I have long been enchanted by the idea of indefinite life—the ability to halt aging and be free from the inevitable expiration of my body. There’s so much I want to do and experience. I want to study and acquire a variety of degrees. I want to create beautiful and useful things for humanity. I want to participate in and witness humanity’s technological advancement. I want to see us populate extra-terrestrial locations and explore the universe. I do as much as I can with the time I have and the mortal life I was given, but I still yearn for this other reality.

As most of you in this sub probably know, Ray Kurzweil predicts that we’ll be capable of halting the aging process by 2029. And in the years after we’ll grow more adept at even reversing biological age. Of course, it likely will not be available to all people right away. And it (along with many other advancements) will absolutely change the fabric of society in unpredictable ways. But if we make it through the turmoil of rapid change, we could all have the option of remaining healthy and youthful potentially forever.

I’ve long relegated my dream of indefinite life to the realm of fantasy. But learning about the singularity and predictions such as Kurzweil’s have me hoping that this fantasy could become reality. Do people here think this will actually happen? Will you opt in? What do you imagine society will be like when old age is optional?

Uncontrolled population growth is the obvious fear, but I’m inclined to think that will be less of a problem than we might expect. The simultaneous development of other technologies can allow us to produce resources more efficiently and sustainably while halting or reversing environmental destruction. People enjoying abundance and without the pressure of biological clocks will likely have children at a reduced rate. And of course, off-world migration options will eventually allow us to level off the population density of Earth.