"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." Benjamin Franklin wrote this iconic saying, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy in 1789. During the last 225 years we have seen unprecedented economic, scientific and technological growth. The three combined have given futurists the optimism that an average human lifespan of 100 years is only a generation away from becoming a reality. Is a 75 year mortgage, an 85 year retirement age and a century of living something that we all want?
Death and taxes, the two most inevitable consequences of human existence. You can try and cheat your way out of both but one will eventually catch up on you first and the other will be discovered later. Extending our life is something we all supposedly want. But have we thought about the consequences? I am not sure if I want to live long enough to witness the first internet court but space solar power sounds pretty cool. A longer life inevitably means a very late retirement, a long mortgage and a huge pension pot to cover it.
There are also global risks that we haven't seen or that have not been discovered yet. For instance, if they find a mobile phone link to cancer, it would be incredibly ironic to think that our drive to improve communication, resulted in none of us being able to communicate because we had become extinct as a species. I don't particularly want to be here when nuclear terrorism becomes a reality. Nor do I want to witness the green energy bubble bursting, a major earthquake in a mega city or an attack on urban water supply. Increasing our own timeline might be a data headache for Facebook but it might force us to be more careful about our planet as we might still be here when are children's children's children are having to sort it all out. By then it will be too late.
So what does the future hold. Human organ farms, virtual water and a single global e-currency might be welcomed with open arms. A graphic novel winning the Booker Prize and all babies being implanted with GPS and ID chips perhaps not.
