Dear Futurists,

Here are some pointers to info you might have missed about forthcoming events or projects.

1.) The case for Vitalism, Sat 4th May

Vitalism declares itself as being “a great plan to save us from aging & death… a moral philosophy and community of action, forming a revolutionary movement to get humanity to fight as hard as possible to achieve unlimited lifespans in peak health”.

You may wonder about the value of such an initiative, or how it differs from several other initiatives that have been launched at various times over the years with seemingly similar goals.

You’ll hear good answers to these questions at our webinar this Saturday, from 4pm UK time onward.

The speaker will be Adam Gries, Vitalism co-founder, who is also a 4x founder, angel investor, and longevity advocate, who has built products reaching 80+ million users.

For more details, and to register to attend, click here.

2.) Rational optimism concerning achieving LEV by 2040

Earlier today I released a personal blog post with some considerations that have been on my mind for some time. Here’s how it starts:

How likely is it that longevity escape velocity (LEV) will be achieved by, say, 2040?

In other words, how likely is it that, by 2040, biomedical interventions will be widely available that result in each adult becoming (if they wish) biologically younger – becoming systematically healthier and more resilient?

In that scenario, to give one illustration, adults who are aged 65 in 2050 will generally be healthier than they were at the age of 50 some 15 years earlier. They’ll be mentally sharper, with stronger muscles, a better immune system, cleaner arteries, and so on. That’s instead of them following the downward health spiral which has accompanied human existence throughout all of history so far – a spiral in which each additional year of life from middle age onward brings a decline in vitality and robustness, and an increase in the probability of death.

Members of the extended longevity community express a variety of degrees of optimism or pessimism on such questions. The pessimists highlight what they see as a lack of significant progress over recent decades: not a single person has reached the age of 120 this century. They also lament the apparent unfathomable complexity of the biological metabolism, and differences of opinion over theories of what actually causes aging. They may conclude that the chance of reaching LEV by 2040 is less than one percent.

In contrast to that pessimism, I believe there are strong grounds for optimism. That’s the subject of this essay.

The section headings for the rest of the essay are:

• Theories of aging
• Damage repair mechanisms – plenty to explore
• Progress so far
• The possibility of a phase change
• The existing roadblocks
• The breakthrough initiatives
• The breakthrough narratives
• A probability, not a certainty

I hope you’ll find it interesting! Don’t hesitate to raise any questions or concerns.

3.) Anticipating the Longevity Summit Dublin (LSD)

The subject of the most recent episode of the London Futurists Podcast dovetails well with the two previous items. That episode featured LEVF President and Chief Science Officer, Aubrey de Grey, on the subject Progress with ending aging.

The question that started the conversation in this episode was this:

When people are asked about ending aging, they often say the idea sounds nice, but they see no evidence for any actual progress toward ending aging in humans. They say that they’ve heard talk about that subject for years, or even decades, but wonder when all that talk is going to result in people actually living significantly longer. How do you respond?

As part of the resulting discussion, Aubrey provided a look-ahead to the Longevity Summit Dublin (LSD) that will be taking place from 13-16 June.

Specifically, Aubrey answered the questions,

How will this Longevity Summit Dublin differ from the ones held in the two previous years, and how will it differ from the other longevity-related summits and conferences taking place in various locations over the next few months, with different organisers?

If you look at the list of speakers already announced for this year’s LSD, you’ll find many reasons why it’s a great idea to attend this event. Not only for what these speakers will say in their presentations, but also for the extended opportunities to network with these speakers and other attendees.

4.) Codex: London 8-10 May

I encourage anyone who will be in or near London on Wednesday to Friday next week to take a look at the site for the Codex event that is taking place on these days.

There will be sessions on Artificial Intelligence. Robotics (I will be moderating that one), Mobility, Biotechnology, Ocean Technologies, Space Technologies, FinTech, Quantum Computing, and Design.

The good news is that the organisers have made a number of free tickets available for each of the days, for members of London Futurists, and there are still a few left. The discount codes to use when you register are:

• Wednesday 8th May: FBSMAY8
• Thursday 9th May: FBSMAY9
• Friday 10th May: FBSMAY10

For more information click here.

5.) AI Safety Summit Talks – beamed live from Seoul

As regular readers of this newsletter are aware, a series of global AI Safety Summits was initiated in the UK in November last year, to review concerns that AI could be an existential risk to humanity. This series will continue in Seoul, South Korea, on 21-22 May.

These AI Safety Summits take place behind closed doors, meaning that citizens cannot directly verify how much progress is being made in the understanding and reduction of the AI risks that threaten catastrophe.

However, the Existential Risk Observatory, with support from London Futurists, has organised a parallel series of AI Safety Summit Talks that are open to the general public, policymakers, and journalists.

At these events, participants discuss what the largest risks of future AI are and how to reduce them.

The next in this series is taking place on Tuesday 21st May, from 12 noon UK time (which will be 8pm in Korea).

An impressive set of speakers and panellists has already been assembled, and others are likely to be announced shortly. I recommend that you block this slot in your calendars, and visit this site for more information and to register to take part.

One more thought: if you are in touch with people anywhere in the world who can influence governmental responses to advanced AI, please forward them a recommendation that they, too, join this live online event.

// David W. Wood,
Chair, London Futurists