natural process of aging and death.

Thanks to advancements in medicine and technology, humans will soon reach a point where life expectancy increases every year, effectively reversing time. While this idea is highly debated, it requires widespread access to advanced medical technologies. Death has always been an unavoidable part of life, but now some of the world’s leading futurists believe that death may soon be removed from the list of inevitable phenomena.

Escape velocity for lifespan is a controversial concept within the futurist community. While it may seem like science fiction, the idea has a simple explanation. According to this concept, with continued advancements in medical technology, the average human lifespan or life expectancy could increase by more than the aging process over a given period. For example, with ongoing medical innovations, people would still age a year in the same amount of time, but their life expectancy would increase by a year and two months. This means that, functionally, they would gain two months of life back.

In April of this year, Ray Kurzweil, former Google engineer and prominent AI futurist, told several media outlets that he believes humanity will reach escape velocity for lifespan by 2029. "After 2029, you will gain back more than a year of your life. You’ll literally move backward in time. Once you can go back at least one year, you’ve reached the escape velocity for lifespan."

This concept is made possible largely by medical advancements. Kurzweil also mentioned, "We developed the COVID vaccine in ten months. It took just two days to produce. We sequenced several billion RNA strands in two days. Many other breakthroughs are happening as well. Medical science has recently started using synthetic biology, which is one of the reasons we’ll make significant progress in the next five years."

While it’s clear that medical advancements have saved countless lives and significantly increased life expectancy, it’s important to note that life expectancy is not the same as lifespan. The concept of escape velocity for lifespan focuses on the former. Reaching this point is not the same as achieving immortality. Kurzweil said, "Reaching escape velocity for lifespan is not a guarantee of immortality. You could have a 10-year-old child and calculate how many decades they are likely to live, but they could die tomorrow."

The main reason for this is the unpredictability of life. It’s unlikely that we’ll be able to cure all forms of cancer within five years, as cancer is defined by the random mutations that cause it. Accidents are also a part of life, though Kurzweil argues that technological advancements, like self-driving cars, will reduce the likelihood of fatal accidents in the near future.

Kurzweil is well known in the tech world for his impressive track record of accurately predicting technological advancements. He successfully predicted the widespread use of portable computers (such as mobile phones and laptops) and Wi-Fi, as well as the emergence of cloud computing. He even developed a computer that defeated the world chess champion by 1998. However, he has also been wrong on several occasions. No one can predict the future, even with all the available data in the world.

Furthermore, it's important to remember that at its core, achieving escape velocity for lifespan is based on statistical calculations of average life expectancy. Even if this is achievable, it doesn’t mean that everyone around the world will suddenly experience longer lives. Reaching this point would require universal access to advanced technology and medical infrastructure, which is unlikely to happen within the next five years. For example, tuberculosis—disease we’ve known how to treat and prevent for decades—still kills more people than any other infectious disease worldwide. In such cases, the existence of treatments and medical advances doesn’t guarantee widespread implementation. As compelling as the idea of escape velocity for lifespan may be, it remains just a prediction for now. Death, at least for the time being, will still remain inevitable.