I think they are overblowing the conflict between the groups, though tension definitely does exist… the biotech scientists think that the immortalists (lifespan maximizers) are creating false expectations (that have never been met and smell of “snake oil”, the immortalists think the biotech people are too conservative and point to cancer where people have frequently spoken about the goal being “a cure for cancer” even though that is likely only far in the future… without stigma.
Although it can be easy to reduce the various longevity efforts to one big blob of existential dread powered by money and fragile male egos, the community includes cliques with very different aims. Some are focused on extending the average human life by a modest range. Others are more conservative, promising only to add more “health span,” meaning healthier years within a natural time frame. And some go fully eternal, promising—with typical Silicon Valley restraint—to build their own sovereign-ish state where they plan to master and defeat death. “We’ve accepted aging and death as inevitable, and now there’s a very good reason to believe they will be solved,” says Adam Gries, an investor focused on longevity. “The only question is when.”
The factions…
To keep track of the different factions, we’ll give them some nicknames.
In one corner are the Biotechs…
Then there are the Wellness Obsessives. (Bryan Johnson)
Both the Biotechs and the Wellness Obsessives are at pains to emphasize that they still expect to die. For the Radicals, that’s loser talk.
Full article: https://archive.ph/6f8HB#selection-4811.0-4811.747