The Age of Infinite Time: Where Wealth Becomes Life
(From the Diamond Age Wealth Good Time Stories)
In the not-so-distant future, time is no longer just the privilege of the wealthy — it’s a shared resource. Advances in biotechnology, personalized medicine, and regenerative therapies have democratized life extension, making healthspan the new gold standard for wealth. In this bright future, living longer isn’t just for the elite; it’s a universal opportunity, reshaping how we define prosperity.
"The goal is not to live forever, but to create something that will." – Chuck Palahniuk
"Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog" by Caspar David Friedrich
Healthspan as the New Wealth:
In this Diamond Age world, wealth isn’t just measured by financial assets but by how long one can live in good health. With breakthroughs in genetic editing, AI-driven healthcare, and preventative medicine, people now invest in health portfolios that ensure they thrive across longer lifespans.
Health for All: Life-extension technologies, once reserved for the wealthy, have become accessible to all. Personalized health plans and regenerative medicine funds are now core components of everyone’s wealth strategy.
"Longevity in life isn't just about adding years to your life but life to your years." – Dr. David Sinclair, longevity researcher
The open-source Market for Life
The Rise of Decentralized and Affordable Biotech: In the Diamond Age, life-extension technologies aren’t centralized or monopolized. With the rise of open-source biotech and decentralized research models, innovation is democratized, making cutting-edge therapies available to a broader population.
Key Fact: The rise of decentralized biotech platforms (like distributed AI systems and community-driven genomic research) is expected to drop the cost of life-saving therapies by 50% or more in the next two decades, as more data and research become widely accessible.
Supporting Trend: Open-source drug discovery platforms like CRISPR are driving shared innovation, reducing costs, and expanding access to longevity treatments.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR LONGEVITY:
In this future, governments and the private sector work together to ensure that life-extension technologies are distributed widely. Massive public investment into healthspan infrastructure—from clinics to digital health services — ensures that these advancements aren’t just available to the elite.
Key Fact: Countries like Japan, known for their super-aging society, are investing heavily in regenerative medicine and AI-driven health services. By 2030, 40% of Japan’s GDP could be tied to industries related to elderly care and life-extension innovations.
Supporting Trend: Governments in Europe and Asia are leading initiatives in public healthcare innovation to make longevity technologies affordable and accessible.
lONGEVITY INSURANCE AND UNIVERSAL HEALTH FUNDS
A new class of financial assets emerges, where individuals invest not just in traditional portfolios but in longevity insurance. This ensures that anyone can access life-extension technologies through subsidized, government-backed insurance systems.
Key Fact: By 2035, longevity insurance is predicted to become a mainstream asset class, reaching a global market size of $1 trillion, making access to life-extension technologies universal.
Supporting Trend: Universal health funds, supported by government and corporate taxes, are being proposed in some European nations to cover regenerative health treatments.
TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN WEALTH SHARING
Innovations in blockchain technology allow for new, transparent wealth-sharing models where individuals, regardless of income level, can benefit from tokenized health services and treatments. Decentralized finance (DeFi) systems make it easier to crowdsource health investments.
Key Fact: Blockchain-based health platforms are projected to grow to $500 billion by 2040, enabling micro-investments into healthcare and life-extension technologies for people across all income levels.
Supporting Trend: DeFi and tokenized health services are democratizing ownership of biotech innovations, allowing broader participation in the longevity revolution.
The Birth of Venus, Sandro Boticelli
ELDERLY-LED INNOVATION
Longer lives lead to a new era of elderly-driven innovation. With extended healthspans, older generations are no longer retiring but are launching new careers, businesses, and social innovations, contributing to society in unexpected ways.
Key Fact: Studies show that 60% of entrepreneurs over 60 in 2050 will have founded their businesses after the age of 55, thanks to improved health and life-extension technologies. Source: Kauffman Foundation
Supporting Trend: Lifelong learning programs and career transition platforms will flourish as people stay active far beyond traditional retirement.
GLOBAL HEALTHCARE AND LONGEVITY NETWORKS
In the Diamond Age, international collaborations foster global longevity networks, where countries share medical advancements and data to improve access for all. This goes beyond national borders, allowing countries to pool resources and make life-extending therapies widely available.
Key Fact: By 2045, global healthcare cooperation could result in an 80% reduction in treatment costs for life-extension technologies, driven by shared research and pooled global health budgets. [OECD]
Supporting Trend: The World Health Organization and OECD are laying the groundwork for global health cooperatives, with a focus on aging populations and health equality.
Time as the True Currency of Wealth:
In the Diamond Age, the true currency of wealth isn’t just financial assets — it’s time. With more people living longer, the value of time increases exponentially, and society restructures around quality of life as the most important asset.
Longer Careers, Lifelong Learning: With longer lives comes the need for new career arcs. People are no longer retiring at 65 but instead are reinventing themselves with second and third careers, aided by lifelong education and flexible work structures.
"Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend." – Theophrastus
A World of Equal Access
In this version of the future, equal access to longevity technologies reshapes society. The wealth gap that once existed around health and lifespan begins to close, with time and vitality becoming universal assets.
here’s the naked wealth koan:
"When time belongs to all, will we finally learn to live?"
This koan captures the essence of the Diamond Age — where time is no longer a privilege, but a shared resource. It challenges us to consider how our understanding of life, wealth, and meaning will evolve when we are no longer bound by the limits of time…
and, as always, while you reflect, some inspirationals:
Books:
"Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don’t Have To" by Dr. David Sinclair – A pioneering look into how breakthroughs in medicine and technology are rewriting the rules of aging and longevity.
"The Singularity Is Near" by Ray Kurzweil – Explores the idea of technological singularity and how exponential advances could lead to radical life extension and human potential.
"The Future of Humanity" by Michio Kaku – A vision of human destiny, including advancements in biotech, AI, and space colonization that could drastically extend human life.
"The Longevity Economy" by Joseph F. Coughlin – A forward-thinking book that dives into how an aging population will reshape economies and innovations.
"Radical Abundance" by Eric Drexler – Explores the potential of nanotechnology to create a future of abundance, where advancements in science allow for longer, healthier lives.
"Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari – Though historical, it provides a broad context of human progress, which can be tied into the vision of a future where technology conquers aging.
Movies:
"Her" – A film exploring the profound integration of AI and human life, touching on human relationships and the future of well-being through technology.
"Transcendence" – A sci-fi thriller where a scientist uploads his consciousness to the cloud, exploring the themes of life-extension and the intersection of humanity and technology.
"The Fountain" – A visually stunning film that contemplates the quest for immortality through various periods and dimensions, merging spiritual and scientific approaches to longevity.
"Avatar" – A film that explores advanced technology’s ability to preserve consciousness and create new forms of life, tying into the idea of enhanced human potential and longevity.
"Gattaca" – Though dystopian, it provides insights into genetic engineering and how advances in biotechnology could alter society, which is closely tied to the Diamond Age’s optimistic view of shared longevity.
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" – A classic film that highlights a utopian future where human potential and technology have merged to create a more advanced and healthy society.
Art/Documentaries/Podcasts:
"Human Nature" – A documentary about CRISPR and gene editing that explores the ethical and scientific implications of controlling human biology and extending life.
"The Joe Rogan Experience" (Episode with Dr. David Sinclair) – A podcast episode delving into aging, longevity, and cutting-edge health research with one of the leading experts in the field.
"The Immortalists" – A documentary following scientists who are researching ways to overcome aging, focusing on breakthroughs in regenerative medicine.
"A Life of Its Own: The Truth About Stem Cells" – This documentary explores the science behind stem cells and their potential for regenerative medicine, which ties into the idea of shared longevity.
"Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman" – A documentary series that dives into the mysteries of the universe, including topics such as human potential, AI, and the future of humanity.
“The End of Aging" – This documentary explores the scientific breakthroughs that aim to slow down or reverse the aging process, providing insights into the future of longevity and healthspan.