Longevity Wiki - User contributions [en-GB]

Longevity and Equality

2021-11-01T23:58:50Z

Robin-H: /* Full Genome Sequencing */ Added information about commercial airfares

{{Draft-article}}

== Ethical Concerns ==

== Counterarguments ==

=== 1) Governments would be incentivised to subsidise longevity technologies ===

=== 2) The cost of technologies come down over time ===
While there may be cost-related inequality of access to anti-aging treatments in the short term, it is likely that over time the cost of these treatments would decrease, and they would become more accessible to the general population<ref name=":0">Wood, D. (2016). ''The Abolition of Aging.'' </ref>. Many technological innovations, such as mobile phones and genome sequencing, were initially prohibitively expensive for the majority of the population, but had prices driven down to affordable levels by market forces<ref name=":0" />.

==== Similar technological examples ====

===== Full Genome Sequencing =====
Full genome sequencing has undergone a dramatic decrease in cost from around one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) to around one thousand dollars ($1000) per genome<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">National Human Genome Research Institute. (2020). ''The Cost of Sequencing a Human Genome''. https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Sequencing-Human-Genome-cost</ref>. This decrease in cost occurred within a period of around seven years, and was due to innovation of more efficient and cost-effective techniques<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />. Development of genome sequencing techniques continues, and the costs associated are likely to decrease even further<ref name=":1" />.

===== Commercial Airfares =====
Between 1979 and 1994, and adjusting for inflation, air fares per passenger mile decreased by 8-11%<ref name=":2">Anderson, J. H. (1996). ''DOMESTIC AVIATION: Changes in Airfares, Service, and Safety Since Airline Deregulation''. U.S. Government Publishing Office. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-96-126/pdf/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-96-126.pdf</ref>. Increased competition from low-fare airlines since the U.S. Aviation industry was deregulated in 1978 was the main driver of the price decrease<ref name=":2" />. Between 1995 and 2021, and adjusting for inflation, the annual average of U.S. domestic itinerary fares continued to decrease, with a cumulative change of -43.9%<ref>Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (2021). ''Annual U.S. Domestic Average Itinerary Fare in Current and Constant Dollars''. https://www.bts.gov/content/annual-us-domestic-average-itinerary-fare-current-and-constant-dollars</ref>.

- automobiles

Market forces drive down prices, due to huge demand

=== 3) Current inequality in medicines has not been a reason to slow medical research ===

* If anti-aging treatments did exist, would they be available and affordable for everyone who wanted them?
* If not, how would it be determined who would access them?
* Would some socio-economic classes be able to access the treatments, but others not?
* What impacts would some parts of the population having access, and other parts not having access have on equality?
* Would it increase the life expectancy gap between socio-economic classes?
* Would this cause or enable discrimination (e.g. employers only want employees who've had the treatments, as they're likely to have a longer working life)?
* Would this increase the economic inequality between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' as those without access to anti-aging treatments would have more hospital bills/shorter working lives?

Resources:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181029165555.htm

https://www.lifespan.io/news/only-the-rich/

https://www.lifespan.io/news/lifextenshow-will-life-extension-be-only-for-the-rich/

https://lifeboat.com/blog/2020/04/aubrey-de-grey-talks-about-longevity-for-rich-and-poor-people

Billionaires who are investing in the space: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/09/04/1034364/altos-labs-silicon-valleys-jeff-bezos-milner-bet-living-forever/

https://english.elpais.com/usa/2021-09-13/why-jeff-bezos-dream-of-immortality-isnt-for-the-rest-of-us.html

https://www.businessinsider.com/if-we-are-able-to-cure-aging-it-will-only-benefit-the-ultra-rich-2014-7?r=AU&IR=T

https://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/10/selfless-is-immortality-only-for-the-rich.html

[[Category:Drafts]]

Longevity and Equality

2021-10-23T07:04:51Z

Robin-H: /* Similar technological examples */ Full genome sequencing example

{{Draft-article}}

== Ethical Concerns ==

== Counterarguments ==

=== 1) Governments would be incentivised to subsidise longevity technologies ===

=== 2) The cost of technologies come down over time ===
While there may be cost-related inequality of access to anti-aging treatments in the short term, it is likely that over time the cost of these treatments would decrease, and they would become more accessible to the general population<ref name=":0">Wood, D. (2016). ''The Abolition of Aging.'' </ref>. Many technological innovations, such as mobile phones and genome sequencing, were initially prohibitively expensive for the majority of the population, but had prices driven down to affordable levels by market forces<ref name=":0" />.

==== Similar technological examples ====

===== Full Genome Sequencing =====
Full genome sequencing has undergone a dramatic decrease in cost from around one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) to around one thousand dollars ($1000) per genome<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">National Human Genome Research Institute. (2020). ''The Cost of Sequencing a Human Genome''. https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Sequencing-Human-Genome-cost</ref>. This decrease in cost occurred within a period of around seven years, and was due to innovation of more efficient and cost-effective techniques<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />. Development of genome sequencing techniques continues, and the costs associated are likely to decrease even further<ref name=":1" />.

- commercial flight

- automobiles

Market forces drive down prices, due to huge demand

=== 3) Current inequality in medicines has not been a reason to slow medical research ===

* If anti-aging treatments did exist, would they be available and affordable for everyone who wanted them?
* If not, how would it be determined who would access them?
* Would some socio-economic classes be able to access the treatments, but others not?
* What impacts would some parts of the population having access, and other parts not having access have on equality?
* Would it increase the life expectancy gap between socio-economic classes?
* Would this cause or enable discrimination (e.g. employers only want employees who've had the treatments, as they're likely to have a longer working life)?
* Would this increase the economic inequality between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' as those without access to anti-aging treatments would have more hospital bills/shorter working lives?

Resources:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181029165555.htm

https://www.lifespan.io/news/only-the-rich/

https://www.lifespan.io/news/lifextenshow-will-life-extension-be-only-for-the-rich/

https://lifeboat.com/blog/2020/04/aubrey-de-grey-talks-about-longevity-for-rich-and-poor-people

Billionaires who are investing in the space: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/09/04/1034364/altos-labs-silicon-valleys-jeff-bezos-milner-bet-living-forever/

https://english.elpais.com/usa/2021-09-13/why-jeff-bezos-dream-of-immortality-isnt-for-the-rest-of-us.html

https://www.businessinsider.com/if-we-are-able-to-cure-aging-it-will-only-benefit-the-ultra-rich-2014-7?r=AU&IR=T

https://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/10/selfless-is-immortality-only-for-the-rich.html

[[Category:Drafts]]

Longevity and Equality

2021-10-12T02:39:56Z

Robin-H: /* Similar technological examples */ Introduction to costs of technologies decreasing

Longevity and Equality

2021-09-21T10:00:17Z

Robin-H: Added 'economic' to qualify type of inequality

{{Draft-article}}

* If anti-aging treatments did exist, would they be available and affordable for everyone who wanted them?
* If not, how would it be determined who would access them?
* Would some socio-economic classes be able to access the treatments, but others not?
* What impacts would some parts of the population having access, and other parts not having access have on equality?
* Would it increase the life expectancy gap between socio-economic classes?
* Would this cause or enable discrimination (e.g. employers only want employees who've had the treatments, as they're likely to have a longer working life)?
* Would this increase the economic inequality between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' as those without access to anti-aging treatments would have more hospital bills/shorter working lives?

[[Category:Drafts]]

Longevity and Equality

2021-09-21T05:31:29Z

Robin-H: Created new draft page for ethical question of how anti-aging treatments would affect equality

{{Draft-article}}

* If anti-aging treatments did exist, would they be available and affordable for everyone who wanted them?
* If not, how would it be determined who would access them?
* Would some socio-economic classes be able to access the treatments, but others not?
* What impacts would some parts of the population having access, and other parts not having access have on equality?
* Would it increase the life expectancy gap between socio-economic classes?
* Would this cause or enable discrimination (e.g. employers only want employees who've had the treatments, as they're likely to have a longer working life)?
* Would this increase the inequality between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' as those without access to anti-aging treatments would have more hospital bills/shorter working lives?

[[Category:Drafts]]