Artificial intelligence is making exponential progress, which can lead to amazing results.
Until a few years ago, the idea of halting and reversing aging was not considered “real science”; rather, it was viewed as an inevitable and permanent part of human existence. It was not a disease, but rather a susceptibility to disease that increases with time and cannot be reversed. People who claimed the opposite were viewed by the medical community as entertaining outsiders at best, and disreputable charlatans at worst.
The suspicion has not completely disappeared, but there is increasing investment in combating aging itself, rather than just the diseases that occur with age, such as cancer, heart attacks, and Alzheimer’s. For example, after years of effort, funding and approval were obtained for the TAME-study (Targeting Aging with Metformin) (metformin is a drug that was approved 60 years ago for the treatment of diabetes).
The project is a six-year, nationwide series of clinical trials at 14 leading research institutions in the US, involving over 3,000 people aged 65 to 79. Led by Dr. Nir Barzilai, these trials will investigate whether those taking metformin experience a delay in the development or progression of age-related chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and dementia. The effects on aging are not expected to be dramatic, but the drug is known to be safe, and the project is at least partly an exercise in convincing the medical and scientific communities as a whole to take aging itself more seriously.
KAI and aging clocks
One reason for the change in attitude toward aging is the application of modern artificial intelligence techniques in healthcare, particularly deep neural networks and reinforcement learning. Neural networks are algorithms that process data in layers, with each layer receiving data from the previous layer as input and passing output to the next layer. The outputs are not necessarily binary (only on or off), but can be evaluated. Reinforcement learning algorithms adapt their approach according to feedback from their environment.
One of AI’s contributions to anti-aging science is the development of so-called aging clocks. These “clocks” help researchers investigate the causes of aging and how to combat it. In 2013, Professor Steve Horvath of the University of California, Los Angeles, convinced a skeptical world that biomarkers at 353 locations on the DNA strand can accurately “predict” (estimate) a person’s age. The causal relationships between the indicators and a person’s age are not yet clear, but leading AI health researcher Alex Zhavoronkov believes that AI trained to predict age using specific types of biological data is learning biology. The hope is that, over time, this AI will help us better understand how aging works.
What is aging?
There is no firm consensus on the nature of aging, but it can be described as the cumulative effects of our metabolism on our bodies. Metabolism is the process by which food is converted into energy and the materials we need, such as proteins and other molecules. It is also the process by which various types of waste products are excreted.
The damage caused by metabolism to our bodies must be addressed on a much smaller scale, namely at the cellular level. In general, nine characteristics related to the aging process have been established among scientists in the field of aging, most of which are interrelated. Some cells become stiff, others atrophy; some multiply when they shouldn’t, and others stop multiplying when they should. Some suffer from mutations in the tiny batteries in their nuclei (the mitochondria); others become clogged with waste, both inside and in the spaces between them. De Grey argues that we have long known the basic principles of repairing all these types of damage, but the devil is in the details, and those details are incredibly complex. AI can help unravel this complexity.
The best-known pioneer in the field of anti-aging is British scientist and founder of the SENS Research Foundation, Aubrey de Grey. De Grey began his career in artificial intelligence before deciding that combating aging was even more important than harnessing AI. He has long advocated the idea that medicine will soon be able to give us all an extra year of life for every year we live, so that most of us would actually stop aging. He calls this “longevity escape velocity,” and given the emerging shift in consciousness, he believes there is a 50% chance of achieving this goal by 2035.
Life expectancy and health span
Others believe that the most important goal should not be to extend lifespan, but to extend healthspan, i.e., the time we live without disease. They point out that the decline in mortality rates, especially in the last half-century, has dramatically increased the financial burden on industrialized countries, as life span has increased without a corresponding increase in health span.
In reality, these goals are mutually supportive and not mutually exclusive. Extending healthspan without extending lifespan means that the root cause of the diseases of aging, namely aging itself, is not being addressed.
AI agents
Researchers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to identify and develop new drugs. And in the distant future, there will be personalized AI agents that study the peculiarities of our bodies—our genetic makeup, our microbiome, etc. They will advise us and encourage us to change our behavior, including diet, exercise, and sleep. They will develop digital twins, virtual models of each of us as individual and unique organisms.
The near and distant horizons
As with all discussions about the impact of artificial intelligence, it is important to remain realistic about the timeframe. We are only at the beginning of our AI journey and are still a long way from fully understanding and halting the mechanisms of aging. But AI is making exponential progress, and this kind of improvement can lead to amazing results over a period of a decade or two.
In the meantime, health advice for all of us remains essentially what our grandmothers told us. Tina Woods interviewed 30 science and technology pioneers for her book Live Longer With AI, and she writes that their advice is consistent and simple—eat well and in moderation, but not too much. Exercise regularly and get enough sleep. Make sure your life is guided by a purpose and enriched by solid friendships. Those who adhere to this and are young enough can indeed reach a very advanced age.
References
- TAME – Targeting Aging with Metformin – American Federation for Aging Research. (o. D.). American Federation for Aging Research. https://www.afar.org/tame-trial
- Moonburn Creative. (2023, 4. Mai). Home – SENS Research Foundation. SENS Research Foundation. https://www.sens.org/