All of DavidWeber's Comments + Replies

Among the largest nations that are most relevant to the world (or have a disproportionate ability to shape what happens to the world relative to their ability to be shaped by other countries), it only applies for China and Russia, and it's unclear whether Xi or Putin strongly care about immortality (and even if it did, it would be unlikely to arrive quickly enough to save them). Given that the next 100 years might be the most important years ever in human history, this makes this supposition more bounded on what might happen in the next 100 years, and there aren't that many dictators in that position. It's also unlikely that China would become less autocratic/flexible even after Xi dies (the CCP will just have other ways to maintain its power - probably in a way similar to how North Korea barely changed after Kim Jung Il died. When an autocrat's closest associates also die off over time, it can cause a weakening of the strong beliefs held by some of the previous generation, which might facilitate regime change. I think this concern has a potential for strong negative downside on the tails, but it's unclear if it is a strong negative downside in the median case (given that we know who the most relevant dictators are here, and there aren't many). Given the increasing power disparity between China and the West, what happens in China then becomes uniquely important, so this concern may be more targeted around whether or not China's ability to change is affected by whether or not the death of Xi's successor (and everyone in Xi's generation of the CCP) would significantly increase the chances of China transitioning away from the strongest downsides of autocracy or authoritarian governments (I believe China transitioning away from authoritarianism is unlikely no matter what, though the death of its autocrats over the next 100 yearsmight increase China's chances of ultimately transitioning away from the most negative effects of authoritarian governments, such as censorship

Agreed. One way you can frame what I'm saying is that I'm putting forward a neutral thesis: anti-aging could have big effects. I'm not necessarily saying they would be good (though personally I think they would be). Even if you didn't want aging to be cured, it still seems worth thinking about it because if it were inevitable, then preparing for a future where aging is cured is better than not preparing. I think this is real, and my understanding is that empirical research supports this. But the theories I have read also assume a normal aging process. It is quite probable that bad ideas stay alive mostly because the proponents are too old to change their mind. I know for a fact that researchers in their early 20s change their mind quite a lot, and so a cure to aging would also mean more of that.