A Discussion Piece Related to:
Life Span Extension Research and Public Debate: Societal Considerations by Aubrey D.N.J de Grey.

Abstract

Biogerontologist Aubrey de Grey has suggested that one of the reasons we as a society invest so little in research on combating aging is because we are in an intellectual trance. We think the effort will be futile: aging is immutable, so why try? A healthy skepticism can be a good thing but it is a major mistake to bet against the irresistible force of inexorable technological progress. Over the next few decades, nanotechnology will come to play a pivotal role in the solution to the problem of human aging. Medical nanorobotics, if it can be made to work, can unquestionably offer convenient solutions to all known causes of age-related damage and most likely can also successfully address any new causes of senescence that remain undiscovered today.

Recommended Citation

Freitas, Robert A. Jr. (2007) "Medical Nanorobotics: Breaking the Trance of Futility in Life Extension Research (A Reply to de Grey)," Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1, Article 6.
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/selt/vol1/iss1/art6