Actuarial escape velocity

Actuarial escape velocity is a concept first publicly proposed by David Gobel, founder of the Methuselah Foundation. It refers to a point in time at which the acceleration of advances in biomedical technology surpass the rate at which humans age — in other words, the point at which, each year, the average human life expectancy increases by at least one year. This makes actuarial escape velocity an attractive idea, as a means of achieving indefinite lifespan.

Controversial biogerontologist Aubrey de Grey and futurist Ray Kurzweil have championed the idea, claiming that if we begin attempting to push the limits of aging science right now instead of continuing forward at a relatively leisurely pace, we will be saving more lives in the future even if it doesn't seem that way now. For instance, even if it starts to look as though we won't cure aging within the lifetimes of anybody alive today, to not push forward with all speed because of this is to condemn perhaps billions of people to needless aging and death a hundred or more years hence, when hastened research practices today could have made the difference ahead of time.

See also

• Life extension
• Engineered negligible senescence
• Suspended animation