Alex explained that the main problem with an ageing population, i.e. one where the average age is increasing because everyone is living longer, is that old age brings with it infirmity and loss of function. This presents a major challenge to governments, economics and society, but one which might have a solution, or set of solutions, in the form of advanced treatments which enable people to be more functional for longer. He explained the problems that medicine has in making treatments available, citing up to forty years in some cases, but that given this, the next twenty years or so will see some truly remarkable advances, such as stem cell treatments and RNAi.
The presentation also touched on the impact this has on society and he proposed an increase in the retirement age as mandatory. This is where he drew the most comments from the audience. One pointed out that at the moment it difficult to find jobs for young people, much less the old, no matter how capable. It also occurred to me that retirement would become the preserve of the rich, the poor being obliged to work longer, but he had a point. If you live to eighty, forty of those, the first twenty and the last twenty, are unproductive and you are living off other people, your parents in the former and everyone else (directly or indirectly) in the latter. If you can extend, for everyone, that middle forty by even ten years, it would ease the strain on the economy of a country considerably. Alex even went on to say that not dealing with it could cause total economic collapse in some countries.
Overall, despite the length, it was a very good presentation by Alex, and very entertaining.
Update: The Futurists have a new web site, here.
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