Billionaires will be able to buy pills to prolong life leaving 'posh zombies' on Earth

Only the rich will be able to afford the life-lengthening treatment - leaving the rest of the planet burdened by a troop of privileged super wrinklies, boffins fear

Billionaires will soon be able to buy pills that extend their lives - leaving "posh, privileged zombies" roaming the Earth, it has been claimed.

Artificial intelligence and biotechnology are evolving at such a fast pace anti-aging tablets may only be years away. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, 60, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, 57, and ChatGPT’s Sam Altman, 39, are among a host of tycoons throwing their wealth behind regenerative medicine.

Drugs and other technology will make the body’s cells stay younger and disease-free for longer - increasing life expectancy.

But only the rich will be able to afford the life-lengthening treatment - leaving the rest of the planet burdened by a troop of privileged super wrinklies, boffins fear.

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Phil Cleary, 71, founder of the SmartWater Group which is now part of intelligence-led security giant DeterTech, said: "At the rate technology is evolving it will only be a matter of time before life-extending drugs become freely available to those who can afford them.’’

But tech moguls should "quit playing God" in their race to conquer death, Cleary said.

He said the quest for the holy grail of medicine was "ego-driven" and risks creating a planet of "posh, privileged zombies."

Instead the tech billionaires should use their fortunes to help the world’s poorest children survive at least into adulthood.

Rather than prolonging the lives of the rich elite their money would be better spent on the world’s five million children who die of hunger and from other preventable causes every year.

Cleary, whose book `Elixir’ explores the consequences of life-extending drugs on society, said: "Silicon Valley’s dogged pursuit of the fountain of youth is a fear-led, ego-driven folly that comes at a terrible humanitarian cost to the planet and to its most vulnerable inhabitants.

"A pill that keeps people alive, even by a few decades, would create an unjust, inequitable world packed with posh, privileged zombies - predominately white, middle-class folk who could afford to buy the drugs in the first place.

"The billionaires behind this dangerous research should therefore quit playing God and re-evaluate what `life’ really means.

"Keeping children alive until at least their 18th birthday is unquestionably more important to humanity than extending the run of those privileged few who have already had the chance to see the world, to have children of their own, and to realise their own special ambitions.’’

According to the World Health Organization around 100,000 die from age-related diseases every day.

The scientific world is split by what triggers them.

While aging itself does not directly kill people older folk are at risk of a host of deadly ailments such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease and cancer.

Some believe cell batteries called mitochondria (corr) may be responsible.

Over time they are thought to produce unstable compounds which damage important molecules and proteins.

Others think aging may be caused by older `senescent’ cells which are not cleared out by the body’s waste system as they become dormant.

But anti-aging research is progressing rapidly with scientists racing to uncover the processes of aging.

In July researchers at MRC Laboratory of Medical Science at Imperial College London and Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore announced the discovery of a new drug that increased the lifespans of laboratory mice by nearly 25%.

Dozens of high-profile businessmen have thrown their money behind biotech start-ups specifically focused on extending the human lifespan.

Bezos is reported to have invested £2.4 billion in Altos Labs.

While PayPal co-founder Thiel invested in the Methuselah Foundation which has the goal of making `90 the new 50’.

In April last year (2023) ChatGPT founder Altman was revealed to ploughed £144 million into biotech start-up Retro BioScience (corr).

According to its website it focuses on "cellular reprogramming."

Cleary, whose SmartWater technology was used by two million people in over 20 countries worldwide, said life-extending medication would benefit many who may otherwise have died younger from terminal illness.

But he warned such powerful drugs would only be sold at a premium - meaning most of the world’s population could never afford them.

He said: "Before extending the lives of the privileged few surely mankind must first focus on extending the lives, if only for a few years, of the millions of children who die of starvation?’’

Theologian Dr Niamh Middleton, of the University of Dublin, said humanity `could be lost forever’ if Silicon Valley succeeded in its goal.

" Aside from the many religious arguments, God’s divine plan among them, I would think it safe to say that humanity could be lost forever as we know if life-extending drugs are brought to the market by private companies for commercial gain,’’ she said.

"In our pursuit of extending life let us first turn our attention to the most vulnerable among us.

"Rather than focusing on costly measures for personal longevity let us channel our resources and efforts toward eradicating the scourge of childhood starvation, reflecting the true Christian call to compassion and justice.’’

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