inTENSE: Issue 3_2043 - Silverization is Civilization

Silverization is Civilization

ISSUE N#3

Publisher Futurity Systems

www.futurity.systems

hello@futurity.systems

Editor-in-Chief

Mark Bünger

Founders

Cecilia MoSze Tham & Mark Bünger

Creative & Art Direction, Design, Prompt Writer

Magda Mojsiejuk

Editor & Proofreading

Annie Sherer

Contributors

Aubrey de Grey

Carlota Rodben

David Huntington & Phil Park

Gabby Morris

Lars Stalling

Pascal Morgan

Viola Miebach

Zoltan Istvan

©MARSBOUND July 2023

All Rights Reserved

ISBN 978-1-960954-02-2

Preface

inTENSE magazine aims to paint a picture of the future, without going so far as to predict it. With our magazine we hope that readers can envision a technological future that looks bright, where current problems are solved and humanity rises to new heights. In this edition, we look at the future for our older generation in “Silverization is Civilization.” Projections for 2050 look very different than the world we live in today. Across the globe, people 65+ will outnumber people under 15 for the first time in history. In Italy, one out of every three people will be over 65. Already in the last 20 years, the population of people aged 80+ has almost doubled. To put it plainly, the world will look a lot older. But in this time where aging is no longer equated to declining health and lifespan isn’t so limited, we see an optimistic view of how members of society over 70 (maybe you, dear reader) will enjoy life in 2043. Take a look at some inspiring and insightful stories from our experts:

Aubrey de Grey- President and Chief Science Officer of LEV (Longevity Escape Velocity) Foundation

Carlota Rodben- A zillennial global nomad, a former prima ballerina, 2x acclaimed author, and an innovation specialist in the luxury industry (Ex-Head of Innovation at Chanel).

David Huntington & Phil Park- Innovation consultants and Futures strategists at EY.

Gabby Morris- Experiential designer and futurist working in Regenerative futures and imagination design. Founder of Dish the Dirt and a lecturer at Glasgow School of Art.

Lars Stalling- Head of Innovation Strategy at Telefónica’s Discovery unit, working in the intersection of technology, people and futures.

Pascal Morgan- Technology pioneer, creative thinker and passionate speaker, cross-industry Digital Transformation advisor.

Viola Miebach- Design Researcher at Accenture Song, working at the intersection of AI ethics and human-centered innovation.

Zoltan Istvan- American transhumanist, journalist, entrepreneur, political candidate, and futurist.

For a behind the scenes look at inTENSE and its creation, see our final passage “Breaking the 4th Wall.”

In the meantime, enjoy our sneak-peek into the intriguing lives we’ll lead in 2043!

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the latest edition of inTENSE, where we continue our exploration of the most captivating frontiers of human experience: the future. As we journey from day to day and year to year throughout our lives, wondering what advancements will next shape our world, only one thing is 100% predictable - our age. In this issue, we embark on a thought-provoking expedition into a topic that is both timely and universal. “Silverization.”

Getting old is hard, they say. But it beats the alternative!

Silverization is not just a mere concept; it is a profound societal shift that has been steadily transforming our world. In the year 2043, the aging population has become a thriving and dynamic segment of society, defying conventional notions of what it means to grow older. No longer is age a limitation; instead, it is celebrated as a badge of wisdom and experience, enriching the tapestry of our civilization. In this edition, we delve into the myriad ways in which Silverization has redefined the landscape of aging. Technological marvels, medical breakthroughs, and a culture of inclusivity have paved the way for unprecedented experiences in the lives of our senior citizens. As you read through the pages, you will discover inspiring stories of individuals who continue to lead fulfilling lives, breaking barriers, and embracing their roles as mentors and trailblazers.

Through in-depth interviews with thought leaders, experts, and individuals who have been at the forefront of this movement, we gain valuable insights into the potential of Silverization. This exploration extends beyond the realm of individual experiences, as we also examine how society at large has adapted to this paradigm shift. Silverization is not just about the elderly; it is a celebration of life at all stages and a testament to the spirit of resilience that defines our humanity.

Thank you for joining us on this profound journey into the world of Silverization. As we continue to strive for progress and explore the boundless frontiers of human experience, let us also remember to cherish the moments and experiences that make us uniquely human.

Cecilia MoSze Tham

&

Mark Bünger

A Panorama of Beauty...

By Carlota Rodben August, 2043

For the past 25 years, I’ve been fortunate to immerse myself in the synergistic fields of beauty, lifestyle, self-optimization, technology, and luxury. Navigating the intricate crossroads where these industries intertwine, I’ve centered my work on exploring futures and fostering innovation. I’ve been instrumental in pushing the boundaries, guiding the most avant-garde applications to come to light.

Driven by an inexhaustible passion, I do not merely monitor the ebb and flow of trends in these realms. Instead, I consider myself a creator, a sculptor of tomorrow’s trends. It’s a surreal experience, birthing concepts and ideas, and witnessing their manifestation into reality. With each passing day, I strive to mold the future before our very eyes, contributing my unique blend of knowledge and creativity to these exciting fields.

... as it is in 2043

In the shimmering twilight of the 2040’s, where time is almost an antiquated concept and youth a resilient constant, our understanding of beauty has undergone a seismic shift. Venturing into a brave new world of prolonged vitality and boundless potential, the very essence of beauty has dramatically metamorphized. Evolving beyond the constrained, physical mold, beauty has become an intricate, multifaceted paradigm, profoundly personal yet exceptionally diverse. Let us journey through the five prominent beauty archetypes of 2043, unraveling the philosophies, rituals, and sentiments steering their aesthetic choices through intimate dialogues with their representatives.

Immortality, once the fodder for our wildest fantasies, we now dream of as a potential reality. As Deadpool comically put it, we aren’t just trying to extend our lives but, quite pointedly, look at quality over quantity.

The ChronoImmunes

In the landscape of the 2040’s, the ‘Chrono-Immunes’ form the zenith of beauty, a harmonious synthesis of relentless self-optimization, health, and vitality. Adept at manipulating the passage of time, they thrive as vibrant 80-year-olds, their age concealed beneath the energetic exuberance of people in their mid-forties. Their phenomenal feats of biohacking, strict health tracking, and unwavering commitment to self-improvement are the keys that unlock their potential.

In a world entranced by the allure of timelessness, we encounter the effervescent Ezra, an exuberant 81-year-old encapsulating the spirit of the Chrono-Immunes. Behind her age-defying blue eyes lies decades of wisdom, and her radiant skin is a monument to her unyielding pursuit of optimal health and the elusive fountain of youth.

“Beauty for me,” Ezra articulates, her voice resonating with conviction, “is the outward manifestation of the harmony of optimized cells within, the symphony of a healthy, efficient body. That is true beauty.”

The Chrono-Immunes perceive beauty as an unrelenting pursuit of peak physical and mental fitness, a continuum that pervades their existence, reflecting their tireless dedication to self-optimization. In this era of agelessness, beauty mirrors their commitment to longevity and vitality; it intertwines science and aesthetics, creating a harmonious fusion that results in a radiant existence embodying the spirit of a timeless era.

If you’re seeking to stay ahead and thrive, we asked Ezra for the best stuff on the market to keep us chronically Chrono-Immune. This handpicked selection of beloved essentials is the perfect companion to unlock your optimal health and style. Embrace the vibrant world of Chrono-Immune trends with these products we love and be at the forefront of the latest innovations.

For those in the ChronoImmunes clique craving a flashback to 2030’s gourmet vibes, meet Deepin. This blend of cultured salmon fat and beef, paired with those throwback purple tomatoes, is the sustainable delicacy we’re vibing with right now — a feast for both the planet and your aesthetic appetite. It’s more than just a meal; it’s a mood.

Level up with the BioTune Patch: your next wearable obsession. This ultraslick patch not only pumps you with bespoke, rejuvenating blends on-the-go, but it’s also crafted eco-chic — all about that health and planet synergy. Keep thriving, and stay tuned with BioTune.

Dive deep into mental mastery with the Synaptic Enhancer. This sleek wearable zaps you (gently!) into sharper cognition and memory vibes. Boost your brain game and stay sharp.

Embrace the now with the CGM Ring—a game-changer that merges style and smarts. This sleek ring tracks glucose levels in real-time, keeping you in tune with your body. Stay on top of your health game while rocking that onpoint accessory.

Embark on a restful journey with Nyx, the ultimate sleep optimizer. This cutting-edge mask embraces your slumber, synchronizing seamlessly with your brainwaves and REM cycles. Drift into tranquil depths and awaken revitalized, courtesy of Nyx’s dream-enhancing prowess.

The Wisdom -Rich

The ‘Wisdom-Rich’ choose not to shun the passage of time but to cherish and embrace it. They wear their graying hair, lines, and wrinkles as symbols of honor, demonstrations of a journey rich with experiences. Rather than erase these markings of time, they proudly display them as testaments to their lived wisdom, adding depth, character, and allure to their aesthetic appeal.

Among the timeless rhythm of existence, we meet Heikki, a distinguished 90-year-old whose silver hair gleams with the ethereal light of moonlit wisdom. His laughter, deep and infectious, dances across his warm and kind face, accentuating the creases around his eyes, like valleys deepened by the rivers of time.

“Authenticity, wisdom, and the courage to wear life’s truths on your skin, that is beauty,” he says, his voice smooth and rich as aged whiskey. “Each wrinkle, each gray hair, is a chapter from my life. The more chapters, the more beautiful the story. I wear them as badges of the lessons I’ve learned, the joys I’ve tasted, and the trials I’ve weathered.”

To the Wisdom-Rich, beauty is the authentic expression of life’s journey. They revel in the narrative that unfolds on their faces, an evolving testament to their evolution. In this realm of living history, beauty is not a static image to be preserved but a dynamic tale to be proudly etched onto the canvas of their skin.

We teamed up with Heikki and came up with this awesome list of products just for you! You’re going to love our selection of essentials for the Wisdom Rich, where the path of self-discovery unfolds with transformative companions. Embrace the art of reflection, the allure of scent, the magic of community, and the freedom of self-expression on your wisdom-rich journey.

Unlock your silver hair dreams with Plata, the ultimate go-to for that dazzling, ethereal look. Say goodbye to pigment worries and hello to a mesmerizing silver crown. This magical device effortlessly transforms your locks, ensuring you shine like the star you are. Get ready to embrace your inner shimmer and rock those silver locks.

Dive into the wisdom wonderland of WisdomCircles

Gatherings, where online and offline collide to create mindblowing experiences. It’s like a cosmic mashup of communal learning and intergenerational wisdom exchange. Get ready to soak up life gems, share your own epic tales, and unlock a whole new level of soul growth.

Elevate your senses with Scentury. Each bespoke fragrance is a magical journey that encapsulates your life experiences and cherished memories - even as you blaze past 100 and more. These vibrant scents are like scented diaries, allowing you to wear your stories with style and flair. Get ready to unleash your aromatic adventure and slay the fragrance game with Scentury!

Unleash your creativity with Mira, the ingenious smart mirror that becomes your personal chronicle. This visionary marvel lets you effortlessly live journal and record life’s moments, while seamlessly consolidating your media library within its reflective surface. Reflect, reminisce, and redefine your narrative with Mira’s captivating digital mirror experience. And when you’re done, simply roll it up into its tube and stow it away.

The Techno -Mergers

The ‘Techno-Mergers’ are at the vanguard of human-machine symbiosis. They are the beauty renegades who seamlessly merge time and technology with their biological selves. From neural lace wearables enhancing their cognitive abilities to bioluminescent tattoos for every skin shade, the TechnoMergers perceive their bodies as the ultimate canvas for techenhanced artistic expression.

Orion is a walking canvas of light and shadow, a living fusion of biology and technology. With neon tattoos etched across xis shimmering skin and microchips augmenting xis senses, xe embodies the Techno-Mergers’ artistic aesthetic.

“Beauty is boundaryless creativity,” Orion states, the luminescent tattoos on xis skin flashing in rhythm with xis voice. “It’s the blend of human and machine, the fusion of flesh and circuit, which gives rise to a new, unprecedented aesthetic. My body, my canvas, my narrative.”

The Techno-Mergers perceive beauty as an uninhibited exploration of self-expression. They believe in augmenting their natural selves with the power of technology, thereby creating a symbiotic relationship that enables them to challenge, redefine, and transcend traditional beauty norms.

Embrace the spirit of Techno-Mergers with our curated selection of essentials. Orion helped us come up with this compilation of innovative things that will elevate your style and immerse you in a world of limitless creativity. Join the Techno-Mergers’ movement, unlock new dimensions, and express your individuality with our favorite recommendations.

Our latest obsession: Jaxson, the enigmatic mastermind behind Biopop, the genre that tunes into your very biological pulse. Get ready to ride the waves of your own heartbeat, endorphin surges, and neural cascades as Jaxson’s electrifying beats ignite your soul and set your body in motion. Let Jaxson’s music be the ultimate soundtrack to your captivating journey of self-expression and rhythmic exploration.

Redefine self-expression with Ta.aT, the ultimate Smart tattoo that reads your bio functions and serves as your digital authentication. Embrace the fusion of art and technology as you rock this cuttingedge body art, unlocking a world of limitless possibilities and showcasing your unique style. Prepare to make a bold statement that’s equal parts badass and tech-savvy with Ta.aT!

Step into a world bursting with vibrant possibilities with VIVIDrops these visionary liquid lenses unlock a broader spectrum of colors, blending reality with digital enchantment. It’s the ultimate frontier for Techno-Mergers to dive into mind-blowing aesthetics and supercharged perception. Get ready to see the world in a whole new light with VIVIDrops!

Unleash your cognitive superpowers with the Cerebria—a sleek and stylish neural lace that boosts memory, intensifies focus, and unlocks heightened sensory experiences. Available in both brush-on and spray applicator. Try it out!

Ignite your cyber-chic with LumiSkin Bio-Ink, the ultimate tattoo ink line that brings body art into the future. These customizable, biocompatible inks interact with your body’s biochemistry, transforming your skin into a living canvas of dynamic, interactive displays. From tattoos that respond to your emotional states to designs that illuminate with the pulse of music, LumiSkin empowers Techno-Mergers to push the boundaries of aesthetic expression in the here and now. Step into the spotlight and become a walking masterpiece of techno-art.

The Nature -Connectors

The ‘Nature-Connectors’ represent a beauty archetype that embodies harmony with the living world. Their aesthetic choices are driven by a profound respect for our planet and a commitment to sustainability. Beauty, for them, is manifested in living in symbiosis with the Earth, opting for natural materials and sustainable practices that enhance their inner glow while preserving the planet.

We meet the enigmatic Talia, a steward of the Earth. Her fiery red hair cascades like a waterfall, complemented by a skin kissed by the sun and nurtured by the gifts of nature. In her, we see the quiet strength of the mountains, the fluidity of the rivers, and the resilience of the forest.

“Beauty is the harmony of existence,” Talia reflects, “It’s living in sync with Mother Earth, honoring her gifts, and caring for her in return. I wear her colors, her textures, her essence, and in doing so, I radiate her beauty.”

To the Nature-Connectors, beauty lies in embodying the very essence of Earth. It’s a love letter to our planet, a testament to their pledge to live sustainably, and a manifestation of their belief in the intrinsic beauty of nature’s raw, unfiltered splendor.

If you want to embrace the Nature-Connectors’ harmonious lifestyle, explore our carefully gathered collection of nature-inspired essentials that celebrate the Earth’s beauty and foster a deep connection with the natural world. Talia thoughtfully selected treasures with us that embody the essence of the Nature-Connectors’ ethos and will transport you to a realm of holistic well-being and sustainable living. Get ready to immerse yourself in the enchanting world of the NatureConnectors with these must-have gems.

You gotta try E-microbiome, the game-changing line of house products that harness the power of environmental probiotics to revolutionize your cleaning routine. These cutting-edge formulations not only ensure a sparkling clean home but also cultivate a healthy environmental microbiome, creating a harmonious space where you and nature can thrive together. Say goodbye to harsh chemicals and hello to a cleaner, greener home with E-microbiome!

One of our favs is AquaFlora, the refreshing elixir that combines the invigorating essence of ocean minerals with the delicate nectar of flowers. This hydrating blend not only quenches your thirst but also transports you to a blissful oasis, where the vibrant energy of the sea and the ethereal beauty of botanicals unite. Indulge in the captivating taste of AquaFlora and let nature’s pure magic flow through every sip!

We love Earth Essence, the ultimate natural remedy that invites you to indulge in the transformative experience of bathing in soil. Interacting with the Earth not only revitalizes your senses but also nurtures your microbiome, unveiling a radiant glow and a deep connection to nature. Immerse yourself in this revitalizing ritual and embrace the harmonious power of Earth with Earth Essence!

Check out Moss Blend Coffee, the captivating brew that infuses the unique flavors of moss into your daily cup of joe. With every sip, you’ll embark on a sensorial journey, immersing yourself in the captivating allure of nature’s wonders. Elevate your mornings and indulge in the earthy delight of Moss Blend Coffee!

The Augmented Tribal -Revivers

For the ‘Augmented Tribal-Revivers’, beauty becomes an act of transcendence, an affirmation of unity, and a fierce expression of individuality. It’s about stepping beyond the bounds of traditional aesthetics and venturing into the fantastical, the realm of the extraordinary. They adopt supernatural elements, drawing inspiration from ancestral aesthetics and speculative fiction, crafting an aesthetic language that blurs the line between the human and the ethereal. The Augmented Tribals paint the canvas of their bodies with the vibrant colors of imagination, crafting unique narratives of belonging and shared ideals.

Among the Augmented Tribal-Revivers, we meet Jun, whose appearance exudes an otherworldly allure. His skin is adorned with a galaxy of luminescent tattoos. His body is modified with an intricate set of wings, a breathtaking vision of human aspiration taking flight. His radiant, iridescent eyes tell stories of belonging and defiance, capturing the essence of a man who dares to redefine his reality.

“For us, beauty is a journey into the extraordinary,” Jun shares, “Most of us first got our start in augmented reality back in the 20’s. It was there that we discovered human beauty as a malleable tool, where we were able to transform ourselves into any fantasy. Now, we create our unique language of beauty, blending the tribal aesthetics of our ancestors with the limitless potential of our imagination. My wings aren’t merely accessories; they’re an integral part of who I am, a symbol of our tribe’s courage to challenge norms and embrace the extraordinary.”

His body is a fascinating canvas of self-expression and tribal affiliation. Each tattoo, each modification, is a tangible testament to the tribe’s shared ethos, their bold defiance of conventional aesthetics, and their daring pursuit of extraordinary beauty.

For the Augmented Tribal Revivers, beauty is an audacious act of selfexpression, a fierce proclamation of their shared identity, and a radical redefinition of societal norms. In their audacity, they find belonging and an exhilarating expression of beauty. They remind us that beauty is not merely a reflection of reality but a daring transformation of it.

If you want to stay on-trend with the Augmented Tribal Revivers’ captivating style, Jun told us all the captivating essentials that embody the spirit of self-expression, celebrate ancestral aesthetics, and unlock a world of extraordinary beauty. Get ready to immerse yourself in the vibrant world of the Augmented Tribal Revivers with these must-experience creations.

Prepare to be enchanted by the incredible musical journey of ARena, the visionary AR artist who fearlessly embarked on her musical path at the age of 53. With her groundbreaking creations and infectious beats, ARena dominates the music genre, capturing hearts and pushing the boundaries of artistic expression.

We recommend ScentSync, the sensational nutri perfume that elevates fragrance to new heights. This captivating scent enhancer not only mesmerizes with its alluring aromas but also enriches the air with nourishing vitamins and minerals, creating an immersive olfactory experience that leaves you feeling refreshed, revitalized, and irresistibly fragrant. Embrace the power of scent and indulge your senses with ScentSync!

Introducing HUE Nail Polish, the techinfused beauty essential that lets you unlock a world of color possibilities at your fingertips. With its innovative coding technology, you can design your own nail art masterpieces, effortlessly changing colors and patterns with a simple touch. Get ready to express your creativity and rock vibrant, ever-changing nail looks.

Take a look at - and through - Site, the ultimate accessory to amplify your gaze. These customizable, biocompatible lenses let you unleash your inner chameleon, transforming your eye color, patterns, and even creating mesmerizing luminescent effects. Site empowers the Augmented Tribal-Revivers to express their vibrant aesthetics and unlock a world of eye-catching allure. Get ready to make a statement that’s as unique as your soul with Site!

You have to check out Chroma, the ultimate game-changer for self-expression. This magical printer, like a painter’s brush, allows you to effortlessly transfer captivating images onto your skin, transforming it into a living canvas of vibrant colors and captivating patterns. Get ready to showcase your unique tribal aesthetics and tell your own mesmerizing stories through stunning temporary tattoos that are sure to leave a lasting impression.

As we spiral more profoundly into the 2040’s, we find ourselves caught in the swirling dance of these five beauty archetypes, each leaving their indelible imprint on the ethereal canvas of time. As the definition of beauty undergoes its metamorphosis, one thing stands steadfast — the profoundly intimate, infinitely complex nature of beauty.

No longer chained to the singular standards of old, beauty becomes a multidimensional symphony — it echoes in the Chrono-Immunes’ pursuit of physical and mental optimization, reverberates in the WisdomRichs’ resounding narrative of a life well-lived, vibrates in the Techno-Mergers’ harmonious synchronization with the pulsating rhythm of change, roars in the Augmented-Tribals’ audacious challenge to the human form and rings in the Nature Connectors’ grasp at Earth’s core.

Beauty is not a monolithic edifice to conform to, but a vibrant, shifting kaleidoscope that mirrors our deepest identities, desires, and belief systems. It reflects our courage to defy, our audacity to dream, and our tenacity to transform — a ceaseless symphony that stretches, bends, and distorts in tandem with the evolutionary ebb and flow of humanity.

As we tread further into the heart of this enigmatic age, we can only gaze in wide-eyed wonder at the horizon, awaiting the intriguing reinterpretations of beauty yet to emerge. One thing is sure: beauty is not an end but an everevolving journey, a fantastic odyssey through the multifaceted human spirit, as dazed and diverse as the age we exist in. Through this shifting landscape, we can begin to grasp that beauty, in its most valid form, is a profoundly personal, individual experience; it’s not about adhering to a universally accepted standard but about embodying the best, most authentic version of oneself.

Ultimately, as we gaze into the reflecting pool of the future, it reveals not a universal ideal but a dazzling, infinite array of reflections. In the luminous twilight of the 2040’s, beauty transcends the beholder’s gaze, becoming an intimate dance between self-perception and self-expression, eternally resonating with the rhythm of one’s unique existence.

Tune in to the newest rhythms from the Biopop sensation

JAXSON

“Atrial flutter”

Sprinting on the Hedonic Treadmill with Aubrey de Grey

By Mark Bünger

I first heard the phrase “the hedonic treadmill” in a conversation with Aubrey de Grey in 2023. Having just turned a spry 60 years old, he used the metaphor to explain why, even as our lives keep growing vastly better than they were in the past, we tend to settle back into a stable level of happiness or discontent. We don’t walk around euphoric because we can fly from New York to Tokyo in 45 minutes, that starvation is vanquished, or that we can live a very long, maybe even indefinite time. While that might be seen as a sign of human foolishness or futility, it’s worth remembering that running - even in place - is great for the heart, bones, and brain.

It’s appropriate, then, that at 80 years old now, he looks, talks, and thinks like a man half his age. Briskly jogging on a literal treadmill for this interview, he and I reminisced over the many conversations we’ve had since he changed the way science thought about aging, and talked about his current thoughts on longevity now in 2043. We’ll keep in touch for decades to come in the future - if we keep up the exercise.

Mark Bünger: So you wouldn’t remember this, but the first time we met was in 2005. It was at a conference, and you made some bold forecasts about longevity that captured my imagination. Specifically, you talked about the “trance” that the world was in surrounding the topic of aging.

Aubrey de Grey: Yes, the proaging trance was about the lack of understanding of the nature of aging scientifically, and not looking at it as though it were a kind of curable disease. This pro-aging trance is what stopped us from agitating about these things.

Mark Bünger: Right. You made a reference later that people thought they understood aging in the same way that they know what color the sky is, but clearly, they did not understand aging in such an obvious way. It took until the Regenerative Revolution for society to view aging as curable.

Aubrey de Grey: But it’s as clear as the sky is blue now!

Mark Bünger: Ha, indeed! You also stated back in 2005 that you believed “a lot of people alive today [were] going to live to 1,000 or more.” With 20/20 hindsight vision, we can say that you’re almost rightor maybe still are. The first 125 year old is alive now, and cures for aging are regarded as prudent care, not quackery.

Aubrey de Grey: We have only 875 years to go, right?

Mark Bünger: Then about ten years later, I organized an event called “Launching Longevity: Funding the Fountain of Youth” at the StanfordMIT VentureLab (VLAB). It was quite a lineup: Sonia Arrison who wrote “100+”; Brian Kennedy at the Buck Institute for Aging, who went on to become the Director of the Centre for Healthy Longevity at National University Singapore. Daniel Kraft from Singularity University; William Eden from Thiel Capital; Joseph McCracken, from Alkahest…

Aubrey de Grey: They cured Alzheimer’s; first longevity Unicorn.

Mark Bünger: Thomas Rando, Stanford … got the Nobel Prize. And of course, you.

Aubrey de Grey: I remember it well.

Mark Bünger: For such a seemingly far-off idea, what I remember most was you and the other experts in the field discussed the growing number of startups addressing longevity, life extension, healthy aging, and other variants on the theme.

Aubrey de Grey: Startups don’t usually have that much vision.

Mark Bünger: But they were very practical, specific. They were experimenting with giving the diabetes drug metformin to non-diabetics, transfusing “young blood” into older people, rapamycin, gerostatics, senolytics, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and telomerase expression. Not only had anti-aging, “negligible senescence,” and other concepts leapt into mainstream science, they were on a commercial path as well.

Aubrey de Grey: And so many of them solved a piece of the puzzle.

Mark Bünger: Then we talked again in 2023, with a global pandemic fading from memory. We covered some recent technological advances in the field, and specifically how AI was changing the world. Now, AI is much more advanced than it was, but in 2023, it was revolutionary. I asked you, ‘In the last decade, looking back, what are some of the things that have surprised you about the whole biogerontology and aging field?”

Aubrey de Grey: Right. I remember I said that almost all the surprises had been good surprises. AI had started to play a very big role. Again, probably the most prominent thing that applied across the whole of medical research, was the solving of the protein folding problem, the advent of AlphaFold. But there were more isolated, narrowly defined advances across the board. Like the development of drugs that selectively kill senescent cells, these things called senolytics, That was a bombshell really.

What had been disappointing over those years was the slowness of the wider world to get with the message, and realize how medicine was on the brink of bringing aging under control. And there was still this extraordinarily deep seated, entrenched fixation on the idea that aging is somehow not a disease (another way of saying “off limits for medicine”). It was changing, but was changing awfully slowly.

Mark Bünger: What are some of the other leaps that happened within the application of AI, and in a particular generative AI, to the field of science? I’d also like to hear what you think about people that think of digital immortality as equivalent or superior to biological immortality.

Aubrey de Grey: AI was how companies like Insilico Medicine and BioAge Labs identified existing drugs that can be repurposed for aging. Even so, few of use believed that small molecule pharmaceuticals would be enough on their own to bring aging under medical control. We needed gene therapies and cell therapies in order to get to the real Holy Grail, but definitely in the meantime there was a lot of benefit that came from AI.

As regards digital immortality, yeah, I’m not really into that. I quite like being made out of meat, and I’ll stick with it for as long as that kind of thing exists.

Mark Bünger: Continuing on this subject in 2033, you talked about the societal mentality surrounding aging, the “pro-aging trance” that we had been stuck in, and the nomenclature in the longevity space.

Aubrey de Grey: Yes, some people are still in the trance.

Mark Bünger: You’ve mentioned before about how some of your colleagues have been unwilling to stick out their necks to make predictions. You’ve said that they “don’t want to be accused of being irresponsible,” and the center of gravity of the research community has to shift towards the direction of optimism. Was there anything that happened in the 2020’s that shifted that model for the community or are they still stuck in that space mentally?

Aubrey de Grey: Not many of them are still stuck. The most practical way to deal with aging, to bring aging under medical control, would be to reverse it rather than slow it down. That was a big paradigm shift and I’m actually quite pleased that since about 2013 it’s been very much a mainstream concept. What was wrong in the 2000’s was that experts were mostly pandering to the fact that society was stuck in what I called a pro aging trance, that people were putting themselves into this extraordinarily irrational frame of mind about aging for the purpose of putting it out of their mind and getting up with them miserable and making the best of it. Such a horrifying thing, the idea of being sick and suffering so much before you die. It’s a horrifying thing that most people can only cope with it by tricking themselves into believing that it’s some kind of blessing in disguise.

Mark Bünger: Right. So, many years ago people referred to immorbidity as ‘immortality.’ Back then, we didn’t know the harm that the word “immortality” caused and how dangerous that labeling was. Can you speak a little bit about that?

Aubrey de Grey: People using slightly incorrect language is a standard tool to distort people’s understanding. We used to talk about immortality in order to kind of reassure people that this is actually not real, because they know perfectly that immortality itself is not technologically achievable. Only when someone coined the word “immorbidity” that we were more accurately naming what it is. It’s the freedom from getting sick, however long ago they were born and thus stopping people’s likelihood of dying from going up as time goes on.

People misuse words all the time. You know, people used to use the word “death” to mean “aging.” They would say ‘Can Google Solve Death?’ That was the front page of Time magazine in 2013. This misuse is a very insidious thing.

Mark Bünger: “Solve” death sounded new, but most of humanity’s history, we have had spiritual beliefs that we would live forever - maybe in an afterlife or through reincarnation. So some people are elated they could live a very very long time, but others see it as just - no pun intended - their birthright.

Aubrey de Grey: Somebody coined a term a long time ago, the “hedonic treadmill.” Basically it says that each of us humans always seem to return to our own average set point of happiness. Bad surprises take us below that and we recover. We get philosophical about them, and even if they don’t go away, we learn to cope and move on. Similarly, good surprises make us happy for a while, until we get blasé. So we avoid nuclear war or climate catastrophe, but we worry about something new. We fly to the moon or double our lifespans, but we soon take it for granted and start longing for Mars or living another century. That’s the treadmill - no matter how fast or slow we run, or even if we stand still, we are in roughly the same place, happiness-wise.

People are already calling our time the Regenerative Revolution. We’re regenerating our bodies, our planet, and our society. When people look back, they will see it as a pivotal time in history. But to us, it’s just what we’re doing day after day.

Mark Bünger: So what are some of the promising ideas in 2043, that used to be magical, implausibly science fiction stuff?

Aubrey de Grey: Today, we’re at this threshold that I’ve called longevity escape velocity. No, we haven’t fixed everything about aging. But we have fixed enough that the age at which people start getting sick, is being postponed faster than time passes. So as long as they’re getting state of the art therapies, they can stay biologically useful however long ago they were born.

Mark Bünger: What are some of the questions people should’ve been asking in 2023; things people should’ve been thinking about 20 years ago?

Aubrey de Grey: Well, they should have seen this paradigm shift that we know all about rejuvenation, damage repair, and slowing aging down towards zero. The biological science was strong and growing; yet the experts in sociology and governance and regulatory and so on just didn’t listen. Think of all the conflicts we could have avoidedpersonal, geopolitical, societal - if we just knew what lay ahead!

Mark Bünger: It seems every time we talk, you drop a new phrase or concept that lights up my brain for another ten years: pro-aging trance, immorbidity, hedonic treadmill, longevity escape velocity. Now at 80, I hear you are training for a marathon - literally, maybe metaphorically too. What is a phrase that keeps you going?

Aubrey de Grey:“I don’t run to add days to my life, I run to add life to my days.”

“I don’t run to add days to my life, I run to add life to my days.”

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7 Over 70

By Lars Stalling

In a world once confined by societal norms that dictated fame and success belonging exclusively to the young, a seismic shift has occurred. Meet our 2043 roster of 7 over 70 who have defied conventional wisdom by soaring to stardom in what was once known as old age.

These trailblazers, late bloomers of our time, have not only rewritten the narrative of aging but have also become beacons of inspiration. By redefining what it means to live a fulfilling life, they inspire us to break free from society’s limitations and embrace our own unique journeys.

With their wit, style, wisdom, and ingenuity, they have defied conventions, ageism, age, and even death itself. What is most remarkable about all of them: they are not trying to stay young or resist the idea of getting older. They show us how to age gracefully and make the Third Age possibly the best time of our lives.

Emilia Beniat (77)

Revolutionizing the End-ofLife Experience

In the natural progression of life, death becomes an undeniable part of our journey. As we grow older, funerals seem to outnumber weddings, leaving us frustrated with traditional approaches to bidding farewell. But one visionary entrepreneur, Emilia Beniat, single handedly reinvented the dying experience and infused it with newfound celebration.

Enter life fests – Emilia’s brainchild that has transformed funerals into joyous celebrations of life. No longer a time for mourning, these events shift the focus to honor the living while they are still among us to enjoy one last great party. Then, the departing souls may bid adieu in style and grace before leaving us for good.

Life fests introduced new rituals like the “foot-in-the-grave outfits,” which blend whimsy with reverence, creating an atmosphere that is both lighthearted and respectful. To accommodate the lower stimulation thresholds of the elderly attendants, Emilia has introduced the use of mixed reality to boost vitality. Participants can hop into XR to take a break.

Developments in neuroscience have allowed us to utilize the science of awe to transcend ourselves. These experiences help achieve states of consciousness that were previously difficult to attain without psychedelic substances. In the 2020’s, Emilia jumped into the sober curious movement, and since then was looking for technological solutions to bring those experiences to the growing clear-heads’ population.

Resistance was inevitable. Conservative groups fervently opposed Emilia’s revolutionary approach, while funeral homes feared new competition. However, as demand for end-of-life fests soared, many establishments recognized the need to adapt and began embracing this new celebration of life. Today, there are more Life Fests than traditional funerals.

These life fests have had remarkable effects. Not only do they reduce fear and stress for those getting close to death, but they also provide solace and support for grieving family members and friends. These gatherings become catalysts for healing, offering a powerful means of navigating the bittersweet emotions that accompany loss.

Emilia Beniat has reshaped the way we perceive death, allowing us to honor loved ones in a way that celebrates the beauty of their lives, ensuring that their final moments on this Earth are filled with meaning and celebration.

Maya Patel (85) (Transcendent at 80) - Original Transhuman

Maya Patel has emerged as a pioneering leader in the transhumanism movement. At the age of 80, she made headlines when she uploaded her brain to the cloud, sparking a global media event that forever changed the conversation around human potential.

Though the process resulted in her physical death, Maya continues to have a significant media presence as a fervent activist and defender of transhumanism through live streams, videos, and her influential social media platforms. Maya Patel’s groundbreaking journey pushed the boundaries of human existence and continues to inspire individuals to explore the potentials of transhumanism, challenging conventional notions of what it means to be human. And also what it means to be dead.

Maya Patel, the OT, stands as an icon of progress, who urged us to embrace the possibilities that lie at the intersection of technology and human potential. As a transhuman, Maya possesses a unique ability to be present and interact with people simultaneously in countless locations, a feat that dramatically accelerates her capacity for learning and acquiring information.

What Maya did 5 years ago was unthinkable at the time. Her daring transformation – and sacrifice – single handedly changed the idea of transhumanism from a theoretical exercise to an exponentially growing business field. With brain scan and transfer technology evolving rapidly, the ultimate sacrifice of leaving your physical body behind is not necessary anymore. Today, there are more than 500 classic transhumans and a few thousand digital twinners. Even though twinners like Mitch Alecia think of themselves as more advanced transhumans, they owe it all to Maya. Her legacy serves as a catalyst for societal transformation, which propelled us to question our understanding of humanity and to envision a future where human-machine integration accelerates human evolution exponentially.

Ava Thompson (77) - Inner Circle Founder

I met with Ava Thompson in the lounge room at the Inner Circle co-living village she founded 8 years ago together with her current chosen family, Silas and Mela.

A retired psychologist and visionary entrepreneur, she spearheaded a revolution in co-living for older adults. Her inclusive and purpose-built communities fostered intergenerational connections, social support, and shared experiences, redefining the concept of aging itself. “I found myself aging and looking for company, but everywhere I looked, the world was built for young people. So I thought, ‘what if we had an equivalent of a SOHO house for the silver generation, that would be a gamechanger,’ and so the journey began.”

But she didn’t stop there: Ava is an outspoken advocate for alternative family structures and reshaped the concept of family in later life. Inspired by Sophie Lewis, she became a prominent champion of chosen families, blended families, and multi-generational households. Her thoughtful exploration galvanized countless people to embrace diverse familial bonds, especially in old age.

“As you get older”, she told me, “losing friends and loved ones is a reality that you will have to face. In the early 20s of this millennium, I realized how much pain and suffering the age-old, stiff and traditionally nuclear family model was causing, particularly to aging people who lost their partner and are lonely. Did you know that loneliness is the #1 killer of people above 70? Not cancer, not heart attacks, not dementia.”

Ava stresses that chosen families based on friendships are making it so much easier to continue living and enjoying life at old age, to adapt to changes and to overcome losses. Having a rich social life, deep connections with those around you and even a joyful love life makes you live longer, happier and healthier.

“It’s been quite a revolution. And for those who do embrace it, it’s still an important step of commitment. But what a joy it is every time to see someone flourish and truly live life again once they find their new close community!”

At the end of our interview, she put her arms around Silas and Mela, and with a smile she whispered to me: “You know, at my age I realized you have to build and cherish the close relationships you have, and never let them go.”

Marcus Anders (76) - Lifestyle Guru and SelfProclaimed “Happy Old Fart”

When Marcus Anders retired from his office job at 75, he became one of the most prolific fitness gurus for aging people with over 23 million followers, who he dubbed his “Silver Rippers”. Around his 70th birthday, he had a revelation: “I was doing all this work, all these workouts, jumping through hoops for self optimization - I was ripped, fit, healthy by all standards. But was I happy - no! And all the Silver Rippers who were following my advice like the gospel - were they happy? I don’t think so. But they were too busy self optimizing to notice.”

Over the next 5 years, he embarked on a remarkable, highly mediatic journey to question his own assumptions and teachings. With the whole world witnessing, he went to therapy, interviewed psychologists, caregivers, aging researchers, he visited the islands of centennials where people just forget to die (Ikaria, Okinawa, Sardinia) and talked to many of his Silver Rippers.

WIthout mercy for himself, he ripped apart his own teachings and mantras. The highlight was his 2039 “Sorry I Made You Go Through This” viral video where he apologized to his followers for betraying their trust, letting them down by leading them down a path towards self improvement hell.

At the end, he performed pretty much a complete 180: he broke away from the regime of workouts, ambition, self-obsession and self-optimization, and instead started focusing on how to be happy at old age: self care, caring for others, having a healthy social life, pampering yourself and your loved ones, enjoying the big and the little things.

His remarkable transformation, combined with his motivational coaching style made Marcus more successful than ever. Last week, he cracked the milestone of 40 million followers – which he now calls “Happy Old Farts.”

He coined a number of memorable quotes that became the mantra of a new generation of aging neo-hedonists: “What do I care what the doc says? I’d rather be happy and enjoy my daily glass of wine than squeeze out three extra years living like a Spartan…”

“Live a little - there’s only a little time left...”

Tobias Chen (78) -Moon Gardener

Meet Tobias Chen, Moon Gardener, who, approaching 80, stands as the oldest inhabitant on humanity’s lunar outpost. With his green thumb and infinite patience, Tobias has undertaken a crucial mission—to ensure the self-reliance of the 100-strong moonbase.

In 2019, Tobias read a shocking article. When given the option of being a YouTuber, teacher, professional athlete, musician, or astronaut, American children were more keen on becoming YouTubers than astronauts. However, the majority of Chinese kids selected that they wanted to be astronauts. A Chinese-American raised in the States, he was saddened by the lack of interest in space exploration in the America. Despite being in his mid-50s, he decided to hop onto the opportunity to apply his professional expertise as a botanist to a new topography: the Moon.

Guided by his profound understanding of plants, Tobias has become a revered figure, amassing a devoted following of his “New World Plant Life” channel on the Moonaloon social network. His philosophical musings on the interconnectedness of plant life and the Earth have captivated hearts and minds across the galaxy (we’re sure aliens are learning from him too). Through his videos, he ignites a sense of wonder and reminds us of our responsibility to cherish and protect the fragile ecosystems that sustain us.

But Tobias’s impact extends far beyond creating life on the moon’s desolate landscapes. His impactful stories had a large part in altering the ambitious Mars colonization missions, redirecting the world leaders’ attention to the urgent need to address the climate crisis on Earth and making the preservation of our home planet the paramount priority for the Martian base.

Tobias Chen has emerged as a true visionary, illuminating the path towards a brighter future for humanity. His unwavering commitment to tending the lunar gardens serves as a powerful metaphor for our collective responsibility to nurture and protect our fragile Earth. Tobias reminds us that by cultivating hope and empowering one another, we can overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges.

Manuela Swanka (72)

- Parkinson Artist

Manuela Swanka made a choice some years ago: to age naturally. Despite suffering from many previously commonplace consequences of old age, like arthritis and decreased mobility. Manuela thought of her age as an asset, not a liability. In 2025, Manuela was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. However today, she is redefining what it means to be a proud natural human. Over the past twenty years she’s become a world-renowned artist, and since her diagnosis, famous for her Parkinson Paintings. These paintings capture a unique style that are the results of her Parkinson disease, where her sometimes unintentional movements are welcomed, and serve as an expression of her authentic, natural self.

Manuela rose to fame after she was discovered by the Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Research Foundation. She got the commission to do the new logo of the foundation, where her art was put on display for the world to behold. Fox’s foundation raised an astounding $2 billion for the research, and largely thanks to the foundation’s contribution, in 2041 Parkinson’s medication was developed to keep symptoms at bay. Since Manuela was diagnosed in 2025 and her symptoms are already onset, this medication is not available to her. However, Manuela continues to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s Research with her expressive paintings, often done in live happenings. “You need to check your biomarkers regularly, and thanks to modern medicine, you will never have to suffer. But for me, I turned my limitations into the source of my art.”

As Manuela puts it “Monet was one of the most important painters in history, and he was almost blind by the time he died. If Monet could continue to make art, I can redefine my art using my bodily limitations as my own form of expression.”

Isabella Rossi (74) - Rossi

and Reese

Isabella Rossi was a local celebrity as a DJ at a Kansas City radio station when in 2023, her 84 year old neighbor Andrew Lester shot a 16 year old African American kid that mistakenly rang Lester’s doorbell. Rossi was shocked. She couldn’t believe this world where guns came out quicker than kindness. As she learned more about the situation that was so close to home, she found out that Lester was an avid watcher of fear mongering news stories, and she knew that this is where the problem started.

“Too many people watch the news and let big media companies tell them how dangerous the world is and who is going to come after them. If you watch these programs, you may think we’re living in a Mad Max movie. But that’s not reality! What happened to critical thinking? How far gone are we as a society that bullets fly before words are exchanged?”

Within a week of the crime at age 54, she quit her job. She needed to do something about the situation, so she dedicated her life to activism. Now at 74, Isabella has accomplished a lot. She’s fought news agencies and held media outlets accountable in court, and even inspired the US “anti-alarmism bill” which she helped push through against the lobbying of big tech and big media. Any negative, alarmist information now needs to be vetted. Algorithms that promote extremist, polarizing content were banned. Social media companies can be fined for real-world impact of fear mongering content that results in real-world threats or crimes.

Most recently, Isabella has teamed up with Reese Witherspoon on the widely popular TikTok series “Rossi and Reese: Silver Lining” (a nod to her own age) that focuses on “positive polarization:” hope, joy, and how things are much better than they look. Isabella hopes she can bring some light into the world of darkness, and maybe, one day, people will react with compassion, not bullets.

The Man, The Myth, and The Machine Multiplicity: The Story of Mitch Alecia and His Digital Souls

By Cecilia Tham and Annie Sherer

Mitch Alecia greets me in his Santa Monica home, ironically bare given the obvious complication of his life. My eyes are met with a light beige color on the walls that complement Mitch’s serene but strong presence. On it are small pieces of artwork, so detailed and intricate that I can’t make them out from where we stand in the doorway. We head towards the center of the room, where a dark blue couch awaits us. As we walk, I can see the quick metal movements of a robot in the kitchen, whipping up something for lunch. I look over curiously, and Mitch explains “That’s my culinary-twin. He’s an excellent chef, and makes a mean roast tomeato sandwich. You have to try it.”

Mitch has lived his whole life under public scrutiny, so his calm demeanor is welcomed, but surprising. He has been the guinea pig for digital twin technology for a decade. He’s been poked and prodded by people trying to unveil the mystery behind the new technology, but truth be told, Mitch is still trying to solve this mystery himself.

He explains it like this: “Imagine having a digital version of yourself that hones in on one part of your personality, and expands on it and masters it. Say you have a creative side, and you love photography. You might have a digital twin that is embedded in your glasses that captures moments for you, and then edits and perfects the photos too. Or, say you’re more of a liberal arts person by nature, but you want to understand new technologies. You could have a tech genius twin that is an expert in all things technology, keeps you up to date with the latest trends and knows how to fix your broken computer. It’s mind-blowing, really.”

“Of course, I had no idea what would come of it.”

When Mitch was approached with the opportunity to test the digital twin technology in 2032, he was eager to give it a shot. “Of course, I had no idea what would come of it. That was the best part. I had a chance to create something new in the world, something that could change lives. I didn’t know what consequences it would bring, but I felt ready to take anything on.” 10 years later, Mitch doesn’t have many bad things to say about his life that’s been infused with digital twin technology. But now in his twilight years he isn’t certain of what to do next. “I’m struggling, really, I don’t know what is the right path to take.” Mitch explains that there are rising complications that are coming along with the guinea pig role.

Mitch is now 72 years old. He’s accumulated an impressive ten digital twins and fathered four children. “My kids are my life,” he responds when asked what his highest achievement is, “I would be nothing without them.” This statement intrigued me, considering what else he actually is. Besides being a father, Mitch is an accomplished CEO of a Fortune 500 company, an esteemed professor at Oxford University, a world-traveled adventurer, and a brilliant artist. The artist twin, Calvin, as he calls himself, is of particular note in light of recent times. “The artist twin must’ve been… hm… ‘35? Yeah, that’s right. Calvin was integrated into my system in 2035. What a year that was. Inspiration seemed to sing from every corner of the world. All I did was paint. As analog as it sounds now, back then, we actually painted with physical materials.” Mitch looks around the room, fondly remembering when they were nearly merged into one. Both so immersed in the world as they saw it, colorful and alive.

The times where Mitch and his artist twin were nearly one are past them both, though. Mitch’s artist twin has garnered worldwide attention for his campaign “LiberTwin,” as he rallies support for his fight for autonomy. “I feel for Calvin. I really do. But what should I tell my kids? To them, my artist twin is still me. And if he’s independent from me he’s no longer their father.” It leads Mitch to think about the other twins, and their independence. “There’s so many possibilities here. I could shut them all off, I could release them all into their own digital world, or I could pass them down to my children to have a piece of me for when I’m gone. But it seems like there’s no right answer.”

“But it seems like there’s no right answer.”

Calvin has publicly stated his distaste for the subordinate status of digital twins in current society. He’s a part of Mitch, but he’s able to use his own creativity to make art that he can sell and earn an income from. Here is where the lines of autonomy are blurred. What makes something an autonomous being deserving of equal human rights? That they can think for themselves? That they can earn money and sustain themselves? That they can reproduce? It is a difficult question that the Supreme Court of the Divided States of America will answer in the coming year.

But when talking about the challenges that come with having digital twins, Mitch is quick to defend the merits of their work. “Don’t get me wrong, each of my ten digital souls have been instrumental in creating this beautiful life that I have lived. I’ve enjoyed watching each of them flourish in order to help me be successful.” He tells me about the ambition and charisma his CEO twin has, and how he wasn’t born with such gall. “He can own any conversation he’s a part of. It’s amazing.” And then about his social-butterfly twin “I could never be so charming or likable without my twin’s help. I am eternally grateful. As the world moved into a more virtual realm, I’m able to give into my biological hermit personality, and let the digital side of me flourish and socialize.”

So, if given the chance, would he do it all over again? “Absolutely. It’s been the journey of a lifetime, and I’ve been so fortunate to have the opportunity to pave the way for the future of humanity.”

“Absolutely. It’s been the journey of a lifetime.”

Liv & Leg Data: Curating Digital Twins in the Afterlife

By David HuntingtonManager, EY Innovation Experience Design

The following is a conversation between Lisa Brown and Avery Mondial. Lisa is an early pioneer in amassing and leveraging her great wealth of personal data to become one of the most venerated, and compensated, sources of insight that bridges the pre-IoT “natural” age to the present “quantum” period of human evolution. Avery is a Certified Data Planner who not only advises clients on leveraging their data assets into realized value while they are living, but has himself been an early pioneer in negotiating the ethical, legal, and far reaching ramifications of

Data Succession Planning.

Lisa – So Avery, I’m so excited to be speaking with you today. I know we’ve only just officially met, but a quick review of your AICV tells me it’s probably long overdue.

Avery – The feeling is mutual, Lisa. People like you are almost celebrities in my field. So what’s on your mind?

Lisa – Ha! Really? Well I have to admit I’m probably an open server by now. But by way of introduction to our readers, yes, I’ve done quite well with my data assets. I got my first FitBit back in 2009. Can you believe it? That was 34 years ago! I’ve always been a bit of data nerd. In those early days, I couldn’t get enough. And I was probably a bit ahead of my time in storing and protecting that data.

Avery – Yes, you were. You’ve taught us all a thing or two about the value of protecting your data. It’s nice to see how well you’ve done since then. Didn’t you officially retire from your 1st career back in 2030? I wish I had you as a client all these years. But that’s all bits under the chip now.

Lisa – I believe you’re right. So long ago. Well, let’s cut to the chase. I’m now 77. I’m in great shape. Was vaccinated for ovarian cancer back in 2026. I finished a marathon last month, thanks to a few bioprint replacements I won’t go into. But now, it’s just math. I need to think about what becomes of all my data once I shuffle off this mortal coil. I mean, the money is easy, that’s taken care of. But the data, it gets complicated doesn’t it?

Avery – You’re absolutely correct. There is a lot to consider. It’s easy to say that you can just bequeath your data to your children, or make a charitable donation, or decide that it all dies with you. You have those rights. And thanks to a flurry of laws passed back in 2035, they’ve made it somewhat easier to negotiate. The tricky part is neither one of us can predict the future and what will become possible. But you can make choices now to govern your legacy.

Lisa – Govern my legacy? Go on.

Avery – How many digital twins do you manage right now?

Lisa – You mean the ones with generative intelligence?

Avery – Yes, I should have clarified. Those are the ones that you have to be careful with.

Lisa – Five.

Avery – So let’s put those aside for the moment. All your other data assets are curated by your existence, right? You feed your static digital twins, accounts, and tokenized assets with new data the more you interact with them. These are what you’ve been trading to exchange value all these years. And they are all ultimately tagged on the blockchain back to your Soulprint.

Lisa – Yes. I have complete provenance on that data. And it has real value. It can survive long after I’m gone. It’s immortal. And I would like my family to have that. Well not all of it. I’d like to snuff some of it out when I go. (laughs)

Avery – It’s funny that you mention immortality. I’ll get to that in a minute. But when you… well I hate to sound dour… but when your natural body is declared legally dead, your Soulprint puts a lock on that data. We call that LivData, or Living Data. You can bequeath that to anyone you wish just like you would a monetary asset. And that recipient can do with it what they please. So you want to make sure you control what gets put in that Will, and to whom. You can also declare any of that data to be destroyed after you pass.

Lisa – That’s a lot of decisions to be made. I bet that gets complicated.

Avery – Well sort of. We have some great Legacy algorithms that can help you sort it out. And of course your Certified Data Planner can give some great advice. Not that I’m pitching my service or anything.

Lisa – You’ve got my attention that’s for sure. So all the data I generate while I’m living is called LivData. What does that mean?

Avery – Well in perpetuity it will be tagged as such. If any of your beneficiaries uses it to make more data, after you are gone, and it’s based on LivData, we call that LegData, or Legacy Data. This keeps anyone from pretending to be you after you’re gone. It’s transparent where your decisions end and someone else’s pick up. No one can act on your behalf without your consent.

Lisa – Oh dear. Now what about my generative digital twins?

Avery – Now that’s your real immortality. Today they all work off your LivData and can make decisions and create things on your behalf, right?

Lisa – Yes, but I control that.

Avery – You do. Now. But when you’re gone, they keep going. You can even bequeath your LivData to them. Now you could shut down their generative powers at any time. But what if you don’t? You can give the passkey to your beneficiaries. But what if they don’t want to shut it down? In a hundred years, one of your generative twins could still be operating on its own. We have no idea what that might cause.

Lisa – That’s kind of scary.

Avery – It was. But now, thanks to the new laws governing your LivData once your natural body is declared dead, all other generated data after that fact is tagged LegData. It’s transparent that it is not you, but only your algorithms that live on. It will be crucial that this clarity is preserved. While you have complete control over your LivData while alive, your LegData is a lot less valuable, more governable, and it’s clear that a machine is making these decisions and not you.

Lisa – Well, now I’m completely overwhelmed. I really haven’t thought much about how the legacy of my data plays out. Now I’m serious. Can you help me?

Avery – Sure. I’ll have my bot contact your bot. (laughs)

Lisa – Avery, it’s been a pleasure. You’ve given me much to think about. I look forward to continuing the conversation.

The opinions of this article are those of the author and not those of Ernst & Young LLP or any other member firm of the EY global organization.

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From Concrete to Cobblestones: A Journey Through Europe’s First Fully Inclusive and Sustainable Village

By Viola Miebach

Barcelona, my cherished home, was a symphony of vibrant colors, diverse cultures, and ceaseless motion. Yet as the years passed, the allure of its sun-kissed streets began to wilt under the relentless pressure of searing heat waves and an encroaching water shortage. The city I once danced through in my youth now seemed less inviting as I navigated its bustling streets alone. Summers, once filled with the joyous sounds of children playing and neighbors conversing on balconies, had turned into quiet, solitary days spent indoors. My apartment, although a sanctuary of sorts, felt increasingly like a gilded cage. When the mercury soared, like many of the city’s elderly, I found refuge in the climate shelters that Barcelona, in a bid to combat the changing climate, had set up in public spaces.

Yet amidst the languishing heat and the mounting solitude, an unexpected opportunity emerged—a beacon guiding me away from my solitary existence in Barcelona to the serene confines of a picturesque village in Northern Portugal. This wasn’t just a chance to exchange my urban solitude for a rural community, it was a portal into a future that dared to defy convention, a journey into a reality that brimmed with innovation, harmony, and inclusivity.

As if it was out of a fairytale, the village was nestled amidst jade hills and a calm lake. However, this haven was far from a relic of bygone days. Inaugurated in 2025, this was Europe’s first fully inclusive village, a testament to the futuristic vision of a cohort of visionary architects who dared to question, challenge, and ultimately, reconstruct the world.

Walking into my temporary dwelling was like crossing the threshold of time into a tomorrow adorned with the ethos of inclusivity. Power outlets cozied at an accessible height, broad doorways that extended a warm welcome to all, and stateof-the-art technology seamlessly integrated with aesthetics— it was innovative design resonating the principle of ‘aging in place’. As I settled into my routines, it began to anticipate my needs, a soft glow of light as I awoke, rooms warming up before I stepped in, doors unlocking as I approached. Here, age was not a handicap, but an asset— a treasure trove of wisdom, experience, and resilience.

The cobblestone streets, veining through the village, pulsed with life and vitality, connecting everyone. An intricate network of autonomous vehicles catered to all, their design putting accessibility first. They moved seamlessly through the streets, picking up residents and visitors alike. Their AI systems recognized the unique requirements of each passenger - wheelchair access, voice-guided assistance, and even onboard emergency health services.

The village’s lifeblood and visionary was its founder—an architect whose dream had breathed life into this commune. Over a shared cup of locallysourced tea, he unraveled the philosophy behind this magical city.

“Our ambition was to create an oasis—not a fleeting mirage—but a sustainable ecosystem that revered architecture for its potential to foster positive connectivity, rather than merely erecting concrete structures,” he explained. “We kept our foundational values strong throughout our process. We wanted to make sure that the heart of this place remained how it was intended, and didn’t turn out to be something else, like we saw in Florida, where they witnessed a massive influx of retirees.”

As the village was being gently embraced by twilight’s arrival one balmy evening, hues of crimson and gold graced the sky, luring me towards the vibrant heart of the community—the communal yard. Under the welcoming shade of a sprawling, ancient oak, the time-honored ritual of a shared dinner was about to unfold—a testament to the village’s core ethos of unity and intergenerational harmony.

“sustainable ecosystem that revered architecture for its potential to foster positive connectivity”

Guided by the village elders, whose faces bore the gentle etchings of wisdom distilled through years, the younger generation learned to navigate the bounty of our garden. The elders’ soft-spoken counsel directed the children to ripe produce, their shared wisdom merging seamlessly with the melodic rustling of leaves, creating a symphony of generations.

The harvest found its way to the open-air kitchen, where villagers assembled, echoing an almost symphonic blend of youthful enthusiasm and time-honored wisdom. In this village, future and past didn’t just coexist— they interweaved. State-of-the-art kitchen appliances and an AI culinary assistant, equipped with an extensive repertoire of recipes and precision control, seamlessly harmonized with the timeless culinary methods of the village elders. Far from overshadowing, the AI complemented the rich culinary heritage, ensuring that tradition and technology nourished each other.

As we gathered around the shared meal, twilight’s embrace gently deepened. Laughter echoed through the village, stories and experiences passed around like the lovingly prepared dishes, and the communal dinner transformed into more than a meal— it became a celebration of unity, where age was just another thread in the vibrant interweaving of life.

Beyond its idyllic charm, the village was a microcosm of a sustainable future—an emblem of the harmonious co-existence of humanity and nature. A testament to this was the innovative desalination station, tapping into the ocean’s bounty to quench our thirst, and using power from the district geothermal plant, drawing energy from Earth’s core. Finally, a permanent and poetic solution to ever-pressing sweet water scarcity. The village was not simply about sustainability and inclusivity, it was a crucible where generations with their unique ethos and perspectives converged. The resultant culture, far from leading to clashes, initiated meaningful dialogues, fostering understanding and growth, weaving a dynamic, intergenerational tapestry of life.

My stay drew to a close. I realized I was leaving behind more than just a village. My heart ached with the nostalgia of Barcelona’s charm and the longing for this harmonious commune. The house swap had metamorphized into a journey of self-discovery and a preview of my ideal ‘aging in place’ scenario. It was a tantalizing peek into a world where age was a celebration, inclusivity a universal language, and sustainability a guiding principle, rather than a mere afterthought.

Bidding adieu to the future I had only dreamt of, I carried back with me a hope, a vision, and a resolution—to strive for a world that embraced all ages, fostered inclusivity, and upheld sustainability as its prime directive.

Bountiful Harvests and Hassle-Free Dining: ‘Readi Meal’

– The Revolutionary Microvegetable GardenMeets-Culinary Service

By Gabby Morris

Readi Meal is a cutting-edge innovation that seamlessly marries the natural joys of home gardening with effortless, healthy dining. Catering specifically to our tech-fluent, health-conscious seniors, this groundbreaking product transcends the realms of meal delivery services and indoor gardening kits. In our increasingly urban world, Readi Meal champions a return to nature, allowing users to nurture and harvest their own micro vegetables, and enjoy them as part of a nutritionally tailored, readi-made meal.

For millennia, food has been the cornerstone of human survival and culture. Over the past few decades, technology has dramatically reshaped our food ecosystem. The introduction of Readi-meal, a new product that effortlessly blends technology, nutrition, and gardening, marks a significant milestone in this ongoing revolution. Aimed at the older generation, Readi-meal is not just a meal delivery service; it’s an interactive and rewarding experience that revolutionizes the concept of “food on demand.”

“

My meals are now perfectly aligned with my body’s requirements.”

Readi-meal is equipped with the ability to link with a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM). This integration ensures that every meal is nutritionally tailored to suit your specific needs. You no longer have to guess or estimate your nutritional requirements—Readi-meal does the job for you.

“My CGM and Readi-meal have become my dynamic duo. Having this seamless integration is amazing. My meals are now perfectly aligned with my body’s requirements. It’s technology and nutrition working in harmony. The Readi-meal doesn’t just feed me; it engages me, keeps me active and in tune with nature, all from the comfort of my kitchen. It’s not just a meal—it’s a joyful, nurturing experience.”

Beyond its innovative tech, Readi-meal creates an engaging and immersive experience by allowing users to grow their own microvegetables. Each meal kit comes with seeds for microvegetables and meat that mature in just two days. The device can loop this process for up to three meals at a time, ensuring a constant supply of fresh, healthy food.

If idea of grinding away in the kitchen holds no appeal for you Readi-meal is the perfect tool. This futuristic device is more than a kitchen gadget - it’s a tangible embodiment of the intersection between technology and everyday life, effortlessly crafting meals that keep your kitchen labor-free and your life flavor-full.

“I’ve always been a tech-head, but cooking was a chore I’d rather avoid. With Readi-meal, I’ve found the perfect balance. It’s smart, efficient, and does all the work for me, turning my kitchen into a tech-powered food haven. It’s the future on my countertop!”

Readi-meal also goes the extra mile to accommodate food allergies and intolerances. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, it can remove specific allergens from vegetables. For those with certain food intolerances, this is a game-changer. Moreover, the device offers a unique solution for picky eaters or those with specific taste preferences. If you don’t like aubergines, no worries! Readi meal can remove any trace of food you don’t want.

Readi-meal’s compact, sleek design is another plus. It’s self-sufficient and energy-efficient, effortlessly fitting into any kitchen setup. Readi-meal is an exciting leap forward in our ongoing food journey. It champions an integrated, tech-based approach to nutrition and wellness, while fostering a return to nature and personalized food experiences.

Readi-meal maintains a sustainable, collaborative relationship with local farmers and agricultural cooperatives, sourcing their variety of microvegetable and meat seeds directly. This mutually beneficial partnership supports local agriculture while ensuring the seeds are of the highest quality and variety.

Once harvested, the seeds are carefully processed in Readi-meal’s dedicated facilities. Each seed is examined for quality, then cleaned, and dried, preserving its natural integrity. For those with specific dietary needs or allergies, Readi-meal employs a proprietary technology to modify these seeds at a molecular level. This ensures, for example, that tomatoes no longer contain the lectins that might cause an adverse reaction in some individuals.

Readi-meal is not merely a futuristic kitchen gadget—it’s a holistic approach to food, health, and lifestyle. By merging technology with nutrition, it’s empowering older people to take control of their health, while bringing the joy of growing and enjoying their food. Every meal is customized, healthoptimized, and grown right on your kitchen countertop. With Readi-meal, the future of personalized dining is already here, revolutionizing the way we view and interact with our food.

“I’ve always been a tech-head, but cooking was a chore I’d rather avoid. With Readi-meal, I’ve found the perfect balance.”

Nootropic Sensations

By Magda Mojsiejuk

Embark on a sensory odyssey through varying states of matter. inTENSE curates five non-alcoholic nootropic elixirs, each distinct, from mists to solids, crafted for the ‘clear-heads’. Sip, inhale, or touch— experience a multisensory spectacle in its purest form. Dive into this neon-lit, neural ballet. Revel in lucidity.

Synaptic Sunburst (Mist)

Inhale the ephemeral Synaptic Sunburst, a luminous mist of orangetinted ashwagandha and turmeric vapors. Extracted through ultrasonic foggers, this drink envelopes you in a cloud. Each inhalation promises heightened cognition and tranquility.

Paired with a soundtrack of desert winds and echoing chants, it evokes a journey through ancient sandscapes.

Luminous Reverie (Liquid)

Sip the Luminous Reverie, a radiant pink brew of rose-infused lion’s mane mushroom, illuminated by bioluminescent algae. The accompanying electric straw pulsates, modulating the drink’s flavors with every sip. Soundtrack: rhythmic heartbeats layered with soft raindrops, stimulating both memory and emotions. Dive deep into neon dreams.

Navigate the Celestial Pulsar, a deep blue rhodiolainfused jello. Suspended within are purple particles of crystallized beetroot and blueberry. As the jello is consumed, the particles burst, releasing a blend of antioxidants and nootropics. The soundtrack: ethereal cosmic hums intertwined with distant nebula whispers, expanding the mind’s horizons. Explore the galaxy within.

Celestial Pulsar (Gel)

Stardust Euphoria (Powder)

Discover Stardust Euphoria, an exquisite glittering pink sand of ground rose petals, mica, and ginkgo biloba. Upon the tongue, the granules melt, transporting you to realms of clarity and creativity. Soundtrack: soft zephyrs carrying woodland melodies, intertwined with ancient spells, promising enhanced neural connectivity. Unearth millennia; experience now.

Temporal Relics (Ice)

Experience Temporal Relics, glistening orange ice cubes infused with bacopa monnieri and blood orange extracts. As each cube dissolves, time seems to stretch, leaving behind a sense of prolonged mental agility. Paired with a soundtrack of melting glaciers and echoing caverns, it’s a sensory journey through epochs. Hold time; savor the fleeting.

Phoenix Feather (Film)

A shimmering film of saffron and papaya rests atop a crystal-clear elixir. Swirl with the provided crystal rod, and the drink transforms into a brilliant orange hue. As the drink whirls, it releases spicy, earthy aromas. Soundtrack: gentle rustling leaves intermingled with dawn bird calls. Immerse yourself, and rise anew with each sip.

Quantum Quiver (Beads)

This mesmerizing drink oscillates between deep blue and vibrant purple, capturing the mystery of twilight skies. Infused with matcha, butterfly pea flower, and microscopic carbonated beads, it’s a sensory enigma. As you sip, the beads burst, offering alternating warm and cool sensations, while releasing cognitive enhancers. Soundtrack: resonant strings blended with twilight cricket serenades. Immerse in the enigmatic dance of dusk and dawn.

New Technologies are Competing to Win the Race to Repair and Replace Our Organs

By Zoltan Istvan

Zoltan Istvan is getting better with age. The Transhumanist Party leader and frontrunner in the 2044 presidential elections was a long shot when he first ran in 2016 for president of the then United States of America. Post 2016, the country and the world were unwittingly on the verge of a pandemic that would have lasting repercussions for geopoliticsand for the eternal human quest for longer, healthier life. Fast-tracking cures, balancing deep data about individual health with the right to privacy, and huge leaps forward in the ability to engineer cells, organs, and whole organisms were the upside of two years that most of us who lived through them would rather forget. But many technologies and even beliefs that were considered fringe transhumanism then, are increasingly an unremarkable part of everyday life for us.

As Americans consider choosing their next leader, with hope, wisdom, and vision once again revered qualities, inTENSE takes a look back at an essay Istvan wrote in 2014, to see where his vision was hope, and where it was spot-on.

An extraordinary competition is underway—one that could be more impactful to the human species than any other technological rivalry to come before it. Soon, the radical concept of substantially improving or outright replacing our organs is going to be commonplace.

Globally, organ failure is a leading cause of death. But transplantable organs are in far too short of a supply around the world to help many in need— even former US Vice President Dick Cheney had to wait 20 months to get his new heart.

Various methodologies, technologies, and even spiritual and philosophical preferences are dividing up this human upgrade quest. Companies are launching into the field, hoping to create the dominant longevity tech that people in the near future will use to live to 150 and beyond. Many futurists believe each of our major body parts will likely one day be replaced or significantly modified by extreme science and technology.

Zoltan Istvan, Photo @ Edward Hudgins

Recently, I wrote about the growing use of artificial hearts and optimistically predicted in 10 years robotic hearts may be equal or better than human hearts. A few years ago, a revolutionary new robotic heart—the Carmat heart—was fitted into a patient in France. According to the AFP, French Health Minister Mariso Touraine said, “This intervention confirms that heart transplant procedures are entering a new era.”

While researching artificial hearts, however, I was surprised to learn that healing damaged organs with stem cells or growing new organs outright may end up beating the creation of artificial organs to the marketplace.

Right away, I realized one of the great races of the 21st century might already be underway.

The technological rivalries of the 20th century have long fascinated people. The evolution of the transportation industry: cars vs. trains vs. airplanes. Or what about Bill Gates’ infamous tactics against Apple and IBM to establish Microsoft Windows as the dominant operating system in the world?

The healthcare industry has rarely had such a publicized competition, as most innovation was isolated to its own specific causes and needs. But the modern world of invention is now more connected than ever.

Hardly any major new science or tech emerges without WiFi capabilities, or microchip processors, or something synthetic. For example, robotic limbs are connected to the nervous system. Chip implants can release hormones in the body. And exoskeletons are helping the disabled walk.

The synergies of this interconnected world are stronger than ever. Coders, engineers, and biologists often work hand in hand, all in the same lab.

“There’s no longer this big divide between medicine and technology,” says Gray Scott, a futurist and co-executive producer of upcoming documentary The Future of Work and Death. “We are increasingly becoming cyborglike beings. We are becoming literally what we create. Biology, physics, and technology are evolving towards one-and-thesame-thing.”

So which approaches are worth watching in the race to repair and replace our organs? While there is no single dominant method yet, I’m keeping an eye on three technologies: robotics, stem cells, and 3D-printed organs.

Diehard robotics fans believe the future lies entirely in becoming machines. Indeed, I agree that the long-term future will be dominated by robotics and then later by mind uploading to AI, where no biological organs are used at all.

But not everyone will sign up for such radical technology in their lives.

Some people, for spiritual or philosophical reasons and preferences, may not want such extreme transformation, especially in the near term, while it takes society time to adjust to the strange but inevitable transhumanist age.

In the next five years, those people may be able to have it all. New stem cell technology will likely outpace the creation of robotic body parts for human use.

In the UK, a major study of 3,000 patients is underway to determine if injecting stem cells into heart attack-damaged hearts will speed recovery and lengthen lives. Early results are positive, giving experts hope that injected stem cells (taken from patients’ hips in the UK study) might offer a simple solution to healing damaged organs in the body.

In another independent study, damaged hearts in monkeys were given stem cell injections that also showed significantly improved organ usage after the treatment. Also, doctors in Japan are beginning to test using induced pluripotent stem cells to fight macular degeneration. Induced pluripotent stem cells are produced from adult cells, unlike embryonic stem cells.

“But not everyone will sign up for such radical technology in their lives.”

More fascinating is the possibility of growing or even 3D printing organs (or bioprinting as it’s called) in the lab. For years now, scientists have engineered very minor parts of the body in laboratories, such as organ tissue. But now they have devised methods and devices that can create more complex cellular structures. For example, CNN reports that recently “a 2-year-old girl in Illinois, born without a trachea, received a windpipe built with her own stem cells.” The trachea was first constructed with plastic fibers and then stem cells were later meshed with it to create the respiratory organ.

One company, Organovo, a California start-up, has also had success in 3D printing tiny strips of human liver. These may be used to test new drugs. But one day they hope to produce a fully functioning liver for commercial purposes. And a team from the University of Louisville in Kentucky has also had some success printing human heart valves and small veins a few years ago, according to the Associated Press.

If this all sounds a bit far-fetched, it’s because it is so outside our realm of experience. Many people’s immediate reaction to such radical technology is fear. However, experts think such tech and its acceptance in the future will be determined more by need than anything else.

People tend to cling onto their preferences until their health significantly deteriorates. In a life and death medical situation, most people opt to go with what will save their life and enable them to be healthy again.

Companies creating radical new medical tech, such as entire synthetic organs, are profoundly aware of this. They hope to sidestep some controversy by focusing on the human aspects of their innovations—such as how artificial organs might grant more time with grandchildren and loved ones—and not whether the organ was grown, printed, or created in a factory.

At the end of the day, for most people, being healthy, productive, and having the ability to spend time with loved ones is what remains most important. In this way, no matter what technology or field of science wins the competition to build the best organs—flesh, machine, or a mixture of both—we are all winners.

The Death of Death:

The Scientific Possibility of Physical Immortality and its Moral Defense

by best selling authors

José Luis Cordeiro and David Wood Scroll Coming this Fall to your Scroll for instant access

Now revised in 2043

iNs0mNiA Sleepless in Tomorrowland

By Pascal Morgan

“Hey, honey?”

I’m calling her across the living room. She must be somewhere, I thought. At this time in the evening, she would be at her usual spot in the far corner where the gracious glass walls of our California woodside residence meet. That special corner overlooking Big Sur surrounded by redwood, sycamores, and a few distinct conifers. A view neatly tucked into the wooded slope and unveiling a small patch of serene blue ahead in the distance, a peek of Pacific Ocean, just big enough to spark this melancholic longing of a long lost home somewhere beyond the horizon.

Every time I let my gaze wander across our home, I would feel the snugness of our lives manifesting in the well-aged eclectic collection of Eames’ seating assortments, Danish designed tables from the 1970’s, and selected Giacometti sculptures. Was this my vision of my future fifty years ago when I just graduated from college as an aspiring, but totally naive computer engineer? I should’ve taken on the arts. How should I’ve known that my job would become obsolete a mere three decades later? But thankfully by then, I had a patent on a self-optimizing algorithmic procedure for self-contained artificial consciousness. Lucky strike. For every thinking robot, every AI bot instance running on the cloud, every algorithmic black box chewing away on our data, a fraction of a digital dollar-cent trickles into my account.

I belonged to the last generation of coders, overhyped whiz kids then in their mid-life crisis, who rang the bell for the demise of the engineering profession. Totally eradicated. Now, a good twenty years later, we all have ample time for the arts, I would quietly chuckle to myself. I know a lot of them weren’t that lucky. But I’m giving back now. Giving back big time. Though no matter how much I give back, my assets are still growing by the second.

“Hey, honey!” My eyes spotted her. Sitting there with a steaming cup of Japanese-import Sencha tea, a musing soul letting her focus float across the Californian landscape afar, she turned around to meet my gaze. She was mesmerizing with her 73 years, not aged a day beyond 30, and looking at me with a smile mocking my immaturity. “Yes, dear…?”

“You up for it?” I held up the latest Immersive Reality headset. What looked like a goldfish bowl that you were supposed to plop on your head like an astronaut’s helmet, was my latest fetish for escaping reality. A hyper-realistic fiber-glass sphere fitted with the latest visual projection and VR simulation tech. I knew she hated it. And I also knew she’d do it for me because she loved me.

I jumped on the lounge pillows in front of me. “Just a quick round together in the Verse? They’ve got this new experience online…” I grabbed the second fishbowl lying next to me and flung it towards her in a gallant spin. “… some kind of simulation of ourselves in an alternate reality.”

Sitting there with the warm teacup in both hands, she let the fishbowl bounce on the floor, roll past, and curl up in the corner behind her, coming to a twirling stop like a spinning coin losing its last momentum and finally succumbing to gravity. A moment of silence. “That sounds rather awful.” She smiled at me sadly.

I’m all jacked up and going for the thrill. “Yeah. They scan and reanalyze our data, create a spitting image of our personality and then project us into some parallel life.”

She still looks puzzled, even more concerned, like she’s feeling sorry for my game addiction. And slowly shakes her head.

“Well, suit yourself. See you on the other side!” I cry out defiantly. With a gasp of excitement, I pop my head into the fiber-glass bubble and a whizzing noise kicks me off into another world. My head is spinning. What’s this...? As if I had never fallen asleep, I still somehow slowly wake up again. Waking up into a strange new world. I can faintly hear an alarm ringing in a distance. Coming closer. Time to get up. And then...

[Display reads:]

“Transcript Diary Entry --- Begin Journey

Date: February 3, 2043

Time: 5:15 AM

Age: 75

Biological age: 38

Sex: Male

Gender: cis, sapiosexual

Account type: GOLD B+

Upgrade to A-: Yes / No; Upgrade to Platinum: Not available, insufficient funds]”

Waking up today again with a monstrous headache. Nosebleed running down my cheek.

Ugh. What a night.

I can’t get my sleep cycles in sync. They said I could go down to 1.5 hours of sleep, squeeze it to the max, if I can get the fine-tuning right. I set my bloodstream nanobots to maximum CO2 extraction and intra-cellular ATP replenishment, with all the extras, you know, mitochondrial optimization and DNA micro-repairs, and blabla-yadda-yadda. All those gimmicky little extras that cost a fortune in total because they all add up on my subscription plan. I’ve got no idea if my VOmax has really gone up over the day. I do miss my dream cycles though. But with the latest implant they said that REM was overrated anyway. So, back to my sleep cycles. Hold on. Let me check the dashboard.

I’m pinching my fingers together and calling up my medical data hologram and navigating to my EVRNOX sleep plugin. Weird, the fingers feel a bit stiff today. Whatever.

The last update looks quite nice actually, smooth user interface, nice animations and stuff. They seriously had to improve after the last data breach. The sleep patterns of 250 million users were syphoned off by neuro-bandits, so they really beefed up the security, reworked the app and added some fireworks. They got so much bad press for being hacked, they really had to up their game. Listen, with 2 billion of us silverliners hooked on the system, this thing is too big to fail. You have to make it more attractive. Yes, I know I’m digressing here. But hold on. Do you know how much money these neuro-bandits can make?

Ever since our technocratic government introduced brainwave-scans as citizen IDs, these bandits are using the sleep patterns to reconstruct actual IDs and use them for fraud. Luckily, their success rate is still under 1%, but that’s already 2.5 million IDs they can forge right there. Massive security issue. And then you have to get the insurance police notified and all the paperwork. Well, for quite a premium I have that covered with my smart contracts. They’ll notify INSURAPOL immediately and trigger off all that needs to be done. But these insurance militia aren’t any better than the bandits themselves… uh, stop. Delete last sentence… Delete! Hey, what’s wrong here? This looks like a glitch, oh bother. Don’t really want this on record. I’ll correct it later.

God, ever since insurance companies are running the show, even the government in these rigged, so-called “liquid democracy” elections, they’ve even outsourced the police force. Insurance companies running the police. Go figure. Another fancy name for industry-run paramilitary. Just imagine your insurance policy being delivered in full combat gear. (chuckles) And they’re tough. Don’t want to be on their shit list. They will shut down a whole district and pull up a military-grade battalion to hunt down an 11-year-old who hacked into the school’s cafeteria. They just can’t take any humor.

Sorry, I’m digressing again. Damned. Gotta take my meds. Can’t focus, I’m all over the place.

This onset of dementia-ADHD has me really freaking out. Giving me the twitches. I actually don’t even know if this $3 million investment is going to pay off. I’ve subscribed for this full LIFE MAX package, a guaranteed 150-year life span, had all the gimmicks installed. And now, there’s this new phenomenon with “d-ADHD”!

Somehow out of nowhere we find out that our brains are overstimulated and the growth of synapses just starts going through the roof. Uncontrollably, just BAM, all these connections across the brain. They say, neuroplasticity is forcing this cerebral pimple between my shoulders to go apeshit because it’s trying to deal with my memory and processing implants.

I mean, come on. I only had the regular 2 Exabyte memenhancer module drilled into my cortex… just took the catalog standard at our local walk-in surgery pod. No big deal. Not even top-of-the-line. Just B+ hardware on a GOLDsubscription. They even threw in a bionic foot and left hand replacement coupon. But I’m not ready for that. I’m not shaking that badly yet.

It’s all just marketing anyway.

Two Exabyte module? You must be kidding. I bet this barely surpasses 5 Terabytes of data per second and probably starts dropping memory bits beyond 0.5 Exabytes. Data corruption is commonplace. I’ve been having these memory glitches lately, incoherent fragments, as if I’m remembering somebody else’s life at times. I explicitly declined the secondhand, refurbished stuff and opted for factory-new modules only. But I’m beginning to wonder… I can’t prove it though.

But look at my neighbor. You should see what he just got implanted the other day! I mean, he went totally off-grid. Chinatown is not what it used to be. Where you had scummy basement workshops and a clan-run black market, is now replaced by top-notch medical labs with the best rogue tech bypassing sanction lists and import bans. But he is really fucked up. I would’ve never gone for this untested quantum crap. We are barely harnessing quantum computers and here are some black-market technicians soldering unlicensed chips into your brain? Totally rogue. Untested. Uncertified. Just like this submersible they sent down to the Titanic twenty years ago. Or the hibernation capsule to Mars that went bust last summer. A couple of lost souls again on some uncertified techno-trash. I mean, what are these people thinking?

But this d-ADHD does come with some quirks and perks. My hyper-focus is awesome. Just finished my last project under a week. Oncology assignment. Built the whole molecule from scratch. Active ingredient deadly for leukemia cells. Clinical trials starting next week. Actually, a well-paid gig. Just had to hook up my brain to the JOB-NET, and with all the tech I’ve installed I can download some of the best tasks that big pharma is delegating to the network. Distributed processing. Quite cool, I can earn something on the side to pay off all his junk in my head. Even works while I’m sleeping.

It’s just the restlessness and distraction that’s getting to me. They haven’t solved it yet. The tech support team is unresponsive, as always. I even tried to research it myself but it’s beyond my capacity. I can’t assign this d-ADHD as a task to my own brain enhancer. Whenever I try to define the project parameters something goes haywire. Why actually? It’s as if, whenever I try to analyze it, there is some barrier that comes up out of nowhere. Looks like my brain-interface just goes offline for a second and everything reboots. Coming to think of it, could this be on purpose perhaps?

Ouch, my fucking headache. Funny as it is, the pain is on the side of my head without the implants. Maybe I should just get everything replaced. Chuck out all the biomass and get some solid hardware in there. (laughing) But I still think the 1.5 hours of sleep could really be too short. Well, I maximized the regenerative deep sleep mode to 100%. Looks like I need to try a full three hours of sleep tonight. Or even go for four? Damned. Losing wake time again. That’s going to negatively impact my productivity stats. (sigh)

So, rise and shine. I need to get up, get out of bed now. Wipe the blood off my face. Unplug all of this stuff. Too many tubes hanging on me. (laughing) Let me check the endocrine cocktail I mixed up last night. Hm. Testosterone, growth hormones, anabolics overall. All norm. I could readjust the DMT and Ketamine micro-dosing during the day, though. Did I also add enough proteins for the overnight telomere repair? No jeans without genes. Haha. I’m getting old. And I’m not really that funny either.

Ok, let me zoom into this dashboard again. Mhm. Nanobot activity was also ok. A few billion ‘actives’ and only an average loss of 8%. My white blood cells have been slow, or they are getting used to their new friends and have stopped trying to gobble them up. Yeah guys, please work together, that’s the spirit. Ok, brainwaves normal too. I’ve been training my gamma waves to enhance my focus and productivity – hey, I’m just barely halfway through my life at 75!

AAAND… (tapping a drumroll)

It’s my birthday today! And a special one indeed. Had a morning run in the park planned with my neighbor. The dude with the quantum mess in his head. I’m going slip into my running gear and EMS suit, I think he’s already waiting for me in the XR simulator. As the special birthday treat, we booked this full-body AI trainer modeled after the first female Navy Seal in 2021. Real old school. I call her GI Jane, and she’s going to make us suffer.

Maybe I’ll go on vacation with my neighbor next year, if his brain isn’t fried yet and he can still think straight. (chuckles) There is this Ayahuasca-Amazonia special offer on sale. A fully immersive, multi-sensory Metaverse ride, this whole tribal jungle experience, you get jacked up with tubes, drug infusions, a total VR outfit. They even said, you can keep the special sensory suit on for three consecutive days and just remain in your bathtub, and what not. I still have some questions though…

Ok, diary. Enough for now. Talk to you tomorrow!

Roger out.

[Display:]

“Transcript Diary Entry --- End Journey”

Breaking the 4th Wall

By Futurity Systems

In 2043, the world will be a different place. How will our lifestyles change? How long will we live? Will we still face disease the same way we do now? How will the workforce look? What new technologies will we have in our homes? What about our clothing, our food, our travel, even our habits and well being? These are all questions that we’ll be exploring in this speculative future lifestyle magazine inTENSE created by Futurity Systems.

inTENSE offers a dress rehearsal of different possible futures to help you imagine what life could be like in 2043.

In the theater, walls one, two, and three are the back and sides of the stage’s scenery. The “fourth wall” is the one between the stage and the audience, and playwrights and actors are cautioned against breaking it –by addressing the audience directly, coming out of character, or revealing the mechanisms behind the props, for example – lest they remind the viewers that it’s all just an act. InTENSE is a bit like a play, set in the future but addressing the present, and we do want to share with you how it was made:

While all images in Issue #1 were synthetic, in this issue we use some real photographs in the following articles: “New Technologies are Competing to Win the Race to Repair and Replace Our Organs,” and the Digemini Moralgorithms ad.

All other images are generated with Midjourney.

Additionally, Innovation consultants and Futures strategists at EY, David Huntington and Phil Park contributed the full advertisement (copy and art direction) for Digemini Moralgorithms.

The ChatGPT 4 texts have a tiny robot icon at the bottom of the page, and all illustrations (synthographs as coined by Elke Reinhuber) come as generated from multiple versions and releases of the algorithm v5.1 and 5.2 untouched and unphotoshopped.

“This present moment used to be the unimaginable future,” said Stewart Brand of the Long Now Foundation, and most of the articles take their seed in technologies and trends that are visible – some faint, some ubiquitous – in labs, art, politics, and restaurants today. InTENSE is an example of our artifacts – props brought back from the future so we can experience and debate them now, in a quest to build better futures, faster. Our goal as Future Synthesists is to take the patterns of innovation that we study, and apply them to today’s people, processes, products, and places – so we all can imagine that unimaginable future a bit more clearly, vividly, and actively.

As the future arrives, seemingly early and unannounced again, we also want inTENSE to become a documentation of the development of these technologies. As we take this issue to publishing, there are strident debates about the future of human graphic designers and writers; the ethics of AI and the metaverse; even about the nature of truth and intelligence.

We’ve learned a lot in the process of making it, about how humans and all of our inventions are starting a remarkable new age of cocreation.

We love sharing the stories, and we’re happy to have you along on the trip!

Break down problem spaces into constituent parts, quantifying the components and understanding relationships via our data driven Futurity Science Tools ANALYZE FUTURES

Test the artefacts in lab conditions, with users / customers, or in the market

Design new solutions by adding, subtracting, rearranging, and taking other actions on the parts via our design methodology

Synthesizng Futures

SYNTHESIZE FUTURES

ENGINEER FUTURES

Build the designed solutions, in the form of conceptual, experiential, or functional ar tefacts and prototypes

Lifestyle magazine from the future

Revista de estilo de vida del futuro

Revista d’estil de vida del futur

Lifestyle-Magazin aus der Zukunft

Magazyn o stylu życia z przyszłości

Livsstilsmagasin från framtiden

Lifestyle magazine uit de toekomst

未来的生活方式杂志

For the whole history of human civilization, youth have been at the center: stronger, richer, more beautiful, and more numerous than the generations that came before them, they set the rules and ruled the world.

Now for the first time, older populations are outgrowing their offspring. Old age no longer equates to inability or insolvency, sedentariness or senility. It’s a serious scientific question whether aging can be slowed or even reversed.

In 2043, how much farther will we have come – as a society, and as individuals? What will retirement age mean for those with half of their life left? We invite you to read about the quirky quinquagenarians, sexy sexagenarians, supple septuagenarians, and other cultural leaders of the future; in other words, very likely about yourself! The silverization of civilization has already begun.

www.futurity.systems

Price: 18€

ISBN 978-1-960954-02-2