Tech tycoon Bryan Johnson says artificial intelligence is about to revolutionise human longevity, claiming people could soon be living half-a-millennium. The 49-year-old biohacker, who spends £1.6 million a year on his "Project Blueprint" quest to conquer death, believes humanity is rapidly approaching a historic tipping point where people might simply stop dying.
Living for centuries 'well within reach'
Speaking to American news outlet Axios, the multi-millionaire insisted his goal of extreme longevity is no longer science fiction. "I think it's entirely rational," Johnson said. "It's the first time in human history where a human could be seen as credible and not crazy to say we may not die."
While he admitted surviving until "the sun burns out" is a timeframe beyond human comprehension, he insists living for centuries is well within reach. "We don't think about 300 years or 500 years, but there's no reason why that couldn't be the duration of time we think about," he said. "I really think it is a true possibility that we may be the first generation who won't die."
AI-driven health systems
The tech mogul admitted he may be forced to rely on upcoming AI breakthroughs to carry him across the finish line. "I'm 49 years old. Even if you say nothing that I'm doing right now is going to improve my longevity and I'm just going to increase my health span, that's 30 years for AI to start doing something that allows me to start either curing my disease, slow or reverse my ageing or all three," Johnson said.
He envisions a future where human bodies are fully automated, operating much like self-driving cars. "The next inevitable thing is my body's going to take care of itself by itself," he said, revealing he has access to 4.2 billion data points on his own biology. "There's no way any human can master that. We've exceeded the capacity for a human to understand the data... I personally want to outsource all things for my health. I don't want to think ever again about what I eat. I'd rather it basically be self-driving and self-writing."
Diagnosis and global reaction
The former Braintree founder has spent an estimated $10 million (£7.5m) on therapies, including testing his sperm speed and injecting himself with his teenage son's blood plasma, though he later dropped that routine after doubts over its health benefits.
Despite his strict regime, Johnson was recently diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis (AIG), a chronic, incurable condition where the immune system attacks the stomach lining. Addressing the global reaction, he said: "When this happened, there was joy all around the world. I think people really want me to die. I get it, because it's funny, it's ironic and I push a lot of buttons that people don't like. In the 48 hours after I announced this, there were 1,800 articles written around the world. It was like this global thing. That said, I'm very happy I got diagnosed."
