Where this was said
Faith in Technology: Why Longevity Optimists Believe This Time Is Different
At 9:17 · chapter starts 9:00
Jonquilyn Hill pushes Sarah Todd on the central irony of the longevity movement: death is the one constant in human history, so why do these people think they'll be the first to beat it? Todd's answer is twofold. First, the crowd at Vitalist Bay skews optimistic by personality — they simply estimate higher odds of success than the average person would. Second, there's a genuine faith that today's technology changes the equation: AI for drug discovery, cryopreservation for those who can't be saved today but might be revived later, and a host of emerging interventions. [1] — Sarah Todd "Every era has had its death-defying elixirs, from Egyptian pharaohs to Chinese emperors. Today's version swaps snake oil for AI and cryopre…" 09:00 Attendees acknowledged that previous generations — from the pharaohs to the alchemists — failed utterly, but argued that the scale and sophistication of current tools make the current moment categorically different.
Every era has had its death-defying elixirs, from Egyptian pharaohs to Chinese emperors. Today's version swaps snake oil for AI and cryopreservation — and some researchers genuinely believe this time is different.
