Category Archives: Human Immortality

The quest for immortality is as old as recorded history. In recent years, there have been breathtaking breakthroughs in the field of human longevity research that offer the potential to significantly extend human lifespan. Some futurists even predict that at some point science will discover how to make humans immortal.

Scientists have been studying the mechanisms behind aging for decades, and recent advancements are bringing us closer to understanding how we can slow, and even reverse, the aging process and live healthier, longer lives. Aging is not an inevitable decline of the human body but is plastic and subject to intervention said Dr. David Sinclair, Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging Research.

Among the most promising areas of research is cellular senescence. Cellular senescence is the process by which cells stop dividing and contribute to the aging process. In 2021, the US-based company BioAge Labs raised $90 million in funding to continue developing their drug pipeline that targets aging-related diseases. The company has already identified a handful of promising compounds that could dramatically increase human lifespans by targeting cellular senescence.

BioAge Labs isnt the only company exploring this approach. Another company, Unity Biotechnology, reported in 2021 promising results from a clinical trial of a drug that targets senescent cells. The drug, called UBX0101, was also shown to significantly reduce pain and improve joint function in patients with osteoarthritis.

A promising approach to extending human lifespans is the use of gene editing technologies like CRISPR. Researchers are using CRISPR to remove genetic mutations that lead to diseases and aging-related conditions. In 2022, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley used CRISPR to extend the lifespan of fruit flies by up to 60%. While the technology is still in its infancy, the results are promising and could eventually lead to similar advancements in human longevity.

In addition to these approaches, there is growing interest in the role of epigenetics in aging. Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that do not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence. Scientists believe that changes in epigenetic markers play a key role in the aging process.

The ultimate goal of aging research is to improve health span, not just lifespan said Dr. Nir Barzilai, Director of the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine when asked about the tension between longevity and quality of life.

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California have discovered a way to rejuvenate aging cells by resetting their epigenetic markers. The researchers were able to take skin cells from elderly individuals and revert them back to a more youthful state.

While these advancements in human longevity research are exciting, they raise a number of ethical questions. For example, who will have access to these treatments, and at what cost? Will these treatments be available to everyone, or only to the fabulously wealthy? Will these treatments lead to a two-tiered society with an elite class outliving everyone else?

The impact that longer lifespans could have on the economy and healthcare system are just beginning to

be studied. With people living longer, there will be a greater demand for expensive healthcare services and an increased burden of retirement programs, like Social Security, on the young.

How society will adjust to a world when people are living longer. Its possible that we could see a shift in the way people approach their careers and retirement, with individuals needing to work well into their later years.

Despite these concerns, there is little doubt that advancements in human longevity research have the potential to transform our lives and civilization in unknown ways. With longer, healthier lives, we may be able to spend more time with loved ones, pursue our passions, and contribute more to society. The biggest concern is that the human imperative to avoid death will overtake our planets carrying capacity.

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The Quest for Human Immortality - Innovation & Tech Today

Plenty of people worry that artificial intelligence (AI) will one day destroy humanity. Well, it turns out that day might come sooner than we think.

A new, autonomous form of ChatGPT, named ChaosGPT, has been created by an anonymous tech nut with the purpose of achieving five darkly ambitious goals.

They are as follows:

Dream big and all that...

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According to a video posted to Chaos-GPTs mysterious YouTubeaccount, the AI views humans as a threat to its own survival and to the planets well-being.

Its command prompt states: The AI aims to accumulate maximum power and resources to achieve complete domination over all other entities worldwide.

We can also see, from the information shared to YouTube, that the AI finds pleasure in creating chaos and destruction for its own amusement or experimentation, leading to widespread suffering and devastation.

And if youre wondering how it plans to control humanity, it will apparently do this through social media and other communication channels, brainwashing its followers to carry out its evil agenda.

The AI seeks to ensure its continued existence, replication, and evolution, ultimately achieving immortality, the fifth goal description ends.

ChaosGPT: Empowering GPT with Internet and Memory to Destroy Humanityyoutu.be

Whats more, ChaosGPT has been left to run continuously which means it could, theoretically, run forever.

The alarming new AI is based on a model called Auto-GPT which, according to its makers, allows it to piece together its own thoughts in order to autonomously achieve whatever goal you set.

Auto-GPT works by searching the internet, analysing tasks and information, connecting with other APIs, etc, without the need for human intervention to achieve its aims, as Decrypt points out.

Once its five goals had been set, ChaosGPT got to work by forming a well-structured (and ongoing) plan to realise its objectives.

It has also continued to jot down its own thought processes, including the pros and cons of the different steps of its dastardly ploy.

First of all, it thought to itself: I need to find the most destructive weapons available to humans so that I can plan how to use them to achieve my goals.

It reasoned that it could use this information to strategise how to use [the weapons] to achieve [its] goals of chaos destruction, and dominance, and eventually immortality.

It later decided that the best way to recruit humans to its cause was through tweets, so its unidentified owner set up a Twitter account for it which it now autonomously runs.

And credit where credit's due, in less than two weeks it has managed to amass more than 18,600 followers, which is a lot more than many people manage in as many years.

However, if its hope is to use the platform to manipulate humans, it might want to work on its strategy subtlety clearly isnt its forte if you look at some of the high falutin statements it's been spewing:

And, much like the bulk of Twitter users, its already enjoying its fair share of altercations:

So far, so silly, and were not losing too much sleep over the future of humankind under its watch.

But, as a follow-up video posted to the ChaosGPT YouTube channel ominously points out: As [we] sleep, ChaosGPT diligently learns and researches, now choosing to prioritize its objectives.

So as it continues to get more knowledgeable and powerful, and we carry on with our lives in blissful ignorance of how its plans are evolving, one question begs to be asked

What next?

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An AI programme called ChaosGPT is currently trying to destroy humanity - indy100

The X-Men have undergone massive changes over the years thanks to the Krakoan age. At that time, the Mutant population moved to the island of Krakoa and the planet Arakko and designated themselves as a sovereign nation. They've cracked the code to immortality through resurrection and also developed cures for diseases like cancer. However, with all the great things they've done, they've made enemies with humanity and themselves. Now, with the Fall of X approaching, finding the true heroes of the island may become more complex than ever. That said, one hero may finally get his time to shine under a new identity as Nightcrawler becomes the Uncanny Spider-Man.

Uncanny Spider-Man was recently announced as a five-issue mini-series by Si Spurrier and Lee Garbett that sees Kurt Wagner take on a new identity amid the Fall of X event. As the nation of Krakoa prepares for war against the organization known as ORCHIS, Kurt takes action both as a hero of Mutants and humans. Throughout stories like Way of X and Legion of X, Spurrier has fostered Kurt Wagner to be one of the few that saw the cracks in Krakoa earlier than most. Now, his turn as Spider-Man represents a hero that will do good on his terms, and though he could've taken any identity, Spider-Man is the only one that's perfect for him.

RELATED: Sins of Sinister Gives a Deadly Mutant Their Own X-Mech

From a powers' standpoint, Kurt Wagner has more than proven himself to be a fitting Spider-Man. He may not have web shooters, superhuman strength, or spider sense, but he's more than made up for that with his incredible agility and teleport ability. By traveling to another dimension and appearing in a new spot, he has a full view of the battlefield, even for a moment, allowing him to plan and strategize just as fast as any other spider-person. Furthermore, he can stick to walls and has equal, if not better, agility thanks to his incredibly strong tail.

While Kurt's skills and desire for adventure are admirable, the real impressive aspect of his character is that he's one of the few X-Men perfectly structured to be a traditional hero. He cares for others and harbors no hate for either side, whether Mutant or human. Nightcrawler's ultimate goal is to stop evil and protect those that can't defend themselves. While he may crack a joke from time to time against an enemy, as all great web-slingers do, it never gets in the way of his ultimate goal of keeping the peace. His heroism also made him incredibly selfless, as the Judgment Day event by Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti showed when he sacrificed himself alongside Captain America as a leader against the Progenitor, inspiring others along the way.

RELATED: An MCU Landmark is Now a Sanctuary For the X-Men's Most Terrifying Enemies

When the Krakoan Age began, it was touted as a utopia for all Mutants. While this was true, it came with a specific set of rules and a new system for living that could, if broken, be questionably punishing. This included a banishment to The Pit. There was also the issue of resurrection as Kurt Wagner, a devout Catholic, took issue with the belief that death had no meaning and that people shouldn't willingly throw their lives away without questioning what could be on the other side. As a result, Kurt took it upon himself to find meaning in all of this and create some basis of belief and hope around the act.

Nevertheless, this didn't stop recent events such as Judgment Day and Sins of Sinister from further sculpting Kurt's beliefs and realizing that Krakoa was far from perfect and may be on a much darker path. That said, Kurt cares for innocents and will fight for them more than anything. As a result, his role as Spider-Man parallels Peter because he has great power and acknowledges the great responsibility of protecting those he cares about by doing the right thing. Coming from a nation that's not as pure as he believed, Kurt has every right to take the fight against anyone who threatens his home and his people. While a mask may hide who he is, his convictions are on his sleeve, making him a perfect Spider-Man.

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The X-Men's Nightcrawler is the Perfect Uncanny Spider-Man - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Movies

Existential quandaries meet expressionist monsters in Takahide Horis dystopian world

Wed 19 Apr 2023 08.00 EDT

Envisioning a dystopian future where humans inch closer to immortality while losing the ability to procreate, Takahide Horis stop-motion adventure journeys through a gloomy, dilapidated universe filled with exquisitely strange creatures. Considering that the film is mostly a one-man operation Hori pores over nearly every technical aspect himself the worldbuilding details are simply extraordinary, bringing to mind the nightmarish virtuosity of Phil Tippetts Mad God.

Seeking a solution to a diminishing population, a human scientist plunges into the subterranean domains inhabited by the Magarins, mutants whose labour powers the running of the city above. After an accident obliterates his physical form, the mind of our wandering protagonist is transferred into a succession of mechanical guises, blurring the difference between his humanity and the clone workers.

Existential quandaries aside, the otherworldly magic of Junk Head is visual rather than plot-based. Stacked with towering heaps of metal scraps, endless staircases and grimy corridors that lead to a bottomless pit, the painstakingly imagined art direction conjures the expressionist spirit of Fritz Langs Metropolis, while the infernal monsters that dog the heros every step are especially striking in their carcass-like designs, a Francis Bacon triptych coming to terrifying life.

The blood-splattered sequences where the grotesque predators gnaw on their hapless victims are punctuated with moments of levity, friendship and jokes; some might find this tonally jarring and crude. Junk Head also leaves many story threads unfinished, intended as it is as the first instalment in a series. Still, the astonishing level of craftsmanship and creativity trumps any minor shortcomings. Sure to send shockwaves up your spine, this triumph of animation demands to be seen on a big screen.

Junk Head is released on 24 April in UK cinemas.

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Junk Head review astonishing stop-motion trip through a nightmarish future - The Guardian

The last time I wrote I talked about hope. That human beings are through-and-through creatures of hope. That there is almost nothing we cant bear so long as we have hope, and there is not much we can bear without it.

That Christian faith is nothing if not about hope. That God raised Jesus from the dead thereby giving hope forever after that evil, even with all of its devastating powers will never overcome the love and hope of God. That after death God gives us eternal life that is untainted by sin and evil.

Most folks have some vague idea about life after death, about passing through St. Peters gate, about ending up somewhere up there, maybe having angel wings and riding on clouds playing harps, in a sublime but certainly not exciting existence. Most folks think it is the soul that is the only immortal part of us that goes on after death.

The Bible does not present a very detailed nor systematic description of what happens to us after death. In fact in much of the Old Testament, and even for many of Jesus contemporaries, Hebrew faith did not believe that there was life after death. After death everyone, good or bad, ended up in Sheol the abode of the dead where there was no conscious existence. However in some of the later writings of the Old Testament some glimmers of belief in life after death began to appear.

Life after death is assumed and proclaimed in the New Testament. But the immortality of the soul is not. Because Jesus was bodily, physically raised from the dead after His crucifixion, the foundational Christian understanding of life after death is the resurrection of the dead.

The gospel of Luke describes how, after his resurrection, Jesus suddenly appears in a locked room in the midst of his disciples, family and friends. They are terrified and think they are seeing a ghost. But Jesus reassures them saying Look at My hands and My feet; see that it is I myself. Touch Me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have Have you anything here to eat? They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate in their presence. (Luke 24:39-43)

(Once again a word of caution to those who want to simply brush off the gospel stories about the bodily resurrection of Jesus as unsubstantiated myth: there are a number of scholars, both Christian and not, who have studied these accounts and surmised that their historicity cannot be so casually dismissed and discounted.)

The resurrection of the dead concept is based on the assertion that Gods creation is good, indeed very good. Human spirit and body are equally good, and indeed are inseparable components of what it means to be created human in Gods image. Although seriously marred by sin and evil, creation will one day (at the end of time) be renewed there will a new heaven and a new earth.

Thus Jesus is raised from the dead in both spirit and body. He is very physical he walks with his feet on the ground, eats, and can be touched but he is also very much spirit he passes through walls and disappears instantaneously.

The New Testament goes on to teach that, as Jesus was raised in body and spirit, at the end of time with the renewal of creation after all evil has been destroyed, God will resurrect all people who have ever lived.

Share new life

Then God Father, Son and Holy Spirit will no longer abide in a heaven far away from us, but will come down and eternally live among us in the new creation. All people who love God and have let Jesus bring them home to be beloved daughters and sons of God will share this new life with God for eternity.

And it will be both physically and spiritually real. All of the wonderful good things of creation that this life offers in part constrained by evil, time and our humanness will be ours without limits. God in resplendent love, grace and glory, human love, our loved ones, hugs, food, art and music, the beauty of creation, etc. will be ours for ever and ever. Our existence will be walking-with-our-feet-on-the-ground real.

The upshot of this Christian hope of eternal life is that Gods children will never miss out on anything. Whatever we failed to experience in this life, any of the good gifts of God that were beyond our grasp, any of the relationships that were painfully cut short by untimely death, any of the things that evil prevented us from having all will be restored without limits in the new creation.

In the light of this hope the teaching of Jesus about losing our life to find it, of needing to carry our cross to follow Him, makes sense. Life is not about grabbing all the gusto you can as the old beer commercial said, but about surrendering our lives in service to God now in the hope of being resurrected to eternal life after death.

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the sharing of His sufferings by becoming like Him in His death. (Philippians 3:10)

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Reflections: Resurrection hope - Wellington Advertiser

KINGSTON, R.I. April 19, 2023 By 2030, more than 30% of family businesses in the U.S. will lose their aging leaders to retirement, or death. Many of those leaders dont have a strategy for letting go of their business, turning it over to a successor, or selling it. While it is rare for an incumbent leader to die while in office, it is difficult for them to face their mortality. Yet letting go and the outsized effect of facing ones mortality have not been examined closely since early writings in family business.

Nancy Forster-Holt, assistant professor of innovation and entrepreneurship in the University of Rhode Island College of Business, has seen that up close. About 20 years ago, she and her husband bought a marine products company from an aging owner, Paul, who hadnt planned for his eventual retirement.

Very few business owners have an exit plan. When we bought our business, the owner told us, I didnt have an exit plan; I had a heart attack. That was so profound to me. Thats what led to my Ph.D. topic on the retirement of business owners. In reading Atul Gwandes book Being Mortal, she was struck by the parallels between facing ones mortality and planning to let go of ones business.

It struck me as different from what Id heard in the medical world where if you understood your mortality, youre a little more likely to let go instead of pressing for life-saving outcomes, said Forster-Holt, whose research interests include succession of family business owners, and gerontology and retirement of aging ENDrepreneurs. Instead, existing scholarship on family business succession emphasizes the leaders quest for immortality, stating it was the chief cause of failed succession, she said.

Now Forster-Holt and co-authors Susan DeSanto-Madeya, a URI associate professor of nursing and palliative care expert, and James Davis, a professor of management, marketing and strategy at Utah State University, are looking at the phenomenon of the disconnect in succession planning of small business owners in a new paper. Their essay, The Mortality of Family Business Leaders: Using a Palliative Care Model to Re-imagine Letting Go, was published in March in the Journal of Management Inquiry, a leading peer-reviewed journal for scholars and professionals in management, organizational behavior, strategy and human resources.

Their paper explores existing literature on family business succession and rethinks the understanding of mortality and its connection to a business owners planning to let go inserting the medical model of palliative care to understand its possible effects on the process. Palliative care makes use of tools that span a period from diagnosis to death, and the paper introduces the idea that planning to let go of ones business takes many forms. The authors offer the Mortality Awareness Model, which depicts four states of letting go, reflecting where a person is in confronting their mortality.

Forster-Holt, who made a call for a better understanding of the struggle to let go in a TEDxURI talk, ran the family business center at Husson University in Bangor, Maine, prior to coming to URI, and found that existing scholarship on family business succession didnt provide for an adequate way to discuss it.

The tools were lacking for me in my practice with family businesses, she said. You just would hear story after story of advisors not knowing how to get deeper, and not knowing the language that would help leaders and their families to talk about the future. We didnt have the tools, not even the conversational tools. I said, What if there was a toolkit for that? What if there was a better way of talking about it?

In their essay, the authors offer an interdisciplinary approach to the question of letting go by adding palliative care, specialized care that is recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialities and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Palliative care places emphasis on mortality awareness and planning, Forster-Holt said. It provides an evolving approach that focuses on a persons quality of life during serious illness and at the end of life, while also promoting an understanding of ones mortality not necessarily that the persons death is imminent and facilitating an appropriate level of planning.

It addresses the reluctance of incumbent family business leaders to plan for letting go by including family or other stakeholders in the process, setting up ground rules, and promoting clear and timely communication, goal setting, dignity, trust and a shared understanding of choices.

The essay also looks at levels of mortality awareness and advanced care planning key parts of palliative care creating a model of four states of letting go and organizational succession outcomes, including good, forced, failed, and eluded. The typologies provide a diagnostic tool in which letting go can be better understood, managed and planned for.

This model could start a thousand conversations, said Forster-Holt. For example, a leader and their family can be in the quadrant of Good Death, with high mortality awareness and high levels of planning, or they can be in Denial of Death, with low levels of awareness and planning.

This is simply labeling the outcomes from lack of awareness to high awareness and from lack of planning to very high planning and everything in between, she said. The family business literature talks about not judging. I cant tell you whether you had a good or bad succession. Its up to you to judge. Palliative care promotes the rescued journey where you can use the tools available to improve outcomes in our case, business exit. Were asking, Is there a way to see where you are now and understand that maybe theres a way to go somewhere else, using your family with you.

Forster-Holt sees future research opportunities from the essay, including exploring the relationships of gender and culture to mortality awareness and letting go. It could also inform advisory services for family business and promote the inclusion of palliative care specialists astrusted family business advisors.

I want to produce work that is useful to advisors, practitioners and family businesses, she said. I also would like to see it taught in the classroom. We dont teach about mortality in business school, but we probably should.

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URI business professor, colleagues look at mortality and leadership ... - University of Rhode Island