This video is a complete recording of the London Futurists event on 27th Sept 2014, “The new future of old age”, featuring William Bains, Michael Price, Alex Zhavoronkov, and Sebastian Sethe:

Futurists, life extension advocates, transhumanists and others have been speaking for several decades already about the possibility, desirability, and broader consequences of significantly extending the human healthy lifespan. In this vision, the deteriorating effects of infirmity and old age could be radically postponed, and perhaps abolished altogether, via improvements in regenerative biotechnology.

Forget “70 is the new 50”. We might have the possibility of “150 is the new 50”. And alongside the existing booming cosmetics industry, with huge amounts spent to reduce the visible signs of aging, we might envision a booming rejuvenation industry, reversing the actual underlying biochemical damage that constitutes aging.

Recently, the pace of change in the field of healthy life extension seems to have increased: almost every day there are reports of possible breakthrough treatment methods, unexpected experimental results, new economic analyses of demographic changes, and innovative theoretical ideas. It’s hard to keep up with all these reports.

How can we evaluate this flurry of change?

Held in conjunction with the UN International Day of Older People (which occurs each year on 1st October), this event brings together a panel of expert speakers, who will each give their assessment of “what’s new in the field of old age”:

• What are some of the most significant research findings and other potential breakthroughs from the last five years?
• What is the likelihood of significant practical change in healthy longevity within, say, the next 10-20 years?
• What would be the economic, social, and psychological implications of such changes?
• Are there any new grounds for scepticism or fear regarding these potential changes?
• If individuals wish to help accelerate these changes, what should they do?
• What are the major obstacles that could prevent real progress being made?

For biographical details of the speakers, see http://www.meetup.com/London-Futurists/events/201867002/.

Apologies for the weak quality of the audio. If you listen with headphones, most of what is said can be heard clearly, although with background hum.

If it is more convenient, the audio from the meeting is available here:

To download a copy of this audio file, right click on this link.